Israeli Prenups: To Block Extortion for Consent to Religious Divorce
Prenups have been gaining popularity over the last number of years, just because more people want to work out property rights before going into marriage.
But in Israel, religious Jewish women’s organizations are actively campaigning to make prenups as universal as marriage certificates.
If that seems paradoxical, think again.
Under religious Jewish law, a wife cannot get a divorce without her husband’s consent.
Too many religious Jewish husbands refuse to give that consent, sometimes for years, sometimes forever. Sometimes out of malice, sometimes for legal leverage.
A prenup can also be the perfect vehicle for enforcing a promise to grant consent to a divorce if it is requested by the other spouse.
But many Jewish clergy in a position to encourage the use of prenups perceive it as affirmatively promoting divorce, something inconsistent with their religious values.
Read more in this Jerusalem Post article: Agunot advocates push for prenuptial agreements.
