Amir Ohana
Amir OhanaGili Yaari/Flash90

Judges will report to the police in divorce cases in which one side files a false allegation against the other side, Israel Hayom reported.

The decision aims to fight the widespread phenomenon of false allegations, and has been agreed upon by Public Security Minister Amir Ohana (Likud) and the court management.

In September 2020, Ohana held a Zoom conference with the head of the Investigations and Intelligence Department and the head of the Investigations Division, as well as with the State Prosecutor and family lawyers. The conference also included Guy Raveh, CEO of Shared Parenting.

In the meeting, it was emphasized that alongside the war on domestic violence, the police are also faced with a phenomenon of false allegations, the exact scope of which is unclear. These allegations are filed against normative individuals who are in the process of separation or divorce.

Those attending the meeting agreed that there are no disagreements regarding the fact that false allegations can seriously harm the life and rights of the victim. In addition, it include negative consequences for the real victims of domestic violence and sexual crimes, and harms the public's faith in the law enforcement system, while at the same time wasting its resources. It should be noted that in the past, family lawyers had turned to Ohana, demanding he act against the phenomenon of false allegations, which they said has turned into a popular tool in disagreements between spouses.

Following the meeting, Ohana turned to the Director of the Courts, Judge Dr. Yigal Marzel, requesting him to clarify to the judges the importance of the issue. Ohana also told Marzel to emphasize to the judges that in cases in which a judge identifies what might be a false allegation, he order that the issue be transferred to the police for investigation.

At the same time, the police was ordered to examine in-depth any such request from the courts, Israel Hayom noted.

In his letter to Marzel, Ohana emphasized that false allegations are often filed at the recommendation of a family lawyer, and that they are filed "in order to improve the standing [of the filer] in the spousal or family disagreement."

These allegations, he pointed out, "place a stain and suspicion of criminal action on innocent people, requiring them to be interrogated for things which they are innocent of, causes them to be distanced from their homes and children, harms their good name and livelihood, and may even lead to the conviction of innocent people."

In his response, Marzel noted that Ohana's request will be brought to the attention of judges and registrars, but emphasized that "the court management is not authorized to interfere in the content of judicial decisions, which are left to the sole discretion of the one sitting in judgment."