Additional justification for Rav Schachter's attack on the Krauss Beis Din for Agunos

 

          Five Towns Jewish Times by Rabbi Yair Hoffman

Last week, the Five Towns Jewish Times ran an article about the unfortunate dilemma of agunos. A number of points were made in the article. One point was that Rav Hershel Schachter, a leading halachicposek and a champion of the rights of agunos, had voiced serious dissent against what he sees as radically innovative methods propounded by the International Beis Din established by Rabbi Simcha Krauss.

The approach, in essence, creates annulments by unilaterally dissolving marriages by a light investigation where the three members of the beisdin determine that there were never valid witnesses in the first place.

This author further pointed out that ultimately the “annulment approach” to resolving the agunah crisis would both create pariah status for the descendants of those who received IBD annulments as well as cause a marriage rift in Orthodox Judaism. I presented the argument that we must certainly address the agunah crisis, but not at this double cost of making these young women and their children pariahs and of causing a rift within KlalYisrael where people will not marry into them.

Update

Since then, the Five Towns Jewish Times has obtained specific rulings that have emanated from the IBD. It seems that the IBD has thus far issued annulments to seven women. The 5TJT has seen the alleged arguments for three of these rulings. Essentially, the IBD views videotapes of the weddings and seeing no witnesses standing in the front, assumes that there were no previously specified witnesses in the audience and thus annuls the marriages. They also assume incompetence on behalf of the officiating rabbi, an assumption that is, at best, halachically questionable.

Initially, the IBD claimed that they would have full transparency in regard to all their annulments. Unfortunately, the rulings were never made public, even though a full seven annulments have been issued. Only after pressure has some of the information been released.

Further clarifications have also revealed that Rav Zalman Nechemiah Goldberg had never backed the IBD initiative. Previously it was reported that he had initially supported the idea but backed away. It seems that this is entirely incorrect. Inquiries have revealed that Rav Goldberg had never backed the IBD initiative in any manner.[...]