Tel Aviv Beit Din Releases Iraqi Woman from Status of Being an ‘aguna’

The Tel Aviv Rabbinical Court has released an Iraqi Jewish woman now living in New York from the bonds of being an “aguna, ” declaring that there is no doubt that her husband was executed by the Baghdad authorities. The decision means, according to the religious daily, Hatzofe, that several other Iraqi women whose husbands are now considered dead will be able to re-marry.

“Aguna” is the halachic term for a woman whose husband is missing and presumed dead, but without firm evidence that he is indeed dead. Such a woman may not re-marry under religious law until her husband’s death is established without doubt.

The woman involved in the Tel Aviv decision is Rachel Abdul Mazouz, widow of Jacob Abdul Mazouz, a lawyer who was kidnapped in the early 1970’s by the Iraqi secret police along with other leading members of the Jewish community. While he was presumed to have been executed, his body was never recovered.

FUTHER EVIDENCE GATHERED

Mrs. Mazouz appeared before the Tel Aviv Beit Din (Rabbinical Court) to appeal for release from the status of “aguna. ” The court heard evidence from Iraqi Jews living in Israel, but it proved inconclusive. In a discreet, lengthy process, the three judge bench approached the London Beit Din and with its help gathered further evidence, some of it from diplomatic sources.

After two years, the Tel Aviv court was convinced without a doubt that Jacob Mazouz and the other kidnapped Jews were indeed executed. His widow, therefore, is free to marry again if she wishes. The court has indicated that it would be ready to issue similar orders in the cases of the other widows if they seek release from the “aguna” status. Several of the widows and families of the deceased now reside in Europe and the U.S.

The Tel Aviv court is composed of the city’s Ashkenazic Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yedidya Frenkel, Rabbi Yeshayahu Goldschmidt and Rabbi Menachem Zioni.