Mother Testifies on Daughter's Underage Wedding Amidst Police Raid

A mother, identified as Dvora, 42, from Bnei Brak, shared a harrowing account at a Knesset committee hearing about her 17-year-old daughter's wedding in Yavniel, which took place against her wishes and was interrupted by a police raid. Dvora testified that she tried to prevent the marriage, urging her daughter to wait until she was 18, and approached community figures, but to no avail. On the wedding night, she arrived in Yavniel with her younger daughter, and shortly after the bride sat down, police entered and detained both of them for questioning. The ceremony proceeded without Dvora, and her daughter became pregnant about two months later. "I did not get to escort my daughter to the chuppah," she stated, adding that her daughter has not yet informed her about the pregnancy.

Dvora detailed how her ex-husband remarried shortly after their divorce and moved to Yavniel. At 16, her daughter moved in with her father and, three months later, was engaged to a 20-year-old. She learned of the engagement through relatives, not her daughter, and the couple initially broke up after the daughter expressed discomfort with the suitor in a letter to a rabbi. However, she soon became engaged to the same individual again, without informing her mother. Dvora pleaded with her daughter to remain engaged but live at home until 18, but the wedding was set for her 17th birthday. Despite her opposition, Dvora assured her daughter of her love and support.

During the wedding, after police detained Dvora and her younger daughter, Dvora was accused of calling the police. Upon returning to Yavniel, she was ignored by her daughter and family, and the wedding ceremony continued without her. Her daughter became pregnant two months later, and Dvora only found out three months into the pregnancy through a health fund notification, as her daughter was still a minor. The mother criticized the police and welfare services for their handling of the situation, questioning the effectiveness of social workers in preventing such marriages and calling for the prosecution of those responsible.

MK Merav Cohen, chair of the Committee for the Advancement of the Status of Women, stated that this case represents the tip of the iceberg, citing a source who claimed that in Yavniel, around 80% of 9th-grade girls are married, and those who aren't are considered 'odd'. Cohen also mentioned reports of sexual abuse against young girls, suggesting a larger, harmful industry at play. She vowed to pursue all involved in this "mechanism of silence," including community leaders, educators, and wedding organizers. Cohen specifically criticized the Yavniel local council head for boycotting the committee hearing and for honoring an individual who allegedly encourages underage marriages, viewing the boycott as confirmation they are on the right track to dismantling the harmful practices.