The real Jewish treasures of World War Two

BBC   A New York Times headline summed up one view of the missing art story: "Art trove a triumph over Nazism," it announced.

I wonder. For art historians, perhaps the sheer survival of these magnificent paintings is enough. 

But reading through some of the comments online, it seemed clear that some saw the story through a very different lens - another tale of Jewish wealth and privilege, as though every Jewish family in pre-war Europe owned a Picasso or a Matisse. And as though anyone who now came forward to claim ownership was greedily depriving the public of works that rightfully belonged in museums. 

So, maybe not such a triumph over Nazism after all?

The more I read, the more I found myself thinking about my own family's history. And my own obsessive interest in finding out what had survived the war - and what had been lost.

Weiss Dodelson: Rav Dovid Feinstein pasken's agreement to arbitration means R Avraham Meir Weiss can not be considered a mesarev or me'agen

This letter from Rav Dovid Feinstein son of Rav Moshe Feinstein is a comment on the letter from Rabbi Ronald Greenwald - who was selected by both Weiss and Dodalson families to arbitrate the get. Rav Feinstein states  - that despite the disagreement of whether there was a valid seruv against R Avraham Meir Weiss - the fact that they both went to Rabbi Greenwald to arbitrate the dispute removes him from that status according to everyone. The letter originally appeared on the blog of Rabbi Yudel Shain and a number of other places on the internet. I was assured by a member of the Feinstein family that the letter is genuine. 1     Facebook     Rabbi Yehuda Shain

Weiss-Dodelson: Rabbi Weiss defends family against daughter-in-law's NY Post article

Staten Island Advance    The patriarch of a prominent Staten Island Jewish family has had enough of their dirty laundry being aired in the media.

Rabbi Yosaif Asher Weiss of Prince's Bay defended his family against accusations by his estranged daughter-in-law, Gital Dodelson, who has taken her four-year battle for a religious divorce into the court of public opinion by posting on Facebook and other social media.

"Our family is horrified by the vitriol, lies and hate that permeate Gital's article," said  Rabbi Weiss, referring to an expose in the New York Post. "It is full of misinformation and outright fabrications, as well as untruths..." he alleges.

Rabbi Weiss is the father of Avrohom Meir Weiss, formerly of Staten Island, who now lives in New Jersey, as does his estranged wife.

"This is a very, very heart wrenching and ongoing dispute," a clearly upset Rabbi Weiss said in an exclusive interview with the Advance. "We've been trying desperately to resolve this for a long time. This has destroyed my family health wise and destroyed my family financially." [...]

Child abuse:Liason between police and chareidi community

The following is part of a long article in בתוך המשפחה November 7, 2013 page 38. It is an interview with Rav Asher Melamed - a charedi rabbi - who works as a liason between the police and charedi community. He describes the necessity of reporting abuse to the police and alternative ways of dealing with sex offenders within the secular system to minimize collateral damage. The full article dealing with abuse is a good introduction to child abuse and is recommended for those who know nothing and are hesitant to read about it. It deals with the topic in a very discrete way but gets the main point across clearly.

דברו: שומעים

תכלם, מה עושים כשנתקלים במקרה של פגיעה?

הכתבה עסקה רק בצד אחד של המטבע - הצד של הנפגע. בצד הזה אין  מקום לספק בדבר נחיצותה של ההתערבות הטיפולית.

אבל כשעוברים לדבר על הצד השני, על הפוגע, אנחנו מתחילים ללכת  על רצפת זכוכית. זו סוגיה נפיצה. אין ספק שמוכרחים לעצור את הפגיעה;  אין ספק שעצירת הפגיעה באמצעות עירוב גורמי החוק, תגרום להשלכות קשות מכל היבט על האדם עצמו, על בני משפחתו, על שמם ועל עתידם; אין  ספק שאי אפשר להניח לשיקולים כאלו להכתיב התעלמות שעלולה לגבות  מחירים נוספים ויקרים מדי. ומרוב שאין ספקות, יש הרבה מאוד ספקות.

מבחינת החוק היבש - אין מקום להתחבטויות: כל אדם שנחשף למקרה של  פגיעה בחסר ישע, חלה עליו חובת הדיווח לרשויות החוק - משטרת ישראל  או לשכת הרווחה. אי דיווח הוא עברה על החוק, שעונשה עד חצי שנת  מאסר. הרב נתאי מלמד מציין, שבמקרה של התלבטות אפשר להתייעץ עם  פקיד סעד בעילום שם. אבל כשהעובדות ברורות אסור, חוקית, להעלים עין.

