2008: Divorces cross 10,000 threshold
Trend of increase in separations continues in 2008, with 5% rise in divorces across country. Tel Aviv holds record number of split-ups: 817 in past year
The number of divorces in Israel rose by 5% in 2008 compared to the previous year, and stood at 10,225, the Rabbinical Courts' Managing Committee reported Sunday.
According to the report, this figure continues the steady trend of increase in divorces that started in 2003.
The sharpest rise in divorces among the larger cities was registered in Modiin, where the number of married couples choosing to separate was 24% higher compared to last year. Among smaller cities, Hod Hasharon stood out with a 31% surge in divorces.
Tel Aviv holds the record number of split-ups in 2008, with 817 divorces, which represent a 7% increase compared to 2008.
An overall of 8,080 divorce files were opened last year. Rabbinic judges imposed sanctions, economic or otherwise, on 73 divorce-refusers and issued 20 arrest warrants for recalcitrant husbands. A total of 130 women were granted a divorce despite their spouse's refusal.
Rabbi Eliyahu Ben-Dahan, the rabbinical courts' director-general, said that there were currently 20 women in Israel who are agunot - bound by marriage to a missing husband, after their husbands fled the country. Another 180 women have been refused a divorce by their husband and are awaiting a court ruling on their matter.
