Israeli Family Court Sets Divorce Separation Date After October 7 Massacre Dispute

The Family Court in Nof HaGalil recently ruled on a sensitive divorce case involving a couple whose relationship deteriorated following the October 7 massacre. The wife, whose relatives were kidnapped and murdered in the attack, claimed that she ceased sexual relations with her husband on that day and sought to establish October 7, 2023, as the official separation date affecting property division. She argued that since that date, their daughter began sleeping with her, and the husband moved to a separate living unit.

The husband contested this, asserting that the separation date should be set in January 2025, when he definitively left the marital home. He denied living separately since October 7, stating that he continued residing with his wife and daughter under the same roof for over a year afterward. Judge Mahmoud Shdafna sided with the husband, ruling that the separation date is determined by the overall circumstances, especially full economic separation, rather than merely the cessation of sexual relations.

The court noted that even if the wife’s version were true, the lack of sexual relations since the massacre did not constitute a complete breakdown of the marriage in all aspects. Evidence showed the couple continued managing their household together after October 7. Consequently, the judge set the official separation date as January 21, 2025, the day the husband left the home permanently, and ordered the wife to pay 2,500 shekels in legal fees to the husband.

The ruling clarifies that in divorce proceedings, the date of marital breakdown hinges on comprehensive factors beyond intimacy, emphasizing economic and domestic separation. The case was represented by attorneys Mor Carmi for the wife and Keren Gold Ben Yair for the husband. Family law attorney Hofit Shaked provided commentary but was not involved in the case.