Israeli Husband and American Wife marry. Husband and Wife have two Daughters together and live in US.
Husband and Wife divorce. Husband and Wife have shared parenting but Husband is the primary residential parent and Wife has visitation.
Husband absconds with Daughters to Israel – allegedly to evade a criminal trial in the US on charges of drug possession.
Wife sought an emergency modification of custody in the US and was successful in obtaining a modified award of sole custody of the Daughters.
Wife then filed an application for return of Daughters to the US in accordance with the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.
Husband’s response was that returning Daughters to Wife would put them at grave risk because of Wife’s abuse of drugs and alcohol and history of neglect of Daughters.
Husband further stated that Daughters preferred to live with Husband in Israel because they had more stability with him.
The presiding Israeli family court judge appointed a therapist to evaluate Daughters and met with Daughters himself.
The therapist concluded that Daughters would not be at risk with Wife in the US. The judge felt that Daughters had been brainwashed by Husband.
Accordingly, the Israeli Court ordered the return of Daughters to the US.
Read more in this Israel News article: Israeli who abducted daughters from US to return them home.