"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.