מבחינת האיש ברחוב שנחשף למידע ואמור לדווח, כשלפעמים הדיווח  הזה עלול לפגוע באדם שמוכר לו אישית, המסקנות הן הרבה פחות נחרצות.  מעבר לרגש הטבעי שמסרב לגרום נזק לאדם קרוב ולבני משפחתו, קיימת  גם דילמת היום שאחרי - הדיווח עלול לגרור ענישה, בצורת כליאה או שיקום  במוסד חילוני, ואלו אפשרויות שאיש לא שמח לחשוב עליהן.

תוסיפו לזה את הרתיעה המובנית מגורמי החוק, ואת התקווה - או האשליה  - שתמיד מנסה לטעון שאולי אפשר לפתור את הבעיה בינינו לבין עצמנו,  ותקבלו מבוכה אמיתית.

הרב אשר מלמד, רב מחוז המרכז במשטרת ישראל, הוא אחד האישים  המרכזיים שפועלים בקו התפר הרגיש שבין הציבור החרדי לבין המשטרה.  הרב מלמד, בוגר ישיבת 'חברון' וכיום תושב העיר אלעד, חי בתוך ההוויה  החרדית ומודע לכל הרגישויות. מנגד, אליו מתנקזים הסיפורים העגומים  שמאחורי הסטטיסטיקות, סיפורים שמחייבים מציאת פתרון. המטרה שלו היא ליצור גשר בין העולמות, שיאפשר תקשורת הדדית תקינה.

"כחברה חרדית," אומר הרב מלמד, "אנחנו חייבים להוקיע מתוכנו אנשים  שפוגעים בילדים או בכל חסר ישע, ונכון להיום, הגורם היחיד שיכול לשמש  גורם הרתעה וענישה הוא משטרת ישראל.

"התפקיד שלי הוא להתאים את הטיפול המשטרתי הייחודי לטובת  הציבור. אנחנו לא ממציאים חוק חדש, אבל כן פועלים להתאים את הטיפול המשטרתי למאפיינים הייחודיים של החברה שלנו".

איך נעשית ההתאמה הזו?

בכמה דרכים. קודם כל, לא בכל מקרה יביא הדיווח להליך משפטי. הרב  מלמד מספר לנו על אופציה אחרת. "קיימת אפשרות לפנות לפקיד סעד, שישקול היתכנות של שיקום התא המשפחתי כחלופה לטיפול משטרתי.  אם קיימת היתכנות כזו, הוא יכול להפנות את המקרה לוועדת פטור", הוא  אומר. "מדובר בוועדה שמורכבת מנציגים של המשטרה, של הפרקליטות  ושל הרווחה. בהתאם לנסיבות של המקרה המסוים, וכאשר יש סיכוי להליך  שיקום חילופי, יש לוועדה סמכות לפטור מחובת הדיווח למשטרה.

"המשמעות המעשית של הפטור היא שלא נפתח תיק פלילי ואין מאסר.

הפטור קצוב בזמן, ותלוי בהליך השיקום שהוועדה עוקבת אחריו".

גם כשהמקרה עובר לפסים נעימים פחות, יפעל הרב מלמד לרכך את  ההתרחשות. "כדי למנוע את הרחבת מעגל הנפגעים מעבר לפוגע עצמו",  הוא אומר. "נערוך מעצר מבוקר בצורה דיסקרטית, לפעמים תוך תיאום עם  סמכות רוחנית, ונימנע מפרסום המקרה".

נוסף על כך, הרב מלמד פועל להצבת חוקר חרדי בכל תחנת משטרה, כדי  ליצור שפה משותפת ואווירה מתאימה לשיתוף פעולה. במקביל, נעשית עבודה גם בקרב שורות המשטרה. הרב מלמד מעביר הרצאות בכל הקורסים הבכירים, ומעניק לשוטרים כלים להכיר את הציבור החרדי, להבין את  הרגישויות שלו, ולדעת איך לפעול מולו בצורה נכונה ומתחשבת.

כל הפעילות הזו נעשית בתיאום צמוד עם רבנים מכל גוני הציבור החרדי,  ושיתוף הפעולה הזה כבר הוביל לכמה פריצות דרך.

למקרה של שאלה או בקשת סיוע, מציע הרב מלמד את אוזנו הקשובה ואת  עזרתו. ניתן לפנות אליו בכתובת הדוא"ל: rav.melamed@gmail.com .הוא  נמצא שם כדי לכוון, לייעץ ולסייע.

