Haredi Woman Chained To A Hospital Bed By Police For Refusing To Follow Illegal Order From Haredi Rabbinical Court Is Now Running For Knesset

Gila Yashar, a haredi woman who made headlines after being falsely defined as a "get refuser" by a haredi-controlled state beit din (Orthodox religious court), is now running for Knesset on the slate of the all-female haredi B'Zechutan Party.

Above and above right: Gila Yashar handcuffed to a hospital bed

Haredi Woman Chained To A Hospital Bed By Police For Refusing To Follow Illegal Order From Haredi Rabbinical Court Is Now Running For Knesset
Shmarya Rosenberg • FailedMessiah.com

Gila Yashar, a haredi woman who made headlines after being falsely defined as a "get refuser" by a haredi-controlled state beit din (Orthodox religious court), is now running for Knesset on the slate of the all-female haredi B'Zechutan Party.

Two months ago Yashar was handcuffed to a hospital bed by police acting on the orders of the Jerusalem Rabbinical Court after she refused to accept a divorce from her husband because the rabbinical court brokering the religious divorce ignored a Family Court decision awarding her and her disabled son one of the six apartments her husband owned. She was handcuffed to the hospital bed and then jailed for days after her discharge for refusing the rabbinical court’s illegal order.

"I am in a place which has turned my silence into a courageous voice,. What I have been through has strengthened my feeling that every haredi woman must take her fate into her own hands and impact the political arena. When B'Zechutan reaches the Knesset, we will be able to make a change for all haredi women, so that none of them becomes a victim like me,” Yashar told Ynet.

B'Zechutan’s chairwoman, Ruth Colian, asked Yashar to join the new all-female haredi political party that was formed after existing haredi political parties again refused to allow any women to run for office.

Member of Knesset Aliza Lavie of the centrist Yesh Atid Party is the chairwoman of the Knesset's Committee on the Status of Women and Gender Equality. She helped Yashar when she was jailed, and recently met her at an election panel discussion in Jerusalem.

"I was in for an exciting surprise when I ran into Gila at the panel. I discovered a strong, impressive woman, who has chosen to take control of her fate and singlehandedly make a change.…Those [i.e., the existing all-male haredi political parties] who are supposed to be representing [haredi women] in the Knesset today do not represent them in many cases. I hope that in the next Knesset [Gila Yashar and I] will get to work side by side, and continue advancing and leading a policy which empowers women from all sectors in Israel,” Lavie reportedly said.

Yashar is the mother of seven children, one of whom is disabled.

The couple’s divorce case was originally opened in civil family court four years ago.

But the woman’s husband refused to pay the child support the civil family court ordered and had for the last two years ignored an order from that family court to turn over one of several apartments he owns to his wife as part of the divorce settlement he initially agreed to.

Instead, the woman’s husband eventually went to the official state rabbinical court and opened a divorce case there.

In response, the family court ruled that woman did not have to take a get (Jewish religious divorce document) from her husband until he complied with their orders.

He refused.

Earlier this month, the religious court issued a summons to the woman, but she did not attend the scheduled hearing because she had just undergone surgery and was ill. Instead, through her advocates from the Rackman Center she gave the rabbinical court notes from her physicians documenting her condition.

The rabbinical court’s haredi rabbi-judges, however, apparently disregarded that documentation. They ordered police to arrest the woman and bring her to the rabbinical court, illness or not.

The police arrested her Tuesday and brought her before the rabbinical court. Its three haredi rabbi-judges – Avraham Scheinfeld, Eliyahu Abergil and Mordechai Toledano – gave her a divorce agreement to sign.

She refused, telling the rabbi-judges that her husband had not given her the apartment specified in their family court settlement and that the family court had given her permission to refuse to accept the get until her husband complied.

The haredi rabbi-judges immediately ordered police to jail her for a week for “get refusal.”

In order to get out of jail earlier than that and care for her children, she would have had to pay a bond of 10,000 shekels ($2,548) – money she doesn’t have, in large part because of her husband’s actions.

As police were taking her to prison, she became so ill that they had to take her to Shaare Tzedek Hospital instead, where she was admitted. But police and cuffed her to her hospital bed – a violation of both police procedure and the policy of Israel’s medical societies.

