Man Who Denied Wife's Divorce Is Denied Burial Rights In Israel

In a precedent-setting ruling, the Rabbinical Council of the Israeli Chief Rabbinate denied Jewish burial rights for relatives of a man who is actively denying a divorce from his wife.

The American man has refused a "get" (Jewish divorce document) for nearly two decades.

The rabbinical court ruled that his still-alive father will not be allowed to be buried at a Jewish cemetery in Israel.

Last week's decision came after Israel's Supreme Court earlier this year decided to decide on the matter, instead ordering the Rabbinical Council to take up the issue.

The Council accepted the recommendation of Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi David Lau in making the decision.

"I am deeply thankful to the Chief Rabbinate for this miraculous decision which proves that I am not alone and that the people of Israel are with me," the wife, Lonna Ralbag, said in response to the ruling against her husband, Meir Kin.

"I very much hope and pray that this decision will help set me free after nearly two decades even if the only motivation behind these actions are his desire to properly respect his parents and family and to spare them from the potential consequences of this decision. I also hope that this decision will help other women trapped in these situations."

The Orthodox group Yad La’Isha, which wrote an amicus brief in support of the woman, praised the ruling.

“This shows that the State of Israel, as the state of the Jewish people, will do everything with every tool at its disposal, even unconventional ones, to help chained women,” Moriya Dayan, an attorney for Yad La’Isha, told The Times of Israel.