"Spouse" Abuse- After 45 Years of Marriage, Widow Not Entitled to Inheritance

Earlier this month, in the case of In Re: YA, the Tel Aviv Family Court, Judge Shifra Glick, ruled that the widow, C.A., was not entitled to inherit her husband, Y.A.'s estate even though they had been married for 45 years.

The court based its decision on its interpretation of the word "בן זוג- spouse" in the Succession Law-1965 and the purpose of the inheritance law.

Man Gets Life Sentence for Refusing to Give His Wife a Divorce

In the past we have discussed some of the details of the process of Jewish divorce an recalcitrant husbands and wives (see here). The JPost reports that the rabbinical court has recently imposed a life sentence on a man for refusing to give his wife a gett or bill of divorce.

In the hearing in November, details of which have only now been released, the panel of rabbinical judges – headed by rabbinical supreme court president Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger – ruled against Gorodetzki. In a creative interpretation of the law, the judges ruled that it is Gorodetzki himself who is restricting his own freedom, as well as that of his wife, and that he holds the keys to his personal liberty.

“If the appellant is released from prison before he has divorced his wife, she will remain an agunah (a woman bound to her husband) for ever… Anyone who allows this would be considered as if they had shed her blood,” Metzger said during the hearing.

“The keys to your release are in your own hands… through the fulfillment of your obligations as a Jew. Release your wife and then you will receive your freedom,” Metzger told him.