Divorce refuser who scandalized Knesset finally grants divorce
Attias was instructed by the Haifa Rabbinical Court to give his wife a divorce two years ago but has refused until now.
By JEREMY SHARONUpdated: JUNE 3, 2018 18:21File photo: Divorce.(photo credit: REUTERS)
Yaron Attias, a divorce refuser whose presence in the Knesset two weeks ago generated outrage from several female MKs, finally gave his wife a bill of divorce on Sunday.Attias was instructed by the Haifa Rabbinical Court to give his wife a divorce two years ago but has refused until now.Likud MK Yehudah Glick attempted to help resolve the situation and invited Attias to the Knesset as part of those efforts at the end of May. The incident sparked fury among divorce rights activists, since the rabbinical court had already issued a ruling to socially ostracize Attias until he agreed to the divorce.Last week, Attias was imprisoned for seven days by the rabbinical court because he had been caught driving without a license, which itself was revoked by the rabbinical court as another tool to convince him to agree to the divorce.The rabbinical judges warned Attias when he was given the prison sentence that he would face long term imprisonment if he failed to grant the divorce.Serious efforts to formulate a divorce agreement between the two sides began on Friday and Attias finally consented on Sunday.The Rabbinical Courts Administration director Rabbi David Malka welcomed the agreement saying he was “happy that after great efforts this severe story has reached its end and the woman has been released from her chains.”The Jerusalem Post understands that Glick was involved in the contacts and negotiations between Attias and his wife.Glick posted wishes of Mazal Tov on Facebook after the divorce was issued to Attias’s wife, Attias himself, and their children. He also called for restraint to be shown in publicly attacking divorce refusers, even those under sanction by the rabbinical courts, saying that this was never a cause to curse or besmirch them.