Mavoi Satum, one of the leading organizations fighting for the rights of agunot in Israel, is delighted that the International Beit Din has started functioning and wishes Rabbi Krauss and his staff the best of luck in this important endeavor (“New Court Set To Free Agunot,” Nov. 21).
Even if the court is not welcomed by all, it is definitely a welcome step forward for the thousands of women and children who are held hostage by their recalcitrant husbands and rabbinical courts. We hope the court will take a further step and officiate at marriages of women to whom they have granted a get.
As Rabbi Krauss knows, Mavoi Satum has been working on the concept of private rabbinical courts for several years now. In September 2012 we convened an ad-hoc rabbinical court, which annulled the marriage of a woman in her mid-20s who had been abandoned two days after the wedding by her husband.
The man had run off to the U.S. with all their gift money.
Mavoi Satum filed for a get in the rabbinical court in Netanya. For over a year the Netanya court demanded that the woman agree to her husband’s extortionate request of more than $10,000 in return for the get. Within days of the private court annulling her marriage the rabbinical court in Netanya granted the woman a get.
In certain situations just the fact that an alternative exists will push the traditional courts to act.
Co-Founder, Mavoi Satum Jerusalem
The New York Jewish Week brings you the stories behind the headlines, keeping you connected to Jewish life in New York. Help sustain the reporting you trust by donating today.
