Two Orthodox rabbis and two others were arrested for allegedly kidnapping and beating men in order to force them to grant their wives religious Jewish divorces.The problem whereby Jewish men do not give their wives a get, and thus prevent them from remarrying, is a well-known issue in the Orthodox Jewish community. They've come up with a variety of different responses, most of which are variations on social shaming techniques. This is the first I've heard of vigilante beatings, though.
The men were arrested Wednesday night in a monthlong sting operation in which a female FBI agent posed as an Orthodox woman trying to get a religious divorce, or “get,” from her husband.
The simple solution, of course, is to allow either party to file a get. Gender egalitarianism -- is there any problem it can't solve?
Well, no, gender egalitarianism is NOT the solution. It’s my understanding that under contemporary interpretations of Jewish law, divorce requires the mutual consent of the couple. This is perfectly equitable – but still doesn’t solve the problem that arises when one party wants to split and the other one doesn’t.
ReplyDeleteEither we give people the right to divorce unilaterally, or we’re left with issues of coerced “consent.”
http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/613084/jewish/The-Agunah.htm