The Jerusalem Rabbinical Court recently ordered a woman who refused to divorce her cancer-stricken husband despite his pleas for three years to pay a fine of hundreds of thousands of shekels.
Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
Although details of the case have not been made public, this is likely the first incident of a rabbinical court fining a female divorce refuser. The court first ordered the woman to pay a weekly 1,250 shekel (around $400) fine eight months ago until she agreed to a divorce.
The husband first opened a divorce file with the rabbinical court in March 2019.
It was only in January 2021 that the woman agreed to a divorce, after which he asked the court to cancel the fine, claiming her financial situation had since declined.
The ruling received special authorization from Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi David Lau, who serves as president of the rabbinical court, and Supreme Court President Esther Hayut. With the goal of sending a clear message to divorce refusers, the rabbis emphasized that the fact that the woman ultimately agreed to divorce did not absolve her of the need to pay the heavy fine, which amounts to some 350,000 shekels (around $109,000).
In a sharply worded response to the claim by the woman's attorney that her client was in serious debt as a result of past fines prior to approving the divorce, the rabbis said: "The applicant must look at the years of her refusal and the consequences stemming from her conduct. She knew all along that many decisions had been made on cumulative and growing fines imposed on her in that period. Now it is too late."
The rabbis further noted their ruling was aimed at making an example out of the case: "Even the public interest request us not to cancel fines imposed on divorce refusers, and any divorce refuser shall know that the fines imposed on them for divorce refusal will not be canceled. If a divorce refuser would know they would ultimately be canceled when a divorce is given, then the fines would lose their efficacy against those who refuse to divorce."
Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!
