The religious community in Israel these days is in an uproar over certain “prenuptial agreements” initiated by the Rabbinical Council of America and adopted by the moderate Israeli rabbinic group Tzohar. The issue involves an agreement signed by the couple before their marriage, in which the man obligates himself to pay a high alimony ($50-$150 per day) to his wife if she wants a divorce and he refuses to give her a get (a Jewish bill of divorce).

While various women’s groups have expressed enthusiastic support for the initiative and various rabbis allow it, many authorities in Jewish law — particularly among the Orthodox — fervently oppose the proposal. The reason for this is the concern that in Jewish law, or halacha, this could be considered a “forced get.” Jewish law does not accept the divorce of a man who is forced to give his wife a get, and the couple is considered still married. Supporters of the prenuptial initiative believe that financial pressure is not considered “force.”

There is no civil marriage in Israel, and Jews can only be married in accordance with Jewish law. According to Jewish law, men and women cannot break up their marriage unless both parties agree to it. Under that same law, however, the status of women is inferior to men. The children of a woman born to another man — before that woman received a get from her husband — are considered mamzerim (bastards), with certain religious implications, especially when getting married. In contrast, the children of a married man born to an unmarried woman who is not his wife do not have the status of mamzerim.

Men deny their wives a get for various reasons: out of revenge, a desire to improve their position in the division of assets or to get better parental visitation rights. This is precisely the problem that the prenuptial agreement attempts to resolve.