Agunot Organizations

Why We Must Divorce the "Agunot" Organizations

A number of well funded and publicized organizations are active which claim to be assisting women who are allegedly "agunot". Most of these organizations are located in the New York City area, and claim to be operating under the supervision of "Orthodox" rabbis.

Voodoo Judaism

Marching along the path of their Reform Jewish allies, the "Orthodox" agunot organizations also present a vulgar and distorted feminist agenda as Judaism. But the casual Jewish observer is more likely to be led astray by the "Orthodox" agunot organizations which conceal their anti-halachic and anti-male agenda beneath a thin veneer of distorted halachic terminologies and concepts. The motto of these "agunot" organizations should really be "feminism uber alles".

There is no question that a very small number of authentic agunos exist. These women certainly deserve community support, as long as such assistance is supervised by non-feminist, expert rabbinic authorities who strictly complies with traditional halacha. The fact that a small number of authentic agunos may exist does not justify the absurd demagogic claims by agunah organizations of thousands of alleged agunos.

LBYI ( www.lbyi.org ) is one of the major "agunah" organizations. It is well organized and receives continuous prominent and favorable publicity in the modern Orthodox and secular Jewish media. LBYI has issued "standards" for Batei Din which they are attempting to have enforced in all Beis Dins in the world. These standards appear to contradict the Shulchan Aruch in a number of places, and appear to be seriously undermining the traditional halachic rights of Jewish men. For example: "In all divorce proceedings, the GET will be given as the first item of business." This practice is in clear contradiction to the Shulchan Aruch in Evan HaEzer which requires all disputes to be resolved before a GET is performed. Another LBYI standard: "No Heter Meah Rabbanim will be issued when the wife is prepared to accept a GET". This standard also contradicts traditional halachic standards which allow a husband to obtain a heter under various circumstances independent of whether the wife is prepared to accept a GET. For example, a kosher GET cannot be provided to a wife who insists on continuing to litigate in civil court. In such a case the husband may very well be entitled to a heter.

Another prominent "agunah" organization is ORA, the Organization for the Resolution of Agunot. For quite some time, on the home page of ORA's web site www.getora.com, it stated that "An agunah is a woman whose husband refuses to grant her a Jewish divorce upon request." There appears to be no source in HALACHA which can validate this fantastic claim. This writer consulted with a number of highly learned, senior rabbis, who specialize in Jewish divorce law. None of the rabbis we consulted were able to cite any source for ORA's definition of an "agunah" in any Jewish law texts. At least one learned rabbi this writer spoke with characterized ORA's definition of an "agunah" as being apikorsos.

Coerced GITTIN

The children of a women who remarries and gives birth after obtaining a halachically questionable GET may have the status of safek mamzerim. This status is extremely tragic as these safek mamzerim will be unable to marry any Jews, whether kosher Jews or mamzerim. The full extent of this tragedy is still not apparent to the Orthodox community.

This writer has spoken with a number of Jewish men who alleged they or their families were subjected to aggressive public demonstrations by AGUNOT activists, despite the fact they were not "chayav l'garesh", ie halachically obligated to provide their wives a GET. All the major Ashkenazi halachic authorities forbid even passively ostracizing a husband to pressure him to divorce his wife. See Shach-end of Gevuras Anoshim, Vilna Gaon EH 154:67, Ramo in Darchei Moshe 154:15, etc. The Chazon Ish in EH 108:12 quotes Rabbi Yoseh Caro, author of the Shulchan Aruch, who in turn quotes the Rashbo: "It is forbidden to pressure the husband (into giving a GET) by shaming him and causing him anguish."

In some cases the "pressure" goes far beyond shaming the husband. According to all major halachic authorities, financial damages and coercion will invalidate a GET. This writer spoke to one husband whose employer was subjected to aggressive demonstrations by a major "agunah" organization in the NY area, allegedly resulting in the termination of his employment. The husband was subjected to harassment despite the fact he was prepared to appear before a kosher Bais Din. Another husband claimed that a major agunah organization subjected his elderly and infirm parents to aggressive public demonstrations. And there are many other reliable reports of Jewish husbands being subjected to various forms of vicious harassment resulting in coerced and invalid Gittin.

