Background
Background on Jewish Divorce in Israel.
What is get refusal?
It is important to define, at the outset, the difference between sarvanut get and aginut. Agunah refers to a woman whose husband disappeared while travelling or at war, or is physically unable to write her a binding get (i.e. he is in a coma or has a mental illness), but cannot be proven deceased. An agunah is left without her husband, and thus without financial security or the communal support that marriage has historically provided women, and yet, she is halachically barred from remarrying.Any relationships she might have with other men will fall under the legal category of ni'uf - relationships between a married woman and a man, married or unmarried, who is not her husband. If she bears children from one of these relationships, they will be considered in the eyes of the halacha mamzerim, or products of an illegitimate relationship.These so-called "illegitimate children" will be prohibited from marrying Jews - "even the tenth generation" of their offspring.[1] (This decree does not apply to children of unmarried parents, nor does it apply to children of a married man and an unmarried woman, as these relationships are not prohibited in the Torah).
In contrast to the husband of an agunah, the husband of a mesurevet get has no physical impairments that would prevent him from writing a get. He is known to be alive, and his location can be pinpointed. Nonetheless, much as his wife wants to divorce him, he refuses to cooperate with her request.This circumstance can arise even if the couple lives outside of Israel and already signed civil divorce papers; unless and until the husband gives his wife a get, she is still considered eshet ish - a married woman.As such, she cannot get remarried, and her potential children from another man are considered mamzerim and barred from Jewish marriage.In Israel, where civil, non-halachic marriage does not exist, a mesurevet get continues to be considered married, and does not receive her fair allotment of the property she shares with her husband.This situation can carry on for months, even years, after the husband and wife end their relationship with no intention to resolve their issues.
Today, Israel has approximately thirty agunot and more than ten thousand mesuravot get. In many countries, a Jewish couple can obtain a civil divorce before a get has been given.In these situations, the couple is no longer married, however, until a get has been given, they are prohibited from remarrying by Orthodox standards.While the husband can civilly remarry without any halachic ramifications, the wife is all too cognizant of the fact that any children resulting from a new relationship will be considered mamzerim and, like her, will be unable to have an Orthodox Jewish marriage. Jewish couples in Israel cannot get divorced at all without a get, as executive authority regarding marriage and divorce lies in the hands of therabbinic courtsalone. Until a get is given, an Israeli Jewish couple remains married in the eyes of the law and cannot remarry, even by a civil ceremony outside of Israel.This policy applies even where there is no joint house ownership, and even when one spouse disappears before male offspring has been born (a circumstance that often merits exceptions to the rule).
[1] Deuteronomy 23:4.
Who can be affected by get refusal?
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