Temple Sinai’s Israel Education Committee Zoom Presentation 
Family Law in Israel – Civil and Religious
Wednesday, March 9th at 7:00 pm
with Dr. Ram Rivlin

Please register here in advance for this meeting.

Israeli family law is notoriously unique: it contains two parallel legal systems, in terms of both substantive law and jurisdiction. One is civil, applies equally to all citizens of the state, and originates in acts of the Israeli parliament. The second is a religious system and applies to citizens according to their communal-religious affiliation (be it Jewish, Christian, Muslim, or Druze). 

Consequently, most citizens find themselves subjected to at least two systems of laws, and different norms as expressed by different courts. These two systems reflect conflicting views on significant matters of family law, and represent opposing sides of the ideological spectrum from conservative to progressive.  

Moreover, the jurisdictional divide between religious and secular family law is not a simple allocation of discrete issues to one or another system. Instead, both systems may overlap in the adjudication of the same issues. Within this complex regime, the competing ideologies and institutions constantly attempt to expand their influence within a highly debated realm. 

The story of Israeli Family Law is therefore the story of the complex makeup of Israeli society.

Dr. Ram Rivlin is a senior lecturer in the Faculty of Law at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He writes and teaches primarily on theoretical and practical aspects of family law, including contexts in which family law meets private and commercial law, and the interaction between law and religion; and currently spending his sabbatical in the School of Law at UC Berkeley. He writes and teaches Family Law, Succession and Estate Planning, Law & Religion.

Dr. Rivlin graduated from Hebrew University, Faculty of Law:  LL.D. (2011), LL.M (2004), and LL.B (Law and Philosophy, 2002)

For reference only, an excellent Israeli movie ‘GETT: THE TRIAL OF VIVIANE AMSALEM’ 2014, portrays the tormented life of an agunah (עגונה) literally "anchored" or "chained" woman who is stuck in her religious marriage as determined by Jewish law; either her husband left, disappeared, is a soldier missing in action, or the husband refuses, or is unable, to grant her a divorce, a Gett. 

"...a peek at the archaic, ridiculously unfair customs of a medieval court system designed specifically to disfavor the plight and role of woman." Film critic Nicholas Bell, July 18, 2019.

International Agunah Day calling attention to the plight of women whose husbands are unable or unwilling to grant them a Gett is marked on Taanit Esther, on the eve of Purim. 

This program was made possible with the help of American Friends of the Hebrew University, Pacific Northwest Region.