Bennett supports divorced fathers
Yamina Knesset candidate Naftali Bennett took an unpopular position in a Facebook post on Saturday night, promising to take action to stop discrimination against divorced fathers in the next Knesset.
He said a divorce should result in fathers and mothers continuing to maintain a significant connection with their children, raising them and providing for them in an equal manner, without preferential treatment for one side based on their gender.
“Many fathers must fight to receive their right and obligation to be allowed to parent, and many endure a period of torment that harms everyone involved, including the fathers, mothers and children,” Bennett wrote. “This leads to an extended legal process overwhelming the courts, and unnecessary suffering for everyone. It does not have to be this way.”
Bennett lamented that current laws often fan the flames instead of decreasing conflicts.
“The goal should be shared parenting, both in raising children and supporting them, so the children will benefit from both parents, and both sides will be able to take care of their children while advancing personally and professionally,” Bennett wrote. “I believe this path, which would minimize conflict and focus more on the good of the divorced family, should guide us and should be expressed in legislation in the next Knesset.”
Bennett faced criticism for from feminists who warned that if the laws are changed, mothers would receive less child support from their ex-husbands.
The head of the Shared Parenting organization, attorney Guy Raveh, praised the post, but wrote that in the 20th Knesset, it was Bennett’s party that blocked legislation that could have helped divorced fathers.
Fathers responded to Bennett’s post that they would have voted for New Right in April but they could not, because men’s rights opponent Shuli Moalem-Refaeli was high on the list.