The Be’er Sheva Magistrate’s Court sentenced a Bedouin man living in southern Israel to 12 months in prison after he was convicted of polygamy.
According to the charges filed against him in 2018, 36-year-old Moussa Azama asked a 24-year-old woman to marry him in 2017, and even signed a marriage contract with her despite being married to another woman. He then appealed to the Sharia Court in Jerusalem (which rules according to the Islamic law) in order to officiate their marriage.
Azama’s sentence marks the maximum amount of punishment given for such an offense.
Judge Ron Solkein, who presiding over the case, said that in addition to offending women's honor, and gender equality, "the essence of such offenses provide fertile ground for poverty, abuse and crime.”
“If this phenomenon would not be dealt with, it could undermine attempts to incorporate such families into modern society.”
Azama’s first wife said that he told her about his intent to marry another woman, but that her opposition had no effect on his decision – and that even if she was to protest, he would still marry another woman.
Azama claimed he divorced his first wife, but said he has a “memory issue” and could not recall when the divorce took place. He also told the court that two of his brothers were married to two women and he cannot understand why he was charged with an offense.
Israel had neglected to persecute polygamy offenses in the past 70 years, but after former attorney general Yehuda Weinstein instructed his office to enforce the law in 2017, charges were brought against offenders.
Azama’s attorney claimed that the sentence was too severe and that only 4.5% of men who were known to be polygamous were sentenced, making the ruling selective and wrong.
Polygamy is wide-spread in Israel's Bedouin community and is permitted under Islamic law, and the sentence marks an escalation in punishment for polygamy charges.
Iman Abu-Sakik, the first Bedouin man to be charged with polygamy, was sentenced to 400 hours of community service and a fine of NIS 36,000. He was later sentenced to seven months in prison following an appeal by the State Attorney in 2019.
The harshest sentencing on polygamy charges prior the Azama’s case ended with a nine month prison sentence for a 45-year-old man who claimed he married a second wife because his first wife was busy with household chores, and that he was unaware that polygamy was against the law.