For some time I wanted to write about this issue, as many of you know I try to stay away from serious issues, but after looking throughout the blog world and not finding anything on this issue I decided to take it up, because I think something needs to be said.
I was also asked some time ago by my friend Josh Ross who runs a very valuable not for profit named ORA -Organization for the Resolution of Agunot. He has asked me in the past if I would do something to get the word out about what his group does and for some reason I never got around to it.
It may not be fair, but according to halacha, a man is the one who officially ends a marriage and unfortunately this creates problems when the man does not want to give a Get for a variety of reasons. I have been told that most of the time it is for power and money and almost always to make the woman suffer. They do suffer, it is like prison, the woman cannot remarry and is stuck in her state of Aguna as long as the man pleases.
ORA- tries to pressure these men, or assholes as I would like to call them, into giving Gets. They organize protests outside the assholes place of work or residence and they try and encourage shulls to not count them in the minyan or call them up to the torah. Beat downs are not common, though (please correct me if this is wrong) I have heard that beating up the man refusing to give a Get is kosher. The final resort is usually money, which most of the time is what the person wanted.
There is a facebook club trying to pit people against Rabbi Shlomo Blumenkrantz for supporting men who have not given a Get, by trying to get them a heter me’a rabbanim- which allows the husbands to marry again without actually divorcing their wives. Facebook is facebook so I did a little research and there are a few articles detailing these issues with Rabbi Blumenkrantz- the Jewish Press, Forward and Yeshiva University newspapers all have articles which pretty much say the same thing.
I was shocked to find that few bloggers have even written up this protest Lilith Blog has an article, parsha blog has a small protest invite, Jacob has an old post pertaining to the woman who’s husband is being supported by the Rabbi who the protest was against.
I wonder why some of the larger Jewish bloggers would not write about this, they are all too ready to pounce on child molesters and other horrible situations that permeate the frum community yet it seems that this issue is dead within the blogging community. Blogs have an amazing power and far reach, my blog alone has thousands of readers a week and just imagine what would happen if people started speaking up more and more about this issue.
I find it a little odd that the only people protesting at these rallies are folks connected to Yeshiva University, and although they have have a lot of clout within the orthodox community, there is still this anti- YU sentiment amongst many of the more yeshivish and charedi people. I am sure this would change if other right wing folks would get in the mix.
My friend Josh, mentioned above has told me numerous times that the most stubborn people in the Get process are those in Monsey and Lakewood and tend to be scared of being rabble rousers in the heimishe communities. What happened to standing up for whats right, unless holding a women in chains is wrong?
Am I wrong?
In honor of all the women being held in prison- I tag all of the bloggers reading this post to write up something similar.