Report on the Campaign for Pre-Nuptial Agreements led by NCJW Australia
In March, 2010, Sharon Shenhav, Director of IJWRP, was invited by National Council of Jewish Women of Australia (NCJWA) to be their scholar in residence. During the three week visit, Sharon lectured to groups of NCJWA members as well as judges, lawyers, parliamentarians, high school students, academics, rabbis and women’s rights activists in Melbourne, Sydney, Gold Coast, Canberra, Adelaide and Perth.
In Melbourne, the Council of Orthodox Rabbis met with Sharon at the NCJWA offices to discuss solutions to the problem of agunot. Expressing their concern for the suffering of Jewish women who are unable to remarry because their husbands refuse to consent to a religious divorce, the rabbis discussed their recent decision to encourage couples to sign pre-nuptial agreements.
Sharon and the NCJWA leadership applauded the rabbis for this initiative but expressed concern regarding the contents of the proposed agreement. Sharon volunteered to assist the rabbis and their legal advisors in the drafting of an agreement which would be effective, relying on her experience with similar pre-nuptial agreements which have been used in Israel, the US. UK, Switzerland and other Jewish communities worldwide. The Council of Orthodox Rabbis welcomed this offer of assistance and contact was established between Sharon and their legal advisor Andrew Strum. Since Strum will be coming to Israel for several months in fall, 2010, they will be working on the draft of the pre-nuptial agreement to be used by the Council of Orthodox Rabbis. NCJWA President Rysia Rozen and Di Hirsh offered their help in publicizing the pre-nuptial agreement to their members nationwide.
In March to celebrate International Agunah Day, the International Coalition for Agunah Rights (ICAR) of which ICJW is a member, produced a film on pre-nuptial agreements. This film, which has been translated into English, features three young couples who are planning to sign a pre-nuptial agreement prior to their wedding. Each couple explains their reasons for signing such an agreement which would prevent the problems of obtaining a get. The film was sent to NCJWA leaders who are circulating it to their members for screening. NCJWA has also sent copies of the film to the Council of Orthodox Rabbis, along with a statement by the mainstream Orthodox rabbis of the US (RCA) supporting and encouraging the signing of pre-nuptial agreements by all Jewish couples planning to marry. The Australian Orthodox rabbis were grateful for the assistance of NCJWA and have circulated both the film and the statement to their members nationwide.
NCJWA also succeeded in publicizing the need for a pre-nuptial agreement by having an article on Sharon’s visit and lectures published in the slick, elegant Wedding magazine published by the Australian Jewish News. This magazine, full of photos of wedding dresses, caterers, florists, honeymoon locations and wedding rings, included the article entitled “Gett Prepared”. The article stated that “Just as a ketubbah and a civil marriage certificate are required at the wedding, both a get and a civil divorce are needed to dissolve a marriage”. The article went on to emphasize the need for a pre-nuptial agreement, stating that “No one likes to consider that their marriage may en, but it is important to be prepared should the unthinkable occur”. An Australian lawyer also wrote an article for the magazine entitled Agreeing to Disagree” which set out the legal ramifications of a pre-nuptial agreement under Australian law.
Newsletter No.23 October 2008 - Download PDF version
UK Hosts Rabbinical Conference on Halachic Solutions
Israel Court & Beth Din Decisions on Recalcitrant Husbands
ICAR's Prenuptial Agreement Campaign
Click here to hear a speech given by Sharon Shenhav in Manchester, June 2007
Newsletter No.22 December 2007 - Download PDF version
Cancelled Conference on Agunot - 1 Year On
Appointment of Dayanim in Israel
Canadian Court Orders Recalcitrant Husband to Pay Damages