Weiss Dodelson: Dodelson's PR consultant uses internet instead of negotiations

The following is the missing link that explains why the Dodelson's are using articles in newspapers and internet rather than sticking to arbitration. They seem to think that they can pound the opposition into submission by a clever use of social media. However they seem to be oblivious to the reality that when you invite the whole world to "like" what you are doing - that the tide can easily turn against you and you end up creating an incredible chilul hashem. Which is what has happened since the publication of the letter of Rav Dovid Feinstein yesterday. It is time for the Dodelson's to stop playing internet games and settle down to the hard decisions to give Gital her get.

 ==============================

 Times of Israel    Gital Dodelson and her ongoing fight to convince her husband Avrohom Meir Weiss to give her a get, or Jewish decree of divorce, made international headlines this week after a widely read recent New York Post article. 

Like that of most women in her situation, the story of her struggle isn’t one likely to attract traditional press attention. Luckily, it went viral first on social media.

 

Luck has nothing to do with it, says public relations professional Shira Dicker.

Dicker, who calls herself “an innovative social agitator,” says she planned from the start to use Facebook and other social media platforms to gain initial public interest for Dodelson’s situation.

One of Dicker’s clients connected her last July to Dodelson’s mother Saki, of Lakewood, New Jersey, who informed her of her daughter’s plight. Four-and-a-half years ago, Gital, now 25, married Weiss, the great-grandson of leading Orthodox rabbinical authority Moshe Feinstein, after being set up by a matchmaker.

For Dicker, Dodelson is more than just a client.

“This is a cause,” Dicker says. “I saw what this girl was up against, and I also saw the tremendous opportunity, the celebrity endorsement aspect,” she said, referring to the potential impact this particular campaign could have for other agunot.

Dicker is grateful to the Dodelsons for giving her “creative license” to use cutting-edge tools in the campaign to free Gital.

Supporters of Weiss family respond to the chilul hashem in the NY Post

Update: Letter from Rav Dovid Feinstein son of Rav Reuven Feinstein

kikar hashabat

סיפור הגירושין הכואב שמסעיר את יהדות ארה"ב ומכתבה של הגברת גיטל דודלסון בעיתון הנפוץ ניו יורק פוסט שפורסם במלואו בכיכר השבת - ממשיכים לגרום לטלטלה ציבורית משמעותית.

חלק מהקוראים מצדדים בדבריה של האשה, כאשר חלק נוסף דווקא טוענים כי היא עשתה מעשה חמור בהוצאת הסיפור לתקשורת האמריקאית הכללית, תוך גרימת חילול השם גדול. 

הערב, מביא 'כיכר השבת' את גרסת בני משפחתו של הבעל - אברהם ווייס, כשהם רואים את הסיפור הקשה באופן שונה לחלוטין.

לדבריהם, בשנים האחרונות אברהם מאיר ווייס ואשתו גיטל עברו תקופה קשה וכואבת כשלצערם הצד השני בחר להוציא את הסיפור לתקשורת, וכחלק מהקמפיין אותו הם מנהלים - הם מוציאים את דיבתו של הבעל רעה וטוענים כאילו והוצא נגדו כתב סירוב וטענות שקריות נוספות. "על כן אנו נאלצים להשיב ולספר את האמת עם תיעוד תומך בעובדות, כפי שהן מוצגות על ידינו

[...]".

The attitude of ORA and its rabbis to marriage

Guest post by Rick     Under Jewish law and tradition, leaving a marriage is a grave matter, and should not be done absent serious cause. Yet, some in the Orthodox community seem to have adopted the worst aspects of the 1960s counterculture's attitude towards family and marriage.

If a marriage is irretrievably broken, the parties should work out all issues in good faith, including a get, with the involvement of a beis din if the parties cannot work out a mutually acceptable agreement. It is one thing to dispute under which circumstances a get is appropriate, and, if so, what measures are appropriate to coerce a spouse into giving or receiving a get. It is quite another to assert, as does ORA, that a get is appropriate and that k’fia [coercion], whether with or without [shotim] force, is appropriate in all cases in which one spouse wants out of a marriage. ORA’s position completely contradicts accepted Jewish law and practice over many centuries. [Although in fairness to Rabbi Stern, it should be noted that he has previously claimed that the one exception from his rule that a get must always be given upon demand is if a wife steals one million dollars (as opposed to one child) and runs off Daas Torah 2012/05/ora-1-million-dollars-vs-1-child

But the problem goes far deeper than that. ORA and its supporters are not just trying to overturn centuries of Jewish Law and practice over what is appropriate once a marriage is irretrievably broken, but also under what circumstances it is proper for someone to leave a marriage in the first place. ORA’s position is not just that a woman should receive a get whenever she demands it, but that it is perfectly legitimate and appropriate for a woman to leave a marriage, regardless of whether there are children, for any reason at all.

