The rise in divorce requests in Israel in 2012 is not surprising, Rabbi Ze’ev Mendelssohn, a marriage and family counselor, said on Tuesday.

"The data are not surprising,” he told Arutz Sheva, adding, “The conduct in the cultural western world is all about self-realization. People look for what's convenient and what's better for themselves. In a relationship one must adapt oneself to the needs of the other and it does not always work.”