In light of that ruling, and so as not to delay the burial of his mother, the recalcitrant husband agreed to give the divorce.
By JEREMY SHARONDavid Lau(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)
A man who ostensibly agreed to give his wife a divorce after more than a decade – because the funeral of this mother was indefinitely postponed until he did so – has now gone back on his word and is once again refusing to terminate the marriage.Despite his family having deposited a $20,000 guarantee to ensure he stand by his word, the husband has reportedly said that he does not intend to honor his promise, and said it was “all a lie,” that the Chief Rabbinate never spoke with him and that he never agreed to give the divorce.The Union of Orthodox Rabbis of the United States and Canada (UOR) in New York issued a ruling on Monday to postpone the burial of the recalcitrant husband’s mother in order to pressure the husband to give his wife a divorce.The mother’s burial casket arrived in Israel from the US overnight Monday, and after examining the details of the case, Chief Rabbi David Lau gave backing to the decision.In light of that ruling, and so as not to delay the burial of his mother, the recalcitrant husband agreed to give the divorce.Since the UOR could not hold a hearing to complete the formalities as the two spouses are currently in separate countries, the Chief Rabbinate said that the family of the husband deposited a guarantee of $20,000 to ensure he fulfill his commitment.It is unclear with whom that $20,000 was deposited, with a spokesman for Lau saying that he did not know.“We are saddened that the recalcitrant husband who has for 14 years refused to free his wife from the chains of her aguna status continues to refuse to give a divorce despite the agreements that were reached,” Lau’s office said, in a statement issued on Wednesday afternoon.
