In the Jewish community, a women
does not have the right to divorce their husbands, in order for a divorce to be
final, the husband must give permission, called a get. If a husband refuses
to give a get, the marriage is still in full effect and the wife becomes an
“agunah”—a chained women. A husband must give a get at his own free will, but
there have been Jewish law tribunals that encourage these obstinate husbands to
give gets. A common decision would be a tribunal who will ban the husband
from his synagogue until he does grant and give a get. Under civil law, the
wife does have the option and right to get divorced and remarried, but many
women refuse to do so because it would undermine them and their children and
most likely would become outcasts in their communities.
Earlier this month, two New JerseyRabbis allegedly planned the kidnapping and torturing of reluctant husbands who
had refused to grant their wives a legitimate Jewish divorce. The purpose for
the Rabbi’s actions was to force these men to consent to their wives’ request
for divorce under Jewish law. These two rabbis charged $10,000 for a tribunal
ruling that would allow the use of violence against the men and $50,000 to hire
people to kidnap and torture the men. These two rabbis were caught due to a
federal sting operation. An undercover female FBI agent had reached out to
Rabbi Epstein and expressed that she wanted a divorce and had described her husband as a
businessman in South America, who had refused to give her a get. Rabbi
Epstein urged her to have her husband travel to New Jersey; subsequently, Rabbi
Epstein and Rabbi Wolmark organized their own rabbinical court to issue a
religious order that would authorize the use of violence to obtain a forced get. Eight of
Rabbi Epstein’s associates met at a New Jersey warehouse where they had
finalized the kidnapping plan and the FBI agents moved in to arrest the group.
This makes me question whether it
is Jewish tradition to conduct this kind of act to obtain a divorce.
After some online research, I came across an article in The Jewish DailyForward where it explains what possible resolutions have emerged in rabbinical courts that could be used to obtain a get. Shockingly, a rabbinical court can in fact
authorize the use of violent force against a husband. It is unimaginable that a
husband would cruelly leave his wife trapped in a nonfunctional marriage and therefore it
is believed that the use of force could serve as a medium to free the husband’s
inner desire to do the right thing and convince him to grant his wife a get. The
use of violence and forced coercion could protect some of the community’s
vulnerable members, such as these wives. However many believe that these acts
of violence and torture not only violates United States law but also Jewish
Law. Any rabbinical court decree that is secured with acts of bribery would be
considered invalid; violence visited on a husband pursuant to such a tainted decree
would only induce him to grant an invalid divorce. Ultimately, the use of
violence involves the extortion of money from people it was meant to protect, and
also leads to illegal brutality and attracts questions of religion validity. Do
you think this is enough religious evidence to justify the use of violent
torture to grant a divorce? Is there any compelling state interest to intervene
in this resolution?
This sparked my curiosity even further and I
looked into other possible resolutions that have been used in the Jewish
community. This particular incentive embraces the use of a contract opposed to
coercion. The Beth Din of America, which is one of America’s most prominent
rabbinical court took the initiative and drafted a prenuptial agreement that
could be used within the Jewish community. This prenuptial agreement would
require the husband to provide his wife with a daily support payment of $150
for each day the two no longer live together. Some believe that this agreement is a
successful alternative to granting gets because it navigates a variety of
legal complexities. The daily payment simply continues the husband’s
obligation to support his wife and therefore cannot be seen as financial coercion. The
prenuptial agreement does not require the husband to grant a religious divorce
but only to make payments if he fails to do so, thereby enabling courts in the
United States to enforce the agreement without violating constitutional
prohibitions.
In Connecticut, this past January
the court enforced this “Jewish prenup” above constitutional objections, noting
that the terms of the agreement did not undermine the separation of church and
state. In Light v. Light, Rachel Light sued in Connecticut Supreme Court saying
that the couple had separated years earlier but that Eban Light had refused to
grant her a get. Rachel Light asked the court to enforce the provision in the
prenup ordering her husband to pay her a sum for each day he refused to grant
the get. Eban Light argued that the prenup is a religious matter and
therefore is unconstitutional for a secular court to enforce the contract. Judge
Gould found that enforcing the prenup was no different from enforcing a secular
contract and cited Odatalla v. Odatalla where a New Jersey court enforced an
Islamic mahr agreement that had been signed in Iran. And in Avitzur v. Avitzur,
the New York Court of Appeals ruled that it is constitutional for a secular
court to enforce a ketubah, or marriage contract, to prevent an agunot. Judge
Gould treated this Orthodox prenup in the same routine we would have treated
any other secular prenuptial contract.