She was un-handcuffed after Ynet's story on her abuse by police was published and re-reported by other Israeli media outlets, and she was discharged from the hospital within 48 hours . Eight days later, after Ynet and then other Israeli media reported the story of her mistreatment, the religious court held a special session and finally got her a religious divorce that protected her financial rights.

"Four years of physical, mental and verbal violence have come to an end. I would like to say to all women who are suffering: Don't let this go on, because things only get worse. No woman should have to go through what did,” Yashar told Ynet.

Related Posts:

Haredi Woman Arrested, Chained To Hospital Bed For Refusing To Accept Get From Husband.

The Haredi Theocracy That Is Israel?

Comments

[Jeff]

Taliban rabbis. Take them out to the desert and leave them there.

[JACK]

Kol hakavod to this courageous woman,was i living in Israel she definitely would get my vote
Hope she is successful in her bid

[father of a victim]

(1) this woman would definitely get my vote, (2) she should immediately take a good lawyer make a case against the Israel police/mishtara)) and against the,f...en beth din who gave out the order to handcuff her to the hospital bed, and when she was hundred percent right by crying that her husband didn't pay up child support,,and not giving her the apartment she was being promised

[S M L]

This is the Israel to which European Jews should feel a need to emigrate - a theocracy in all but name where clergy wield police powers? Maybe the Haredim among them should go. The others would do better to stay put and at least have freedom of religion and equal rights, assuming their countries can control the Muslims and other antisemites among their citizenry.

[Devorah the formerly frum...]

S M L - this is why Israel needs secular marriage and divorce, not why people should not migrate here.

No country is perfect, but I'd rather face the risk of a week in jail as a get refuser in Israel than the risks of being murdered by an anti-semitic mob in Europe.

This country has problems that need to be fixed, and we need a change of government. It'll happen sooner if you guys come here and vote, the secular population is still the majority.

Sure the Haredi world has a high birth rate, but many of them stop being Haredim, at least inwardly, and even the ones who are forced to stay within the Haredi community don't vote for Haredi parties at the polling booth...

[Devorah the formerly frum...]

Some more thoughts, now that I feel compelled to defend my nation here.

Zionism wasn't about migrating for better economic opportunities or just to escape anti-semitism.

It was going to a place where you get to build a new nation, a Jewish nation which reflects our culture and values. And we've done so much that is amazing, that the anti-Israel western media does not want to report.

It's nice to live in a place where there is so much sunshine and warmth, where your friends will rally behind you if you're in trouble rather than just walking away, and where (at least in the secular community) people still know how to have fun without involving the $$$ commercial entertainment industry.

It's nice to live in a place where you can get 500Mbps Internet, (real speeds of file transfers I do every day!) without any data limits for the cost of two pizzas per week, where Shabbat feels like Shabbat even if you're not strictly observant, and where you can rent a beautiful new three bedroom apartment 15 mins drive from the city centre (yes, Tel Aviv) or the beach for under $400 per week (that's $130ish per week if you share it with two friends).

It's nice to live in a place where starting your own business doesn't involve being without health insurance and worrying that you won't get medical treatment if you get sick. Where you can start a company and fail several times until you succeed and no one will think of you as a loser because the "risk taking" and "pioneer" culture is so strong.

And it's nice to live in a place where, as a woman, I don't hesitate to get on the bus or the train at midnight (and there ARE busses and trains in many places!) and I can walk through the city without being afraid of being mugged.

A place where (as long as you're not Haredi) it's OK to be gay, and entirely possible to get a nice group of friends who accept you and still think coming and eating at your Shabbat table is cool.

A place where whatever you try to do, whatever ideas you have, your friends and the surrounding society will try to help out rather than trying to shoot you down.

Don't get me wrong... Israel has countless problems, but the problems are not insurmountable and it's not all about the problems. There are reasons to come here and help build this nation, and if you are a strong person and like the informal, "no-personal-boundaries" Middle Eastern culture, you'll have so much fun while you're doing it.

And the biggest reason to live here - you can be Jewish here in your own way and whatever that way is, you probably won't be doing it on your own.

So don't listen to the naysayers... Come... Be prepared for a "challenging" first year particularly if you come without money, but if you're the type of person who can enjoy a life that's a mix of plenty of hard work and plenty of fun afterwards, you won't be disappointed here.

[Lev]

The Zionists Y"msh get what they deserve.

[Jeff]

"The Zionists Y"msh get what they deserve."