“Man,” Rabbi Stern said, as though addressing such a fellow [who doesn’t give a get on demand]. “She’s just not that into you.”

The Daily Beast 2013/11/04/for-orthodox-women-getting-the-get-can-take-years

Or as Gitel Dodelson wrote in the New York Post, “I said: ‘You’re not a bad man. We’re just not right for each other.’ …. ‘This isn’t working, I’m moving back to my parents.’ I packed up [the couple’s child] right then and there, and drove off.”

The message of ORA to married women is if you decide at any point that “you are just not that into him” just leave and take the children to wherever you please. Is that also the position of Rabbi Hershel Schachter and ORA’s other rabbinical supporters? And for that matter, is that also the position of the roshei yeshiva who have joined side-by-side with ORA in support of Dodelson?

The Bizarre phenomenon of Sleep - why do we need it?

Scientific American     Sleep is such a large feature of our lives that it’s easy to forget how utterly weird it is. Every night, if we’re lucky, our brain cells switch into a synchronized pattern, putting our lives and minds on hold for hours. Sleep scientists have yet to fully explain why we spend a third of our lives in this state, let alone why we use some of that time wandering through vivid, nonsensical and sometimes upsetting hallucinations.

A recent study in Science suggests that sleep may serve to wash the brain of harmful waste products that build up during the day. Medical researchers observed an increased flow of cerebrospinal fluid in mice that were sleeping or anesthetized. This fluid carries away waste proteins, including one linked to Alzheimer’s disease. The findings join other theories on the function of sleep, some of which I discuss above, in our latest Instant Egghead video.

ORA - Use of national media - change of policy?

Guest post by Rick

“From our perspective [], advocating on behalf of agunot is an internal issue for the Jewish community, not a cause to be advocated in the national media."

Why do some, such as ORA, insist on continuing to highlight in the national media the issue of under what circumstances a get is or is not appropriate [and what measures should be taken in the case of the former], regardless of the tremendous chillul hashem this is causing? Do the rabbis backing ORA, such as Rabbi Hershel Schachter, support ORA’s actions over the past several years in turning this issue into a national news story?

Whether a get is appropriate is a very complex halachic issue that is dependent on the facts in each case, which is another reason these issues should be decided privately in beis din, not aired out in public.

Ironically, the quote above comes from … ORA’s head, Rabbi Jeremy Stern, in January 2011.

Daas Torah 2012/04 Response to R Jeremy Stern's criticism

And finally, given ORA’s repeated and continuing actions in flagrant contradiction of ORA’s own stated purported position, it is amazing that anyone would give the slightest shred of credibility to any of ORA’s assertions regarding any of the cases in which it is involved.

An Underworld of Male Slaves Comes to Light in the U.K.

 Time Magazine   After Darrell Simester, then 30, went missing on vacation at a south Wales seaside resort in Aug. 2000, his family didn’t see him again for almost 13 years. They never gave up trying to find the “vulnerable” and “timid” Simester — and their perseverance eventually paid off. In March 2013, an anonymous tip-off led Simester’s family to a two-berth caravan in a stable yard just outside Cardiff, Wales’s capital city. There they found him, now aged 43, in dirty, torn clothes and with teeth missing – but otherwise okay.

Simester’s case sparked a major police operation codenamed Operation Imperial. In police raids in September, two other men (one Polish, one British) were also found living in poor conditions at or near the same site where Simester had been found. Three men have subsequently been arrested and released on bail, all charged with false imprisonment, conspiracy to hold a person in servitude and conspiracy to force a person to work. A 42-year-old woman has also been released on bail.

Rather than being an isolated incident, the U.K. Home Office said in a statement that the case serves as an “appalling reminder” of the extent to which slavery has reappeared in the country. A report released on Oct. 17 by the Global Slavery Index says that it is estimated there are as many as 4,000 people enslaved in the U.K. – and that more could be done to help them and others from sharing their fate. While slavery — or human trafficking — is often thought of in terms of female victims of sexual exploitation, the statistics suggest that the gender distribution is relatively even. Of the 2,255 potential human trafficking victims identified in the U.K. in 2012, 40% were male. And in addition to sex, the trade in human beings for financial gain can involve forced labor, domestic servitude and even organ harvesting. In 2012, some 87% of the 507 potential victims of forced labor exploitation in the U.K. were male.

