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Rabbis to discuss Agunot crisis
First Conference of Global Rabbinic Task Force on Agunot to be hosted by Israel's Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar, International Council of Jewish Women
Ynetnews
In response to the growing concerns about Agunot and the pressing need for international cooperation, Israel
Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar has invited 50 leading Rabbis and the heads of the Batei Din (Rabbinical Courts) of 15 countries to a closed-door conference in November.
This first Conference of the Global Rabbinic Task Force on Agunot is being organized by the Israel Rabbinical Courts in conjunction with the International Council of Jewish Women (ICJW), which represents 52 Jewish women’s organizations around the world.
As President of the Rabbinical Courts in Israel, Rabbi Shlomo Amar takes the problem of Agunot very seriously and is keen to work with Rabbis from around the world to coordinate solutions to help women who are, according to Jewish law, unable to remarry.
The two-day conference will discuss how halacha (Jewish law) deals with Agunot, and financial, religious and economic sanctions that can be imposed on recalcitrant husbands, including international cooperation towards the issuing of arrest warrants by Israel’s civil courts.
The International Council of Jewish Women (ICJW) has been active in the campaign for the rights of Agunot since the 1950s, arranging petitions and meetings with Rabbis and Chief Rabbis around the world. Today, the organization is seeking to increase its presence and influence on key issues, including Agunot.
ICJW President Leah Aharonov says: “This Conference represents the start of a new level of activity by our members, and we hope that it will result in real solutions being implemented. Although we are a pluralistic organization representing women from all religious affiliations, we have always sought a solution within the framework of Jewish law so that Agunot from all backgrounds can be freed from the chains of their dead marriages.”
The conference will be held in Jerusalem on November 7th and 8th, 2006 at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs (JCPA). The JCPA, together with the ICJW, co-sponsors the International Jewish Women’s Rights Project, whose director, Sharon Shenhav, has been instrumental in convening the Conference.
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