Divorces rise in all cities but Ra'anana

By MIRIAM BULWAR DAVID-HAY (TRANSLATED)
The number of couples getting divorced in Israel rose by 4.7 percent in 2008 from 2007, a rising trend that has been continuous since 2003, reports www.local.co.il. But even though the divorce rate in the Sharon area was generally even higher than the national level, the city of Ra'anana has bucked the trend, with the number of divorces there actually falling by 3.8% last year. According to the report, the country's rabbinical courts released figures last week showing that there were 10,225 divorces granted throughout the country in 2008. In the Sharon area, Herzliya, Kfar Saba, Hod Hasharon and Ramat Hasharon all recorded rises in the numbers of divorces that were even higher than the national rate. In Hod Hasharon, 92 couples divorced, a massive rise of 31.3% from 2007; in Ramat Hasharon, 78 couples divorced, a rise of 21.9% from 2007; in Herzliya, 177 couples divorced in 2008, a rise of 18% from 2007; and in Kfar Saba, 154 couples divorced in 2008, a rise of 10% from 2007. But the report said that in Ra'anana only 128 couples divorced in 2008. No explanation for the anomaly was suggested.