Jerusalem Family Court Rules for Mother Against Abusive Husband Who Cut Contact and Stopped Child Support
The Jerusalem Family Court recently ruled in favor of a mother of five whose estranged husband disappeared from their lives at the start of their divorce proceedings in 2024. The husband severed all contact with his children and ceased paying child support. Judge Moshe Brown accepted most of the mother's financial claims, including allowing her to retain her pension funds exclusively.
The woman testified that her husband, who holds various certificates in coaching, mediation, rabbinical claims, and mortgage consulting, acted deceitfully by withdrawing tens of thousands of shekels from their joint account and selling their cars without her knowledge, pocketing the proceeds. She also accused him of emotional abuse, presenting a recording where he called her derogatory names and declared, "I am the king and you are the king's servant." She described the hardship of raising five children alone, often waking at 4 a.m. to manage her busy day.
Her attorney, Maya Reshel Arbel, argued that given these circumstances, the husband should be ordered to pay child support of 13,645 shekels monthly and that an unequal division of property in her favor was justified. The court partially granted the child support claim, setting payments starting at about 8,700 shekels from July 2024, gradually decreasing as the children age. The court fully accepted the request for an unequal property division, noting the mother’s continuous hard work and sole financial responsibility despite earning a substantial gross monthly salary of approximately 75,000 shekels.
The ruling specified that each party would retain exclusive ownership of their social and pension rights without any balancing payments. Judge Brown also criticized the husband for showing contempt toward the court, his lawyer, his estranged wife, and their children by abandoning the legal process without warning or justification. He was ordered to pay 40,000 shekels in legal fees to his ex-wife. The case highlights the court’s stance on protecting the financial and emotional well-being of a mother left to raise children alone amid spousal abandonment and abuse.
