Religious Women Speak Out on the Plight of Get Refusal in Israel

A panel discussion featuring prominent religious women addressed the issue of get refusal, a situation where women are denied a religious divorce in Jewish law, leaving them unable to remarry. Participants included Dr. Aliza Lavi, a former Knesset member and public advocate who has led significant legislation on rabbinical courts and the struggle for agunot and get-refused women; Ella Skat, CEO of the Metirut Association supporting these women; Meital Araki, a software engineer and activist who personally experienced get refusal for years; and Ayelet Boker, a naturopath and singer-songwriter who shared her complex near-agunot experience.

The conversation distinguished between get refusal and agunot cases, highlighting the emotional, economic, familial, and social distress caused by women being forced to remain married against their will. The panelists shared deeply moving personal stories, giving voice to a phenomenon often hidden behind closed doors. Dr. Lavi lamented the near disappearance of this issue from the public and political agenda, noting that it once received more attention in the Knesset but now lacks clear leadership despite its importance to women's freedom, justice, religious law, family, and society.

A key call from the panel was for rabbinical judges and the religious establishment to show greater halachic courage, as exemplified by the late Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, who sought solutions rather than leaving women in uncertainty. The discussion emphasized the need to utilize existing halachic tools, prenuptial agreements, and communal responsibility to prevent and address these cases. The panel also stressed that get refusal is not solely a religious sector issue, as secular women married under Jewish law can face similar challenges, affecting all of Israeli society.

The discussion was described as compelling, painful, and essential, with a message that every woman and man should hear about this ongoing struggle affecting the future of families and the nation.