To put human trafficking in its international context, it is the third most profitable business for international organized crime after the drugs and arms trades – and is globally estimated to generate profit margins of billions of dollars per year. As of June 2012, the International Labor Organization estimated that 20.9m people are victims of forced labor and sexual exploitation worldwide. And the 2012 U.N. Global Report on Trafficking in Persons says that men and boys are estimated to account for approximately 25% of trafficking victims detected worldwide. But as the report points out, official statistics represent only the “tip of the iceberg” as criminals generally go to great lengths to conceal their activities. [...]

Activists ensnare thousands of online paedophiles using 10-year-old Filipino girl – who doesn’t exist

Independent   A group campaigning against child sex exploitation has run an online sting operation which caught thousands of paedophiles trying to solicit a computer-generated 10-year-old girl.

More than 20,000 separate users were ensnared over the course of 10 weeks, all trying to watch the virtual Filipino child Sweetie perform indecent acts via a webcam.

Researchers from the Netherlands-based activists group Terre des Hommes logged in to public chat rooms under the alias of Sweetie, an apparently real girl who they identified clearly by country of origin, gender and age.

The results were shocking, according to the group’s project director Has Guyt. They found that the forums were flooded with people willing to pay to see a young child perform sex acts live online.

Using basic online search techniques, Mr Guyt’s team at a small, remote office outside Amsterdam was able to compile a dossier of 1,000 named internet users, complete with written and video evidence, engaged in the illegal activity. [...]

Terres des Hommes have passed their findings on to Interpol, but the online abusers will only be prosecuted if police can find evidence in their own investigations. The group said only six perpetrators of what they call “webcam child sex tourism” have ever been convicted of the crime worldwide. [...]

Report of Nazi-Looted Trove Puts Art World in an Uproar

NY Times    [...] When he learned on Monday that the Beckmann seller, Cornelius Gurlitt, now 80, had reportedly sat on hundreds of works, including art by Picasso and Matisse, that were confiscated under the Nazis or sold cheaply by owners desperate to flee Hitler, Mr. Feddersen was amazed. “Imagine!” he said, envisaging seeing and selling such a collection. 

But even before the Beckmann was sold, the Bavarian authorities swooped in on Mr. Gurlitt’s home to seize the rest of his treasure, according to the newsmagazine Focus: about 1,500 works estimated to be worth $1.4 billion. Focus said the works were seized after the police and customs officials entered Mr. Gurlitt’s home in Munich in spring 2011. 

If confirmed, the discovery would be one of the biggest finds of vanished art in years. But word of it left almost equally big questions unanswered: Why did the German authorities let more than two years pass before such a sizable find was disclosed? What will become of the recovered works of art? Did Mr. Gurlitt continue to make sales even after the raid? And where is he today? 

There are no reports that Mr. Gurlitt has been detained or charged, and questions about the history of the artworks, including whether they were confiscated or subject to a forced or voluntary sale, would determine whether a current sale or auction would be judged legitimate.

Since news of the find was first reported Sunday, the German authorities have come under fierce criticism in the art world as to why they did not make the discovery public.[...]

Weiss-Dodelson: Her side of the story

update -For Weiss Family viewpoint  - letter of Rav Dovid feinststein.
****NY Post interview ****
It is important to note that the comments to the NY Post article are not so much concerned with sympathy for Gital but rather are a gloating condemnation of Orthodoxy. I am not sure what "chachom" advise her to go public in the NY Post - but it surely isn't helping her cause - or adding to her Olam HaBah. 

NY Post   Four-and-a-half years ago, Gital Dodelson, now 25, of Lakewood, NJ, married Avrohom Meir Weiss, part of a respected rabbinic family on Staten Island. Ten months after the wedding, Dodelson left the marital home with their newborn son, claiming her husband was controlling and manipulative. Despite getting civilly divorced in August 2012, they remain married under Jewish law because Weiss refuses to grant the faith’s decree of divorce, known as a “get.” As a result, Dodelson’s life in the Orthodox community is in limbo and she is unable to date, let alone get married again. Now, after more than three years of pleading with Weiss to sign the document that will set her free, Dodelson has gone public with her story in The Post: [...]