Those would be the Zioninsts who've been supporting your sorry asses for the past sixty years?

Devorah, everything you have said here falls flat in the face of this. To say one can observe in whichever way one chooses, when every day the Haredim grow bolder and increasingly seize control of your society, is naive and irresponsible.

The Haredim are driving you all into bankruptcy. They will be Israel's destruction.

[father of a victim]

To you,gila yashar,so sorry what you went through because of some (scumb skunk rabunim) it's time for you to take a good lawyer and make a lawsuit,,on that hospital,,be strong keep strong,,

[ah-pee-chorus]

Devorah the formerly frum-

That was well said and i enjoyed it. Not that there aren't drawbacks including the charedi theocratization, but you made a nice case for life there in general. I wish you well.

[Sheri]

Devorah, I'm glad you enjoy your life in Israel so much, but why would any American choose to make aliyah if not for fundamentalist religious underpinnings fueling their decision? Most of the benefits you describe can be found here. And it seems to me the American form of government is more democratic than the Israeli one. I can be Jewish here any way I want also.

[Sarek]

...as long as her chain reached the kitchen...

[S M L]

Devorah -

You paint a positive picture however let's reconsider some of that to reflect what seems to be reality:

-You can get on any bus at midnight as long as it's not running through a Haredi area and as long as you sit in the back. Otherwise you're subject to assault.

-You can be gay here in the US, too, and in Europe, and be accepted or not depending on who your friends are.

-Nobody in Israel can escape the Haredi grip on marriage, divorce, burial, right to return, etc. Israel is rated as unfree with regard to marriage as any of the Muslim countries surrounding it. You say the biggest reason to live there is that you can be Jewish there in your own way and whatever that way is, you probably won't be doing it on your own. Interesting. You mean I can't do that here in the US? That's news to me and we have civil marriage and civil divorce too. No black hats involved. Sure we've got some retrogressive types but they're diluted by the sheer mass of 325 million Americans.

- You cannot escape the growing Haredi drain on your economy as they multiply like rabbits sucking up resources no matter how they vote or what they secretly believe.

-If an apartment can be rented cheaply then why is there said to be a housing crisis such that young people cannot find affordable housing?

-For how much longer can settlers push Arabs out of and off their lands before there's a huge explosion?

-What will you do there if Bibi sufficiently ticks off the US Government such that support slackens and aid is reduced? Where's the backup going to come from? China? India? Russia? The European countries which are increasingly disenchanted with Israel?

I'm sure there's much that's wonderful, in spots, in Israel however there'd have to be huge non-Haredi immigration to offset their numbers and their drain on your economy.

[Alter Kocker]

Jeff: I could not agree more. The Israeli economy cannot survive if the status quo is maintained. Haredi numbers continue to grow, the males are neither educated, nor willing to work. Therefore an increasing number of welfare cases, dependent on an ever shrinking economy. As the odds are stacked in favor of Haredim, secular Israel will begin to shrink, the economy cannot sustain that large percentage of a welfare dependent religious class. The time is now for it to stop. This next election, should give a reasonable picture as to where Israel is headed.

[Jeff]

Yes. If they don't lose Bibi this time around, they may as well close up shop.

[Maskil]

One of their issues, which they have difficulty expressing but it does come up on their list, is prevelency of nida-rape. That is when the woman is pressured into having sex before she goes to mikvah. This seems to be common, and the bride-advisors that taught these women how to be chaste and modest in the haredi ideology are then instructed by these same advisors to give the men what they want when it comes to sex.

While most, or all, instances of marital rape do not lead to convictions based on the logic that "marriage is inherently an agreement to join in a union for the purpose of having [non-fornication] sex," at least in the US, over here given the context in which these marriages were agreed upon and executed there does not seem to be any room in the law to see this as anything short of rape.

I'm shocked that they don't champion this as their number one issue.

[Shayna G in NZ]

Israel has many issues as well as many positives and I can say
this having lived there.The climate is wonderful etc...but I fear for the long term.
The Haredi are breeding like rabbits and draining the taxpayer,but
they are also unwilling to fight for the country.G-d forbid they ever have the numbers to make the laws they want,which will effectively turn Israel into an Haredi theocracy.
I was much more positive about Israel forty years ago than I am now,although having said that I may return there because it is has a special place in my heart.
I hope Bibi is gone by tomorrow!