Get Refusal
Legal and Practical Tools
By Adv. Liron Yitzhak Elmaliach | Updated: 2026 | Reading time: approx. 8 minutes
In Israel, Jewish marriage and divorce are governed by religious law and adjudicated by Rabbinical Courts. A Jewish marriage can only be dissolved by a Get — a specific religious divorce document that the husband must grant and the wife must accept. When one party refuses, the other can be trapped in the marriage for years.
A person whose spouse refuses to grant or accept a Get is called an Aguna (a "chained" woman) or Mesurban Get. Israeli law has developed significant tools to address this — both through the Rabbinical Courts and through civil litigation.
Rabbinical Court Sanctions
The Rabbinical Courts Jurisdiction (Marriage and Divorce) Law grants the Rabbinical Court substantial enforcement powers against a Get refuser:
- ◆Travel ban — The court can confiscate the refuser's passport and bar them from leaving Israel until the Get is granted.
- ◆Driving licence restriction — The court can suspend the refuser's driving licence.
- ◆Occupational licence restriction — The court can restrict or revoke professional licences (medical, legal, business licences).
- ◆Bank account freeze — The court can freeze accounts and restrict financial activity.
- ◆Imprisonment (compulsion order) — In serious cases, the Rabbinical Court can issue a "compulsion order" (Psak Kfiyah) directing the husband to grant the Get. Refusal to comply can result in imprisonment of up to 5 years. Importantly, there is no maximum total imprisonment — a husband can be imprisoned repeatedly until he grants the Get.
- ◆Public naming — The court can order the refuser's name to be published publicly, which creates community pressure.
Civil Tort Lawsuit
Parallel to the Rabbinical Court proceedings, a person suffering from Get refusal can file a civil tort claim in Family Court under the heading of "emotional suffering" (Agmat Nefesh). Israeli courts have awarded significant damages in such cases.
The financial threat of a civil lawsuit can sometimes achieve what Rabbinical Court proceedings alone cannot. Running both tracks simultaneously maximises pressure on the refusing party.
Strategy: Using All Tracks Simultaneously
Experienced lawyers in this field recommend pursuing multiple approaches simultaneously rather than waiting for one to succeed:
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