Can the modern "Orthodox" rabbis who support the agunah organizations actually claim a valid halachic source which allows shaming husbands and causing them financial damages, when these husbands are are not obligated to divorce their wives?

This writer does not believe such a halachic source exists, and therefore any Gittin provided by these husbands may very well be halachically invalid.

Lashon Horah, Motsi Shem Rah and Public Shaming

Torah law considers public humiliation to be akin to murder. The Torah prohibitions of Lashon Horah and Motsi Shem Rah are well known. Not long ago a brutally defamatory web site was set up whose URL address contained the name of a Jewish husband involved in a divorce process. The website contained some of the most vicious slander and insults against the husband that the modern Orthodox feminists can dish out. The site has since been removed. At one point a link to the defamatory web site was apparently contained on a major "agunah" organization's web site. That "agunah" organization" also lists the names of many modern Orthodox rabbis who allegedly endorse the organization.

Where do the pro-agunah feminist "rabbis" find halachic sources for publicly shaming and spreading MOTSI SHEM RAH against decent Jewish men?

Fraudulent Seruvim

One weapon being wielded against Jewish husbands on a more frequent basis is the publication of fraudulent and invalid seruvim. An unsuspecting Jewish public is not aware of the extent of invalid seruv abuses. The "agunah" organizations eagerly publicize these so-called seruvim in an attempt to create an appearance of halachic legitimacy to their coercion and harassment practices against Jewish husbands. In a number of cases, fraudulent seruvim are being relied upon to impose community sanctions and harass Jewish men. These seruvim may lack the name, address, and phone number of a real Bais Din, or else were invalid because the husband was willing to appear before another Bais Din, or else were invalid because the wife was in civil court at the time of the seruv.

In Chapter 32 of MISHPATIM-KEHILCHATAM it describes the great sin of providing unjustified seruvim, and it quotes the Shulchan Aruch that those who falsely ostracize other Jews deserve to be ostracized themselves.

OZER L'MOSRIM

The prohibition against mesirah, ie informing on fellow Jews, is one of the severest in the Torah, for which a Jew loses their "chelek in olam habah". (See Choshen Mishpat 388). A Kol Koreh signed by many Gadolei Torah Kol Koreh Mesirah emphasized not only the prohibition of mesirah, by also emphasized that Jews are obligated to help those Jews who have been mosered. According to the Kol Koreh - KKL, those acting in concert with mosrim also have the DIN of mosrim. After some investigation, this writer believes that various agunah organizations are assisting women who have utilized civil courts and orders of protection in violation of halacha. These women and their supporters may therefore have the status of mosrim.

Dividing the Jewish Nation

The time is overdue for a database to be created of Gittin which were obtained by women who utilized the services of the "agunah" organizations. Jewish men who meet such women must very carefully investigate the circumstances under which their Gittin were received.

This writer has investigated a number of the so-called agunot organizations, and not one of them appears to have a haskama, ie a rabbinic endorsement, from a halachic authority whose rulings on Gittin matters are widely accepted among Chareidi Jews. Almost all the rabbis allegedly endorsing these agunah organizations are connected with modern Orthodoxy. The practical effect of this situation is that Jewish women who utilize the agunot organizations may obtain Gittin which are considered pasul, ie invalid by a majority of Chareidi halachic authorities.

Any children these women have with a new husband might then be considered safek mamzerim, ie possibly illegitimate by a majority of Chareidi halachic authorities. This situation can only lead to the division of Klal Yisrael into two camps who will be unable to marry each other. The bitter fruits of the "agunah" organizations may be harvested by a new generation of Jews who have the status of safek mamzerim, and are therefore prohibited from marrying anyone, including definite mamzerim.

Its time for the Orthodox Jewish community to divorce the "agunah" organizations. The Orthodox community should ostracize, renounce, and withdraw all support of these so-called "agunah" organizations to prevent further tragedies from being brought upon the Jewish community.

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