Family Law — Jerusalem
Marriage Annulment in Israel
When and How
Civil nullity and rabbinical annulment are two distinct legal routes for declaring a marriage void in Israel — each with different grounds, procedures, and consequences. Adv. Liron Elmaliach advises clients on which route, if any, is available in their situation.
In most countries the concept of marriage annulment is familiar: a court declares that a marriage never legally existed. In Israel, the picture is more complex because family law is governed partly by civil legislation and partly by religious law — and the two systems operate alongside each other, sometimes in tension.
The civil route — through the Family Court — applies to marriages that are void or voidable under Israeli statute: bigamous marriages, marriages involving minors below the legal age, marriages between persons in a prohibited degree of relationship, and marriages procured by fraud or coercion. The rabbinical route — a psak beit din — is reserved for extreme cases, most often linked to get refusal, and is rare and difficult to obtain.
Because the consequences — for personal status, for children, and for the right to remarry — can be severe and permanent, no decision about annulment should be taken without experienced legal counsel.
Civil Annulment — Void and Voidable Marriages
Israeli law distinguishes between a marriage that is void from the outset (בטל מעיקרו) — such as a bigamous marriage, a marriage between close relatives in a prohibited degree of relationship, or a marriage involving a minor — and a marriage that is voidable (ניתן לביטול), meaning it was technically formed but can be set aside by court order because of fraud, misrepresentation, or coercion.
A void marriage produces no legal effects and does not require a court order to cease to exist — but a declaratory judgment from the Family Court is usually sought in practice to establish the parties' status officially. A voidable marriage remains in force until the injured party applies to the Family Court and the court sets it aside.
Grounds that have been recognized in Family Court proceedings include: concealment of an existing prior marriage (bigamy), concealment of a serious illness that fundamentally affected the decision to marry, false representation of identity or religion, and marriages contracted under physical or psychological duress. Each case turns on its specific facts and the nature of the deception or coercion involved.
Rabbinical Annulment — Psak Beit Din and Get Refusal
A rabbinical annulment — sometimes referred to as a gett mevurrar or a formal declaration by the rabbinical court that a marriage was void under Jewish law (halacha) — is an exceptionally rare remedy. The rabbinical court has the authority, in extreme circumstances, to declare that a kiddushin (religious betrothal) was defective and therefore never took legal effect under halacha.
The most significant context in which this remedy arises is prolonged and unjustified get refusal: where a husband refuses to grant his wife a religious divorce (get) for many years, causing severe hardship, some rabbinical courts have in extreme cases been willing to examine whether grounds exist to declare the original marriage void. This is not a standard or readily available remedy — the conditions are stringent and the rabbinical authorities are cautious about exercising this power.
The implications of a rabbinical annulment for the parties' personal religious status — including whether children of the marriage bear any stigma — depend on the specific rabbinical ruling and are matters of halachic dispute. Obtaining competent rabbinical and legal representation simultaneously is essential for anyone exploring this route.
Frequently Asked Questions — Marriage Annulment in Israel
Answers to the most common questions about annulment and nullity of marriage in Israel
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Jerusalem · Family Law · Marriage and Divorce