In this case I would have to agree
with Eban Light that this is a religious contract and therefore should not be
interfered by a secular court. By the court already deciding on this case, it
creates an entanglement because a court is developing and establishing a ruling
based on a religious matter. Since the court ruled that Eban Light must pay his
wife until he grants the get, the court is validating this religious
prenuptial agreement that was created by a religious institution—Beth Din of
America, therefore creating a preference to address religious matters not
maintaining a separation of church and state and this why I strongly believe
that rabbinical courts should address the enforcement of these prenuptial
agreements not "secular" state courts.Would you say the same?
Do you believe that the use of
violent force is justified as a traditional religious practice used in obtaining a get and
therefore the state/federal government should not interfere and allow such actions to occur? In your opinion, is it constitutional for a state court to enforce the "Jewish Prenup"? Is there any compelling
state interest to intervene with both these resolutions?
Judaism is a religion deeply rooted in history and tradition. However, I do believe that the state has a compelling interest and, thus, should stop the violence. The Jewish people have their own laws and lifestyle that they have the right to abide by until they violate the civil rights of others. Religious communities have the right to function within their own boundaries, but are not permitted to infringe upon the rights of other people, including their own members.
ReplyDeleteI think it is constitutional for the court to enforce the "Jewish Prenup" and that there is compelling state interest to intervene. The government has a compelling state interest in protecting contracts, whether they are religious or not.
ReplyDeleteThe violence is trickier. I understand that it is part of the Jewish tradition but in this case, there is also compelling state interest to diffuse/oppose violent actions. I think the state has to intervene.
I believe the state has to intervene into this situation because of the e high intense violence. There is a compelling state interest against torture and kidnapping, I'm pretty sure there is. This is a issue in the Jewish tradition, but when kidnapping and torture comes into play the state has no choice but to intervene. Those rabbis should have went about the situation a different way before breaking laws to make a statement.
ReplyDeleteIn this post, are these hasidic Jews? I'm only asking because of the conversation we had in class the other day stating that these hasidic communities are pretty much autonomous and rely on their own court systems to avoid the government possibly infringing on their rights. In this case, I agree with the other commenters and I do believe there is a compelling state interest for the government to act. If a woman feels trapped in her marriage and is publicly stating that and demanding help, I think the state should definitely intervene to preserve human rights and happiness. In addition, the state also has a responsibility to step in and prevent dangerous acts of violence. If this matter can be taken to civil courts and decided by the government, that is much more favorable than beating someone until they "choose" to change their mind.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Cori completely. The state should enforce the prenup because it is a contract, religious or not. The violence on the other hand needs to be stopped. There is obviously a compelling state interest in stopping violence between people. One must also consider that allowing this violence could start the slippery slope leading to human sacrifice so the correct action would be to end the violence quickly.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the state definitely has the right to intervene with these issues of violence. I understand that the more conservative and formative Jewish sects prefer to be more of a isolated society, and handle issues how they see fit; however, they are still American citizens and still have to abide by the federal laws. I do think that the Prenup would be a step in the right direction in protecting the rights of the minorities involved.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Liz that the state has a compelling state interest. I'm all for free exercise until it starts to infringe about the civil liberties or safety of others. I think it's complicated because the controversy is within a single tradition, but I still think the state has an interest in protecting people even from members of their own religious community.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the previous commenters, the state has the right and should enforce these contracts. Marriage, no matter the religion, is a mixing of church and state, and therefore any and all related contracts should be seen as available for the state to intervene on.
ReplyDeleteInterestingly, there are some things for which a woman can get a Get without the husband's permission, such as if he cannot "preform his marital duties".
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