Women’s groups in Israel are voicing outrage over a rabbinical court’s ruling that a woman who was gang raped must get a divorce because her husband did not say the required, “I don’t believe you,” after it happened.
When Yediot Aharonot told her husband that she had been raped he called local functionaries for advice, not realizing that he was admitting that he believed his wife’s story. According to haredi rabbis, if a husband believes that his wife was raped, then the woman is deemed disloyal and the couple must get a divorce. Neither Ms. Aharonot nor her husband wish to end the marriage.
Women’s group Naaman’s chairperson Ofra Friedman said, “Instead of supporting the rape victim, who suffered a terrible trauma, the rabbis are adding insult to injury …. It’s a blatant case of violation of basic rights and human dignity and freedom.”
