Nearly NIS 1 million fine for father of recalcitrant husband

The High Court of Justice has upheld a fine of NIS 5,000 a day issued by the Tel Aviv Rabbinical Court against the father of a recalcitrant husband who has refused to give his wife a divorce for more than seven years.

The rabbinical court ruled that the father caused his son’s refusal to grant a divorce. That led to the unprecedented fine against someone who is not a litigant in the divorce suit.

The father, a wealthy businessman from one of the hassidic communities in the US, initially appealed the fine to the Supreme Rabbinical Court. He then appealed the legitimacy of the ruling to the High Court of Justice, but the appeal was rejected on Tuesday.

The case involves an American couple who were on a trip to Israel some 13 years ago.

During the visit, the wife suffered a medical brain trauma, leaving her permanently disabled. Her husband abandoned her and their children in Israel, returned to the US and refused to grant a divorce.

The Tel Aviv Rabbinical Court ruled nearly seven years ago that the man was obligated to grant a divorce. He ignored the ruling.

When the rabbinical court investigated his motivation for refusing to grant the divorce, it discovered that his father, a well-known, wealthy businessman from the US haredi (ultra-Orthodox) community who has donated significantly to the Israeli haredi community, was behind his son’s recalcitrance.

When the father and his wife came to Israel for a visit in 2016, the rabbinical court issued an order banning them from leaving the country and summoned them to give testimony.

The court banned them from leaving the country and sentenced the father to 30 days imprisonment. In August 2018, it changed the penalty to a NIS 5,000 fine daily.

The total fines against the father now amount to NIS 920,000.