A Step in the Right Direction for the Agunot

A recent article written by Jerusalem Post writer Lahav Harkov tackles an ongoing struggle within Israel’s borders, which is the issue or marriage equality. This article highlights for the readers the issue that the certain group is struggling with, the reason that the law remains the way it is, and what the Israeli government has done in order to bring awareness to the issue and show support for this group.

International Aguna Day, as Israel’s Knesset committee for the Advancement of the Status of Women and Gender Equality has called it, is a day that coincides with the Jewish holiday of Purim. International Aguna Day is meant to show support and solidarity with Jewish women who are bound to their husbands and are unable to get a divorce.

Purim, which is generally celebrated in early or mid-March (the timing differs because the Jewish calendar does not coincide with the calendar used globally), consists of quite a few days. On the first day of Purim, those who observe Purim participate in what is called the Fast of Esther. Esther, one of the main protagonists, and the heroine of the story of Purim, was a woman who also dealt with a very complicated and restricting marriage with the King of Persia, Achashverosh (more commonly known as “Ahasuerus” in English).  In Judaism, she is considered one of the most important figures to the freedom of the Jewish people, male figures included.

Agunot, which is the plural term for an aguna, describes a woman who is stuck in her marriage for various reasons. In Hebrew, aguna literally means “anchored” or “chained”. In Jewish law, the only way for a woman to legitimately complete a divorce is to receive a “get” from their husband, which is a divorce document that consents the wife to go through with the divorce if she wishes. In Israel, because marriage affairs are handled by the Rabbinical Courts which are in the Religious Services Ministry, it is required that all Jewish couples who wish to go through with a divorce follow Jewish law.

MK Aliza Lavie, who called for the meeting to support agunot

Also, the Harkov touches on the fact that many Knesset members were very active and vocal in the process of establishing International Aguna Day. Yesh Atid Member of the Knesset Aliza Lavie called for the meeting and stressed the importance of international recognition of the struggle of the agunot to the Knesset’s Committee for the Advancement of the Status of Women and Gender Equality. The Committee Chairwoman, Joint List member Aida Touma-Sliman also voiced her distaste, and mentioned that she hopes that there is change in the handling of marriage affairs within the Israeli government, which she believes will lead to the freedom of choice for agunot who are struggling. Another issue was brought up by Kulanu Member of the Knesset Rachel Azaria, who mentioned that even in the most extreme cases of inhumane actions taken out against family members, husbands have the deciding factor on whether or not a woman is allowed divorce. These women who are in the Knesset, amongst many others, spoke out against the growing issue of the agunot in hopes that the Rabbinical Courts in the Religious Services Ministry were listening.  

Zionist Union Member of the Knesset Revital Swid made a call for the imprisonment of men who refuse to grant agunot a get to obtain divorces. This forced the hand of the Rabbinical Courts, as an administrator of the Rabbinical Courts has made an oath to visit the men who are imprisoned for refusing to issue a get before the Jewish Holiday Passover, which is set to begin April 22. To clarify, it is completely legal by Israeli Law to refuse to issue a get, however Rabbinical Courts frequently use imprisonment as a form of sanctioning men who refuse to issue their wives a get.

Harkov did mention that while there seems to be no progress towards an immediate solution, something very promising has come out of the commotion caused by the committee and those who called for International Aguna Day. The Director of the Organization for the Resolution of Agunot, Rabbi Jeremy Stern, believes that the Agunot problem in the United States will be remedied by the next 10 years, because using a completely legal halachic prenuptial agreement has become very common and popular in the United States. However, nothing was said about the agunot problem in Israel.