London Jewish court publishes ad shunning ‘get’ refuser

LONDON — In an advertisement published in the Jewish Chronicle on Friday, the London Beth Din court identified local “get” denier John Abayahoudayan and called for the community to shun him until he agrees to give his wife a Jewish divorce.

Though Rivka and John Abayahoudayan were civilly divorced in 2002, the husband has since refused to grant Rivka a get, meaning that according to Jewish law they are still married. A Jewish woman who is refused a get is called an aguna, or “chained” wife.

“We call on Mr. Abayahoudayan to release Mrs. Rivkah Abayahoudayan from the status of Agunah and allow her to move on with her life by ensuring that the Get is issued forthwith,” read the ad. “We invite people to consider whether it is appropriate for them to have social or business contacts with him until the Get is given.”

Joanne Greenaway, a lawyer and the get caseworker at the London Beth Din, wrote in a Jewish Chronicle op-ed that the advertisement was a “last resort” because of the damaging effect it could have on the individual’s reputation.

“We try hard to avoid this and bring about a resolution,” Greenaway wrote. “We urge the community to get behind these efforts to exert moral pressure on those who abuse the get process with such disregard for the lives of others.”

The issue of get refusal has been widely discussed in Israel, where there is no civil marriage and where a get is required for official recognition of a divorce. In March, a group of rabbinical and legal experts formulated a new prenuptial agreement to help prevent cases of agunot.

The marriage registration reform, spearheaded by Tzohar, an organization of Orthodox rabbis that seeks to streamline and improve rabbinic services, walks a fine line between demands to implement civil marriage practices — currently unavailable in Israel — and adherence to the stringency of Jewish law.