A woman from central Israel has been sentenced to 30 days in jail for refusing to accept a get, or Jewish divorce document, from her husband — an unusually rare step by a rabbinical court that typically applies such sanctions against men.
The Tel Aviv Rabbinical Court imposed the sentence after years of attempts to persuade the woman to accept the divorce, including efforts by police officers who brought the document to her home. The court said the jail term could be extended if she continues to refuse.
Under Jewish law, both parties must agree to a divorce for it to take effect. When the court determines that a marriage has irreparably broken down and a get must be given, it can impose various sanctions on the party refusing to comply, such as travel bans, asset seizures and public shaming. Imprisonment is considered a last resort.
Such measures are usually directed at men who withhold a get from their wives, effectively preventing them from remarrying under religious law. Currently, ten men are serving jail sentences in Israel for refusing to grant their wives a get, in addition to facing financial penalties and daily fines.
This case marks only the second time a woman in Israel has been jailed for refusing to accept a get. The first instance occurred in 2022.
Rabbi David Lau, Israel’s Ashkenazi chief rabbi and president of the Rabbinical Court system, issued the arrest order after the woman failed to appear for hearings over four years, ignored court rulings and evaded attempts to contact her.
The woman could not be reached for comment.