Judge Menachem Cohen of the Jerusalem Court for Family
Matters gave notice he would not be participating in a
gathering of Tzedek Lenashim ("Justice for Women"), an
organization that has been fighting the Rabbinate beis
din system in recent years, following an inquiry by
Yated Ne'eman.
The organization is one of many organizations working to
undermine the authority of the Rabbinate botei din and
to transfer the authority over divorce matters to the secular
courts. Tzedek Lenashim is campaigning over the problem of
husbands who refuse to give a get, but prominent
dayonim say this actually exacerbates the problem
since many women are persuaded to transfer the hearings to
secular courts, which are slowly eating away the authority of
the botei din in monetary claims and cause unwanted
red tape in divorce proceedings.
Funding for organizations like Tzedek Lenashim comes
primarily from Reform and Conservative groups abroad.
Among the guests scheduled to appear at the Tzedek Lenashim
gathering in Hod Hasharon was Judge Menachem Cohen, who
recently handed down a ruling requiring a husband who refused
to give a get pay his wife damages — a decision
that stands in contradiction to halochoh and undermines the
authority of the botei din in divorce cases.
The woman who filed the damages suit was represented by the
director of Tzedek Lenashim, who invited the judge to give a
speech on that very topic, "Damages Suits in Cases of Get
Refusal." Although judges do deliver speeches at various
events, particular on legal issues, in this instance the
invitation was akin to "belated bribery."
In the days preceding the event Yated Ne'eman
contacted the spokesperson for the court system seeking a
reply from Judge Cohen explaining how he could give a speech
on a ruling currently being appealed at the District Court
— which could be interpreted as interfering with the
appeal proceedings.
Following Yated Ne'eman's inquiry the judge canceled
his appearance at the event. "Judges, academicians and
attorneys meeting periodically at seminars, gatherings and
symposiums, even when the attorneys appear before these same
judges taking part in the gathering," said the court
spokesperson. "Nevertheless the Ethics Committee recommended
that the judge not appear before a body whose aim is to
address issues that are the subject of public controversy.
The Courts Director recommended the Judge refrain from
participating in the gathering and Judge Cohen complied with
his recommendation."
