An unusual divorce law in Israel has left an Australian father of two unable to leave the country for almost 8,000 years following a child support claim filed by his ex-wife.
Noam Huppert, a 44-year-old foreign national of Australia, moved to Israel in 2012 in order to be closer to his family.
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View of the District Court in the southern city of Be'er Sheva, September 8, 2013
(Photo: Flash90)
His ex-wife then filed a stay-of-exit order against him, prohibiting Huppert from leaving the country for any reason until he pays “future debt,” from child support payments, which amounted to $3.34 million in 2013.
Until the father pays the total amount, he is banned from exiting the country before December 31, 9999, with no potential for work or vacation exemptions.
“Since 2013, I am locked in Israel,” Huppert explained.
The father is thought to be one of many foreign nationals stuck in the country due to the divorce law.
He said that other Australian citizens like himself are “persecuted by the Israeli ‘justice’ system only because they were married to Israeli women,” according to News.com.au.
British author Marianne Azizi, an activist promoting awareness of the situation, estimated that “hundreds” of Australians could be stranded abroad in such cases.
“This is a highly guarded secret,” Azizi said, News.com.au reported.
“If other foreign nationals are similar, I could guess hundreds (of Australians) are there,” she added.