Rabbi Eli Ben-Dahan, the Director of the Rabbinical Courts, reported that Jewish divorces in Israel increased from some 9,700 in 2005 to nearly 10,000 last year. "Correct education towards acceptance and love," Rabbi Ben-Dahan said, "and how to accept another and live together even when things are not perfect, could decrease the phenomenon of divorce... We see couples who begin divorce proceedings even over small matters."
During the months of July and August, with the war in Lebanon raging and 4,000 rockets falling throughout northern Israel, the divorce rate plummeted by 30%. In the north, the rate was down throughout the year. In Haifa, for instance, divorces dropped by 18%, and Ben-Dahan said that many couples in the midst of divorce proceedings specifically informed the Haifa Rabbinical Court that, because of the war, they were stopping the process.
The story was nearly the same in other Katyusha-bombarded cities, such as Kiryat Motzkin (down 30%) and Tiberias (down 25%). Strangely, divorces in Kiryat Yam, just north of Haifa, climbed steeply.
In Tel Aviv (population 380,000), there were 723 divorces (roughly 19 divorces per 10,000 people) in 2006, while in Jerusalem (Jewish population: roughly 500,000), there were 673 divorces (some 13.5 per 10,000).
The divorce rate in Israel is barely more than half that of the United States. In the U.S., approximately 1,000,000 couples divorce each year, out of a total population of 300 million. In Israel, the annual rate of fewer than 10,000 Jewish divorces is compared with its total Jewish population of 5.35 million.
The Rabbinical Courts report also showed an increase in the number of former Soviet Union immigrants being married by the rabbinate.
There are approximately 200 cases of husbands who refuse to grant their wives a Jewish divorce, and, Ben-Dahan says, an equal number of wives who refuse to accept one. Sanctions were imposed against some 50 of the recalcitrant husbands, but only against a much smaller number of the women who refuse.
During the months of July and August, with the war in Lebanon raging and 4,000 rockets falling throughout northern Israel, the divorce rate plummeted by 30%. In the north, the rate was down throughout the year. In Haifa, for instance, divorces dropped by 18%, and Ben-Dahan said that many couples in the midst of divorce proceedings specifically informed the Haifa Rabbinical Court that, because of the war, they were stopping the process.
The story was nearly the same in other Katyusha-bombarded cities, such as Kiryat Motzkin (down 30%) and Tiberias (down 25%). Strangely, divorces in Kiryat Yam, just north of Haifa, climbed steeply.
In Tel Aviv (population 380,000), there were 723 divorces (roughly 19 divorces per 10,000 people) in 2006, while in Jerusalem (Jewish population: roughly 500,000), there were 673 divorces (some 13.5 per 10,000).
The divorce rate in Israel is barely more than half that of the United States. In the U.S., approximately 1,000,000 couples divorce each year, out of a total population of 300 million. In Israel, the annual rate of fewer than 10,000 Jewish divorces is compared with its total Jewish population of 5.35 million.
The Rabbinical Courts report also showed an increase in the number of former Soviet Union immigrants being married by the rabbinate.
There are approximately 200 cases of husbands who refuse to grant their wives a Jewish divorce, and, Ben-Dahan says, an equal number of wives who refuse to accept one. Sanctions were imposed against some 50 of the recalcitrant husbands, but only against a much smaller number of the women who refuse.