Wives' Damage Suits In Israeli Civil Courts Growing As Means To Obtain "Get"

Haaretz today reports on the increasing use of damage actions in civil courts in Israel by Orthodox Jewish women seeking to force recalcitrant husbands to grant them a religious divorce document ("get"). After a 2004 case in Jerusalem Family Court setting the precedent for such actions, the Center for Women's Justice filed claims on behalf of more than 40 women. In half the cases, the divorce was granted within 14 months. Lawsuits threatening large damage awards are seen by women as more effective than sanctions imposed by rabbinical courts to pressure husbands.  Under Jewish religious law, a woman cannot remarry if her husband has not given her a divorce document.