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10 Teves 5765 - December 22, 2004 | Mordecai Plaut, director Published Weekly
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NEWS
MK Rabbi Ravitz Calls on MK Pines Not to Interfere With Beis Din

By Eliezer Rauchberger

"MK Pines has no understanding of the issue of dayanim and therefore it would be best if he were not involved in this issue. His involvement causes distortion and hatred in the public. Before entering coalition work with the chareidi parties Pines should conduct himself in a more seemly and respectable manner toward the chareidi public and religious issues in Israel," said MK Rabbi Avrohom Ravitz, a member of the Knesset Constitutional Committee, following an announcement by fellow committee member Ophir Pines saying he intends to promote a bill to appoint women to the post of dayan in the Rabbinate botei din based on a written opinion he received stating there is no reason why women should not serve as dayanim.

"I would expect a bit more humility from Pines when he speaks about halachot and dayanim," said Rabbi Ravitz, "based on the fundamental tenet one must understand the other person and the various groups that comprise the society. Therefore he should respect the Jewish worldview, of which he has no understanding."

Pines announced his intentions before a Constitutional Committee subcommittee that he heads, during a meeting to discuss data on the activity at Beit Hadin Hagadol, which has eight dayanim including the two head rabbonim, and another 12 regional botei din where a total of 89 dayanim serve.

The figures show that at all botei din in recent years with the exception of 2003 the number of cases closed every year exceeds the number of cases filed. In 2,000, for example, 77,719 cases were filed and 82,804 were closed.

The beis din in Tel Aviv is the busiest with 17,000- 19,000 new cases per year. In Haifa 11,000-12,000 cases are filed per year and 10,000-11,000 are filed in Jerusalem.

The total number of divorce cases comes to 9,500 per year.

The average wait for an initial hearing is becoming shorter. Waiting time decreased from an average of 57 days in 2000 to 41 days in 2003. In Tel Aviv the average waiting period was 46 days, it was 34 days in Jerusalem and 32 days in Haifa. In Be'er Sheva and Netanya however, the wait time was 64 days.

For subsequent hearings the wait time was 137 days in Tel Aviv, 52 days in Jerusalem, 71 days in Haifa, 98 days in Be'er Sheva, 102 days in Tzfat and 125 days in Ariel.

Of all pending cases 538 (approximately 1 percent) have been open for over ten years. Sixty-seven of these cases are divorce cases, representing 0.7 percent of the total number of divorce cases pending.

Starting in 2002 over 95 percent of the cases filed in the various botei dinim—and 88 percent of divorce cases— were closed within two years.

The average period of proceedings decreased from 312 in 2000 to 144 in 2003. In divorce cases the average period went from 575 days in 2002 to 345 days in 2003.

HaRav Nachum Frover, av beis din of the Tel Aviv Rabbinical Court, said his beis din handles an average of 10-12 cases per day and does not have an auxiliary unit at its disposal like at the secular courts for family matters. Neither does the Tel Aviv beis din have assistants or interns at judges' disposal.

 

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