August 7, 2007

The following new Knesset laws have been recently enacted following initiatives from the NIF family:

Tough Sanctions Against Those Who Refuse to Grant a Divorce: A new law passed in the Knesset last week gives rabbinical courts wider powers in compelling a person to grant a divorce to their spouse. The rabbinical courts will now be able to impound the assets of husbands who refuse to grant their wife a divorce.

"While we welcome this new law," explained Shira Ben Sasson Furstenberg, SHATIL's Pluralism Project Coordinator, "the rabbinical courts already had sanctions at their disposal, such as preventing people from leaving the country or suspending their driving and professional licenses, and they have been reluctant to use their powers."

Ben Sasson Furstenberg places more hope in a proposed law currently being debated in the Knesset, which will entitle wives to divide up all the marital assets, even without receiving a get (Jewish divorce). Presently, assets can only be divided by the civil courts after the rabbinical courts grant a get, thus making women vulnerable to blackmail. "Many husbands will only agree to a get if the wife relinquishes all or most of her financial entitlements," says Ben Sasson Furstenberg.

Last month NIF News reported on a highly successful celebrity event staged by NIF grantee International Coalition for Agunah Rights (ICAR), which raised public awareness about the problem of agunot (women whose husbands refuse to grant them a divorce). Read the story here.

Solar Water Heaters in Public Housing: All public housing companies must install solar water heaters following a new Knesset law initiated by former NIF grantee Yedid: The Association for Community Empowerment. At present, public housing companies, which rent accommodations to the country's poorest sectors, only install electric boilers to warm water. This system costs tenants more than they can afford each month in electricity bills. The new arrangement means that tenants will receive free hot water for most of the year from a renewable energy source, which is also more environmentally friendly.