Bill To Stop Imprisoned Get-Refusers From Serving Time In Yeshiva Prison Passes First Knesset Reading

The bill would deprive recalcitrant husbands sentenced by the religious courts to prison over get refusal of all special religious accommodations in prison. These men would no longer be allowed to serve their time in a prison’s yeshiva wing or receive special mehadrin (glatt kosher, as opposed to regular kosher) meals.

 

Bill To Stop Imprisoned Get-Refusers From Serving Time In Yeshiva Prison Passes First Knesset Reading
Shmarya Rosenberg • FailedMessiah.com

A bill to amend the Rabbinical Courts Law to impose new sanctions on imprisoned recalcitrant husbands who refuse to grant their wives a religious divorce known as a get passed its first Knesset reading yesterday, Ynet reported.

The amendment would deprive recalcitrant husbands sentenced by the religious courts to prison over get refusal of all special religious accommodations in prison. These men would no longer be allowed to serve their time in a prison’s yeshiva wing or receive special mehadrin (glatt kosher, as opposed to regular kosher) meals.

On top of those specific restrictions of special religious accommodations, the bill also would stop such inmates from making phone calls to anyone other than immediate family or their attorneys.

"The existing law does not provide a solution to cases in which the divorce recalcitrant persists in his refusal to divorce his wife even after being imprisoned. Experience shows that divorce recalcitrants are prepared to stay in prison for a long time, leaving many women chained to their marriage,” the bill’s proposal says.

"In such cases, all the tools the law currently has (a stay of exit order, revocation of the person's driver's license, confiscation of pension funds, etc), which violate the rights of a free person, are ineffective when the divorce recalcitrant is in jail,” the proposal continues.

MK Rabbi Dov Lipman of the largely secular centrist Yesh Atid Party and several other lawmakers sponsored the bill.

"Our goal is that there will be no agunot (women chained to their marriage) in the State of Israel, and we have the tools to fulfill that. People who fail to obey a rabbinical court's ruling must not be allowed to reside in a prison's religious section, claiming they are religious,” Lipman reportedly said.

The bill passed its first reading 39-0. It now will be sent to the Knesset's Constitution, Law and Justice Committee for approval before it returns to the floor of the Knesset for its second and third votes. If it passes those, it would become law.

Comments

[Rebitzman]

While we all know a bill to declare pork kosher would survive a first reading, this is a good first step. We'll just have to wait to see if step 2 is ever reached.

[zachw]

Finally rabbis with some balls!

[S M L]

If the rabbis had any balls they'd find a way to overturn get refusals on the basis of not treating the women decently in the eyes of God and the Jewish people. That they don't says all I need to know about what's most important to them - mindless rigid adherence to what by today's standards of decency are scraps of ancient dogma which should be set aside.

[chaim]

Yes, continue to torture innocent men whose wives took his money, children etc.. This is the feminist agenda. Well I hope Dov Lipman that you have a similar fate and will learn that not all men are guilty

[S M L]

This is a powerful argument for civil marriage and divorce in Israel.

[Big Bill]

"This is a powerful argument for civil marriage and divorce in Israel."

Why? So Israel can wind up with marriages as stable as those in the USA or Europe? Feh.

[(The other) Eli]

Why? So Israel can wind up with marriages as stable as those in the USA or Europe? Feh.
Posted by: Big Bill | November 29, 2014 at 12:59 AM

Yeah, because the current situation just screams stability lol

[Ulricii]

"Yes, continue to torture innocent men whose wives took his money, children etc.. This is the feminist agenda."
Climb off the high horse, Chaim. If the wife took the money, children and whatever else "etc." includes, why stay married to her? I'd say get her out of your life. And 'get' is an active verb in that last sentence.
Withholding the get is an angry simpleton's response to the situation. If the shoe fits....

[Steven W]

Add this to the list to be in Bibi's next government.