When I first met Avrohom in October 2008, I thought he was great husband material. That’s what my parents and friends told me. After all, in my society you’re expected to listen to them on these matters.

They told me that at 23, he was learned, a great Talmudic scholar from an esteemed family, whose great-grandfather, Moshe Feinstein, was a legendary rabbi.

It’s traditional to arrange the date through a matchmaker. Days later, there was a knock at my front door. My dad opened it and led a handsome, dark-haired man with bright blue eyes into the room. He spoke softly and politely, but seemed shy. I happily got in his car.[...]

It was a chilly December night, and he took me to a glitzy hotel in Midtown. We were walking around on the mezzanine level, watching all the tourists whizzing around below. Avrohom suddenly dropped to one knee, pulled out a black velvet box with a sparkling, round diamond ring inside, and asked me to marry him.

“Gital,” he said, softly. “We can have a wonderful future together.” He talked about the kind of marriage he wanted, where we’d be equal partners and make decisions together. Suddenly my reservations about him melted away. All I could think about was the excitement of the wedding.

The engagement period in our community, like our dating, is very short. There was so much to do before our February wedding that I didn’t worry too much about our compatibility.[...]<

But only three days into the marriage, I knew I made a terrible mistake. It was our first Shabbat together as man and wife — and it was spent in silence. We were about to light the Sabbath candles, and we discussed how each of our families likes to light it. It’s a female tradition, and you typically do what your mother did. When my way contradicted his way, he criticized me and turned angry. Avrohom said: “You have no choice. It’s not my way,” and gave me the cold shoulder for the next 24 hours. From Friday night to Saturday night, we didn’t speak a word.

When I couldn’t stand the hostility anymore, I said, “You can’t just ignore me — this isn’t how a relationship works. We have to be able to talk about these things.” The only response he could muster was: “When I don’t get my way, I don’t know how to function.”[...]

For Orthodox Women, Getting the Get Can Take Years

Daily Beast   Last month, an FBI sting operation netted a rabbi, the head of a New York yeshiva and eight other men, two of whom were volunteers at an organization for at-risk Jewish youth. Rabbi Mendel Epstein made his living campaigning at the rabbinical courts on behalf of women whose husbands refused to grant them religious divorces; this past summer, he wrote and released a “Bill of Rights of a Jewish Wife.” But he and his coterie seem to have taken his advocacy too far—specifically, they’ve been accused of exacting up to $60,000 from despairing wives in exchange for kidnapping and torturing their husbands, with the aim of coercing the men into signing the Jewish divorce document. All 10 defendants were initially denied bail after appearing in Federal District Court in Trenton, New Jersey (bail was later set for all men involved, and all 10 defendents pleaded not guilty). They’ve been called unlikely criminals. They have also, albeit less frequently, been called unlikely feminists.[...]

A woman whose husband won’t give up the get is referred to as an agunah, from the Hebrew for “chained,” and the condition is more common than you might imagine. A survey spearheaded by Barbara Zakheim, co-founder of the Jewish Coalition Against Domestic Abuse (JCADA), found that between 2005 to 2010, there were over 460 cases of “shackled” Jewish women in North America, a number that underrepresents the problem; the research team didn’t reach out to agunot directly, but to domestic abuse and family service organizations—and by and large, agencies serving more right-wing communities declined to participate. Zakheim also found that a sizeable number of agunot were living in poverty and not receiving any sort of spousal support. “There were changes made to halacha [Jewish law] during ancient times and in that respect, those ages were more progressive than the one we’re living in now,” she said. “The Orthodox rabbinate need to get their act together to come up with a halachic solution. They have a lot to answer for.”

In Israel, noncompliant husbands are sometimes sent to jail until they agree to sign the get. But America’s secular court system cannot intervene in a religious divorce, leaving the agunah without many options. A rabbinical court might, if the man won’t respond to a summons, issue an order of contempt, which essentially states that the woman’s husband has refused to grant her a get and calls on the Jewish community to take a stand. She might also approach an advocacy group like the Organization for the Resolution of Agunot (ORA), a New York-based non-profit that, since its founding in 2002, has resolved 205 agunah cases worldwide. ORA works, free of charge, to open the lines of communication between the two parties. Failing that, it exerts legal and halachically sanctioned forms of pressure on the get withholder. “We see the refusal to issue a get as a form of domestic abuse,” said Rabbi Jeremy Stern, the organization’s executive director. “It’s not just about black and blue marks. It’s about one person asserting their dominance over another.” [....]