Rabbinical Court · Sanctions · Civil Claims · Agunah
Get Refusal in Israel —
Tools Available When a Husband Refuses
When a husband refuses to grant a get, the law provides powerful remedies — from travel bans and account freezes to imprisonment and civil damages. Adv. Liron Elmaliach works on all fronts simultaneously to end the refusal as quickly as possible.
Get refusal is one of the most painful situations a woman can face in Israeli family law. Because Jewish law requires the husband to hand the get willingly, a husband who refuses holds significant power — and the wife can remain legally bound for months or years while her life is put on hold.
Israeli law has responded with a range of tools: the Rabbinical Court can impose escalating sanctions, the Family Court can link civil proceedings to create financial pressure, and the civil courts can award damages for emotional harm. Used together, these remedies often succeed in breaking the deadlock.
Adv. Liron Yitzhak Elmaliach has extensive experience representing women in get refusal cases — combining Rabbinical Court advocacy, civil claims, and mediation to reach the fastest possible resolution.
Rabbinical Court Tools Against Get Refusal
The first and most important step is obtaining a persuasion judgement (פסק כפייה) — a Rabbinical Court ruling that the husband is obligated to give the get. Once that ruling is in place, the court can activate a full package of sanctions under the Rabbinical Courts Law (Enforcement of Divorce Judgments) 1995:
- Passport revocation — the husband cannot leave Israel until the get is given.
- Driving licence suspension — immediate impact on daily life and employment.
- Bank account and credit card freeze — restricts financial activity.
- Business and professional licence restrictions — can affect self-employed individuals.
- Public declaration as a meagen — community and social consequences.
- Contempt of court and imprisonment — used when other measures have failed.
The strategy for which combination of sanctions to pursue — and in which order — depends on the specific circumstances: what motivates the husband, what assets and activities he values most, and whether there are underlying disputes about property or children that can be resolved to remove the incentive for refusal.
Civil Claims Against a Get Refuser
Israeli civil courts have increasingly recognised that deliberate get refusal — causing the wife years of emotional distress, preventing remarriage, and damaging her social and financial standing — constitutes a civil tort. Claims have been brought under the Torts Ordinance (negligence, intentional harm) and have resulted in awards of hundreds of thousands of shekels in some cases.
A civil damages claim runs in parallel with the Rabbinical Court proceedings and creates additional financial pressure on the refuser. The prospect of a large damages award can change the calculus — particularly when sanctions alone have not been sufficient.
The Family Court can also link the outcome of property and custody disputes to the get proceeding — structuring settlements in a way that makes continued refusal economically irrational. This requires an attorney who is fluent in both Rabbinical Court and Family Court procedure simultaneously.
Frequently Asked Questions — Get Refusal
Everything you need to know about get refusal and your legal options in Israel
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Rabbinical Court · Civil Claims · Mediation · Agunah Support