Jerusalem rabbinic court conditions divorce on woman not filing rape charges

The Jerusalem rabbinical court has approved a divorce settlement that included the husband’s demand that the woman not be allowed to file a police complaint for rape against the husband.

The divorce was prompted by the woman’s claims that her husband raped her and was violent toward their two children. In order to ensure she could obtain the divorce — which under traditional Jewish law must be granted by the husband — the woman agreed to withdraw her complaints.

Her representatives said she faced pressure from rabbinic court chief judge Rabbi Yosef Goldberg to agree to the stipulation.

The agreement also forces the woman to agree to move all proceedings related to alimony and custody of the children, as well as the withdrawal of financial claims against the husband for his alleged crimes, out of the civil courts to the rabbinical court.