The Rabbinical Courts Administration has taken a dramatic and unprecedented step to protect minors in divorce disputes: Great Rabbinical Court President Sephardic Chief Rabbi David Yosef has signed new and binding presidential procedural directives.
The protocol uniformly and strictly regulates the way rabbinical courts handle urgent proceedings involving concern for harm to children’s safety and the need to ensure continuous contact between children and both parents.
The new protocol was born out of a deep halakhic (pertaining to Jewish law -ed.) and judicial approach, according to which a minor’s right to proper and continuous contact with both parents is a fundamental right anchored in the Convention on the Rights of the Child and consistent with the supreme principle of the child’s best interests. At the same time, in cases of violence or danger, the child is entitled to full protection in the relationship.
The protocol recognizes that the time factor has a decisive and destructive impact on a child’s emotional development in situations of estrangement. It therefore puts an end to legal foot-dragging and obligates all judges in the regional rabbinical courts to act according to rigid timetables and with forceful tools.
Among the main points of the timetable revolution:
* A hearing within 7 days or a decision within 72 hours: In any case in which a request is filed for urgent or temporary relief to ensure contact or protection, where waiting could cause real harm, the court must hold a hearing in the presence of the parties within no more than seven days from the filing of the request, or alternatively issue a detailed and in-depth judicial decision based on the written material within 72 hours.
* Increased obligation of continuity and follow-up: The protocol prohibits delaying proceedings. All subsequent stages - including the submission of responses by the parties or the receipt of affidavits and expert reports - will be limited to the shortest possible timeframes. Deviation from this schedule will be permitted only for special reasons that are recorded in a well-reasoned decision.
* Semiannual oversight and control mechanism: The heads of the regional rabbinical courts will personally oversee implementation of the protocols and will be required to submit a detailed report every six months to the President of the Great Rabbinical Court and the Director of the Rabbinical Courts regarding every case that deviated from the framework, along with the reasons for the deviation.
Toolbox and harsh sanctions against an alienating parent:
In a special and detailed section, the protocol defines parental alienation as direct harm and abuse of the minor’s psyche. The protocol makes clear that the rabbinical courts have a judicial obligation to act decisively, and outlines a series of harsh sanctions to be used against an inciting or alienating parent.
* Broad administrative sanctions: Use of payment enforcement proceedings and contempt of court, alongside the imposition of severe restrictions.
* Direct financial harm and legal costs: Use of monetary sanctions and fines payable to the state treasury or to the injured party, with a built-in warning in the initial decisions. The protocol grants explicit authority to reduce or completely exempt the father from paying child support in cases of alienating refusal of contact. The imposition of state representation costs (aid provided through the Legal Aid Department) on the alienating parent will also be considered.
* Considering transfer of custody: The protocol states that alienation occurs under the custody and responsibility of the parent with whom the child resides, and that this failure constitutes a substantive deficiency in that parent’s fitness to have custody of the child. Accordingly, solutions will be considered, including immediate transfer of the child to the alienated parent, or temporary placement with a third party or therapeutic center for the purpose of preparing the child and renewing the relationship.
* Funding private treatments: It will be made clear at the start of the proceedings that repairing a deep rupture will require special treatments by private professionals, and not only through the public service, and that the alienating parent will exclusively bear the full financial costs for this.
* Reducing stays of execution: The protocol instructs the Great Rabbinical Court to exercise great caution when considering stays of execution regarding regional rabbinical court decisions intended to stabilize contact between a parent and child.
"These proposals are intended to eradicate or reduce the harm to the tender souls of children who, sadly, experience parental alienation, and the severe future consequences this has for those children, who have no rescuer and who turn their eyes to us," Rabbi David Yosef said.
The new procedural directives will be published in the database and on the official website of the Rabbinical Courts, and will take effect immediately.