Calls for alimony reform shake up Israeli rabbinical courts
There are various proposals to amend Israel legal policies on divorce as citizens raise demands for greater nuance in child custody policies and alimony arrangements.
Two recently reported initiatives seeking to amend the long-standing provisions of the Israeli Family Law have sparked a heated debate among women's organizations, men's groups, politicians and rabbis.
One of the initiatives, which failed in the Knesset by a single vote Nov. 3, was yet another attempt to revoke through legislation the custody provision for children under 6. This provision stipulates that children of divorced parents are to automatically stay under the guardianship of the mother up to the age of 6. In practice, if one of the children of divorcing parents is under that age, the mother may be granted full custody over his older brothers and sisters as well. Thus the children remain in the mother's custody as they grow up so as not to change the arrangement they are accustomed to.
