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A Beis Din in Netanya revoked a marriage that was conducted k’das Moshe V’Yisrael via the Rabbanut in Hadera after a startling discovery in the wake of divorce proceedings.

The story began when a woman, a Bas Kohen and a mother of three daughters, appealed to the Beis Din for a get, claiming that her husband is unfaithful. The woman requested custody of her daughters and the money owed to her according to the kesuvah.

Prior to the hearing, the husband’s attorney presented a preliminary claim questioning the authority of the Beis Din to resolve the dispute between the two parties for a startling reason. The lawyer claimed that his client is not Jewish and therefore the Beis Din is not authorized to rule on the case. The lawyer even presented papers testifying that that the husband is a non-Jew, including his original birth certificate, stating that his mother is Ukrainian.

The husband said that his mother had left Israel and immigrated to Canada three years earlier and right before she left, she revealed to him that she wasn’t Jewish and gave him his real original birth certificate.

An investigation later revealed that the husband, his twin brother, and another brother were all married according to “halacha’ to Jewish women through the Rabbanut in Hadera and all three brothers had children.

The Rabbanim of the Beis Din carried out an in-depth investigation of the husband’s claims, even speaking at length to the husband’s mother in Canada via teleconference. The mother confirmed that she is a non-Jewess and even submitted documents that verified her claim.

The Rabbanim transferred the documents to two professional investigators who specialize in determining Jewish identity. After in-depth research, the investigators informed the Beis Din that according to the official register in Ukraine, the husband’s mother and grandmother are both non-Jews, contrary to what’s written on their Israeli identity cards, and therefore the husband is non-Jewish.

In order to remove any doubt, the Beis Din then sought a second opinion from HaRav Alexander Dan, who also specializes in determining Jewish identity. He also carried out a thorough investigation and concluded that the husband is a non-Jew.

The Beis Din subsequently issued a lengthy p’sak din, spanning dozens of pages, concluding that “since the defendant is not a Jew, the Beis Din does not have the authority to judge regarding the custody of the children and alimony…or the dissolution of the marriage…and the two parties must appeal to the Family Court.”

The Av Beis Din noted that “today it is necessary mei’ikar hadin to investigate olim from the former Soviet Union who claim they are Jews.”

The dayanim also expressed great pain over the distress of the woman, who was deceived by her husband’s mother, as well as the other two daughters-in-law.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

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