Aguna

Rabbinical court chaos leaves Israelis trapped in a broken system - opinion

System failures, from missing files to postponed hearings, in Israel’s rabbinical courts are delaying justice and trapping families in legal limbo.

THE CHIEF RABBINATE’S Supreme Court for Appeals in Jerusalem: Israelis deserve a religious court system that honors both Halacha and human dignity, the writer asserts.
 A room at Camp Shura designed for families to part from the deceased who have fallen in Israel's wars.

The 'unspoken agunot': The wives of men whose deaths by Hamas were never confirmed - opinion

 THE POSSIBILITY that a woman whose husband is in the IDF reserves can become ‘chained’ became an increasing problem after the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas War.

IDF soldiers’ wives at risk: The urgent case for conditional divorces

 A WOMAN seeking divorce in a ‘beit din’ was the sole female in the room until the advent of ‘toanot.’ (Illustrative)

Divorce refusal will only be solved if everyone does their part - opinion


Collection of Bergen-Belsen 'agunot' rabbinic rulings to be auctioned off

The rabbis of the Bergen-Belsen rabbinical court were the first to collect testimonies from Holocaust survivors right after World War II.

Ledger of rabbinic rulings concerning 'agunot' at Bergen-Belsen after the Holocaust

America’s pain and the aguna’s chain

Each aguna story represents a woman (or man) trapped in a lonely world of frustration and bitterness, bordering on cruelty.

Each aguna story represents a woman (or man) trapped in a lonely world of frustration and bitterness, bordering on cruelty

Chief Rabbi prevents 10-year-divorce refuser from burying his mother

“This is the most severe case of Agunah for over a ten years in which the husband totally refuses to allow his wife to continue her life."

David Lau

Cage in Haifa highlights the struggle of women trapped in divorce

The cage was decorated with living room furniture meant to invoke a sense of home, and the visitors who stepped inside were asked to imagine the constricted world of an aguna.

The cage in Haifa

‘No one should be an aguna for even a day’

Organization for wives with recalcitrant husbands aims to bring awareness to plight

A GROUP of women partake in Yad La’isha’s annual ‘Women Moving Mountains’ hike in order to raise awareness to the plight of ‘agunot.’

Do we love our daughters less than they do theirs?

This week, we mark International Aguna Day, traditionally held on Ta’anit Esther, the fast on Purim eve. (An aguna is a Jewish woman who is “chained” to her marriage.)

HELP THEM leave their marriages. Wedding rings on display at a store

Prevention of the classic ‘aguna’

The problem of a spouse, whether the husband or the wife, refusing to sever the bonds of marriage in accordance with Jewish law even at the marriage’s end, is unfortunately all too common.

A JEWISH bride waits for her groom during a traditional wedding ceremony in Jerusalem

US citizen held hostage by Israeli rabbinical court

There can be little doubt that the Israeli rabbinical court is holding this American citizen as a hostage in violation of both Israeli law, Jewish law and basic humanitarian principles.

The Rabbinical Court of Tel Aviv

Rabbinical Court refuses to accept ruling freeing 20-year Agunah

An independent court ruled to annul the marriage, but the rabbinical court has instead opened proceedings against the imprisoned husband.

Zvia Gordestski (left) holding the rabbinical court document freeing her from her marriage, alongside Center for Women’s Justice attorney Nitzan Caspi-Shiloni

Releasing chained women – by working around the Chief Rabbinate

Rabbi Daniel Sperber is innovating with annulments to help solve the ‘aguna’ problem.

RABBI DANIEL SPERBER: ‘What I’m suggesting is that the Chief Rabbinate treat us like outside consultants for specific issues.’