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THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

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Orthodox Women Will Benefit
from NY Measure on 'Gittim'

,

NEW YORK (JTA) — A
civil measure designed to
ease the burden imposed on
the observant Jewish wife
whose husband refuses to
give her a Jewish divorce
decree, called a "get," has
been approved by both
houses of the New York
State Legislature.
The bill is believed to be
the first of its kind in
erican law. It will be-
11. e state law when gover-
or Hugh Carey signs it ex-
pectedly before the end of
the month. .
The measure provides
that when one party to a
civil divorce action comp-
lains of a barrier to re-
marriage imposed by the
other party, the issue may
be submitted to a fact-
finding and mediation
panel which will have the
function of determining
whether such a barrier
exists and, if it does,
whether either party can
remove it.
The bill was the pro-
duct of months of careful
drafting to avoid any
possibility of conflict
with the Constitutional
church-state separation
doctrine, according to
Sheldon Silver, author of
the bill. •
Under Jewish religious
law (halaha), a wife refused
a "get" has the status of an
"Agana," and may not re-
marry religiously even after
winning a civil divorce.
Orthodox leaders claim
that only in recent years
have marriages in the cohe-
sive Orthodox community
begun to break up in sig-
nificant numbers, bringing
an increase in complaints of
unethical conduct by par-
ties to divorce, mostly on the
part of husbands.
There have been wide-
spread reports that such
husbands are denying "git-
tim" to their wives, some-
times out of spite, and some-
times to coerce wives to sign
away rights to property,
child support and mainte-
nance of civil divorce ac-
tions.
Silver said there are an
estimated 150,000 Or-
thodox Jewish women in
New York State alone,
who are civilly but not re-
ligiously divorced, ad-
ding that some have been

Reparations Still
Available to
German Jews

LONDON — Survivors of
who left
ope after 1965 may still
eligible for compensation
under German indemnifica-
tion laws.
The International Coun-
cil of Jews from Czechos-
lovakia has announced that
grants of up to DM250 (ap-
proximately $1300) are still
available to those who for
valid reasons failed to file
claims by the original 1965
deadline. For application
forms, write the ICSJ, 31
Craven St., London, Eng-
land WC2N 5NP.

waiting as long as two
decades for a "get." He
said the new measure will
not help any of the
150,000 "but it may help
others in the future."
It may also help a much
smaller number of Or-
thodox husbands, who as-

sert they are denied religi-
ous divorces by wives who
refuse to accept a "get."
Rabbis said women are also
using the "get" for leverage
in civil settlements, though
halakha provides options to
men not available to wo-
men.

Friday, ill I y 16, 1982

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