The Family Court has refused an application by an Orthodox Jewish husband to force his wife to grant him a Jewish divorce, known as a “gett’, saying the Constitution forbids it.
The man, who cannot be named but is known in court records as Mr Idelsohn, was described in court documents as “a very religious man who each day devotes many hours to religious observance and study”.
Such is the “extent of his religious observance” he hasn’t been able to work more than part-time, and mainly for his community. Together with his wife, he has four children, whose care has also mainly fallen to her. His wife also cared for his parents, and worked full-time to help support the family, while he pursued his Talmudic studies.
After 15 years of marriage, the husband agreed to divorce his wife under Australian law, but he also wanted the Family Court to withhold money from the property settlement until his wife had attended the Beth Din, or religious court in Sydney, “to grant her husband a Jewish Bill of Divorcement, or gett”.
Read the full article by Carol Overington at The Australian (subscription only).