
PRENUPTIAL AGREEMENTS: Click here for links to Israeli and American prenuptial agreements. ORGANIZATIONS TO HELP THE JEWISH DIVORCE PROCESS: (listed alphabetically by country) UNITED STATES:
AGUNAH INTERNATIONAL, INC. 498 East 18th Street Brooklyn, NY 11226 Hotline: 212-249-4523
Email: agunah@agunahinternational.comACTIVITIES AND INFORMATION: Agunah/Mesarev Get education, research, advocacy, active referral of cases to and research for the Rabbi Emanuel Rackman- Beit Din L'Inyenei Agunot. Agunah International's mission is to help free agunot trapped in dead marriages. It alerts the community about the severity of the problem, educates the community concerning halackic precedents for freeing agunot; counsels women whose husbands refuse to grant the get during the divorce process and provides financial aid for agunot in need. They are a tax exempt, non profit 501(c)(3), all-volunteer organization. Services are free of charge. ACCEPTS REFERRALS WEBSITE: www.agunahinternational.com G.E.T (Getting Equitable Treatment) Stanley Goodman, President Box 131 Brooklyn, NY 11230 Telephone: 718-677-1033 Email: getorganization@gmail.com ACTIVITIES AND INFORMATION: Helps women with information and counsels on a one to one basis when going through Jewish divorce. Uses volunteer "caseworkers." Has a great deal of experience in the New York metropolitan area. Cases confidential. ACCEPTS REFERRALS WEBSITE: None
GET Assistance Project (New York Legal Assistance Group (NYLAG)) 450 West Thirty Third Street 11 th Floor New York, NY 10001 Telephone: 212-613-5000 x3 (to speak with a case handler) Email: info@nylag.org kssuser@nylag.org ACTIVITIES AND INFORMATION: A not-for-profit law firm founded in 1990, NYLAG provides free civil legal assistance to victims of domestic violence and persons seeking divorce. ACCEPTS REFERRALS WEBSITE: www.nylag.org
KAYAMA Dr. Isaac Skolnik 1363 Coney Island Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11230 Telephone: 800-932-8589 718-692-1876 Fax: 718-692-2774 Email: info@kayama.org ACTIVITIES AND INFORMATION: Non-profit organization that provides advice and assistance to all Jews about giving a get. Committed to Jewish continuity and uses gittin to protect it. ACCEPTS REFERRALS WEBSITE: www.kayama.org
L'MAAN B'NOS YISRAEL INTERNATIONAL Marilyn Mattie Klein Telephone: 718-338-0833 ACTIVITIES AND INFORMATION: Helps agunot, organizes meetings for agunot ACCEPTS REFERRALS WEBSITE: www.agunot.com/LmaanBnosYisrael.html
ORA (The Organization For the Resolution of Agunot, Inc.) P.O. Box 327 New York, NY 10040 USA Telephone: 646-796-4551 Fax: 646-365-3474 Email: info@getora.com ACTIVITIES AND INFORMATION: Goal is to help agunot (and in the event the wife refuses to accept a Get, the husband) in obtaining a halakhicly valid get. Will use educational demonstrations as a last resort. Work under strict rabbinic supervision and always attempt to speak with both sides before moving forward in any case. ACCEPTS REFERRALS WEBSITE: www.getora.com.
ORTHODOX CAUCUS 2520 Amsterdam Avenue, Suite 306 New York, NY 10033 Telephone: 212-960-0064 Fax: 212-960-5273 Email: info@ocweb.org ACTIVITIES AND INFORMATION: Website contains a great deal of information on the halakhic validity and usage of the RCA halakhic pre-nuptial document. It also has a downloadable version of the pre-nup with clear instructions. DOES NOT ACCEPT REFERRALS WEBSITE: http://ocweb.org CANADA: CANADIAN COALITION OF JEWISH WOMEN FOR THE GETT Norma Joseph, Montreal, Canada Email: nojo@vax2.concordia.ca Evelyn Brook, Toronto, Canada Email: brk@allstream.net ACTIVITIES AND INFORMATION: Has a fund to pay for the obtaining of a gett for women. Gave evidence to parliament concerning the need for a gett law; lobbied the government for the law that was passed August 1990. Promoted use of Taanit Esther as National Agunah Day. Produced a documentary "UNTYING THE BONDS-JEWISH DIVORCE" that was funded by the Canadian government and is available through the National Film Institute at Brandeis University. Has gett help-lines across Canada. ACCEPTS REFERRALS WEBSITE: None
ISRAEL:
CENTER FOR WOMEN'S JUSTICE Susan Weiss, Executive Director 64 Emek Rephaim, Jerusalem 27 Lochamei Hagetaot, Haifa Telephone: 972-2-566-4390, Jerusalem Telephone: 972-4-855-2871, Haifa Fax: 972-2-566-3317 Email: cwj@cwj.org.il ACTIVITIES AND INFORMATION: The goal of the Center for Women?s Justice (CWJ) is to safeguard the basic human rights and dignity of Jewish women who appear before the rabbinic and family courts in the State of Israel. Working creatively within Jewish law and the civil legal system, CWJ is dedicated to finding a full and comprehensive answer to the challenges of Jewish women and divorce: the agunah, get refusal, and the mamzer. WEBSITE: cwjisrael.googlepages.com
ICAR (INTERNATIONAL COALITION FOR AGUNAH RIGHTS) Robyn Shames, Coordinator PO. Box 68131 Jerusalem 91680 Israel For street address, contact organization Telephone: 02-6721401 Fax: 02-6728901 Email: icar@barak.net.il ACTIVITIES AND INFORMATION: ICAR is a pluralistic international coalition of 24 organizations ( Crisis Center for Religious Women; Emunah; GRANIT-Association for Aid to Women Before, During and After Divorce Proceedings; Hadassah Israel; Hemdat-Public Committee for Freedom of Science, Religion & Culture in Israel; ICJW-International Council of Jewish Women; Isha L'Isha-Haifa Feminist Center; Israel Religious Action Center; IWN-Israel Women Network; Kol Ha'Isha, Kolech-Religious Women's Forum; Lev La'Am-Organization for Agunot and Women who are refused a Get; L.O-Combat Violence Against Women; Mavoi Satum; Naamat; NCJW-National Council of Jewish Women; Shatil, Sister for Women in Israel; The Conservative Movement; The Center for Women in Jewish Law at the Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies; The Ruth and Emanuel Rackman Center for the Advancement of Women, Bar Ilan University; Wizo; Women's League for Conservative Judaism; Yad L'Isha-the Max Morrison Legal Aid Center & Hotline; T which work to promote solutions to the problem of agunot and mesuravot get.) ICAR organizes events, seminars, news conferences and public protests to raise public awareness, drafts and promotes legislation, and promotes solutions in accordance with religious and civil law through research, publications and education. ICAR also encourages the use of prenuptial agreements. One of the aims of ICAR is to unite and try to coordinate efforts internationally in order to avoid duplication and create a stronger force for change. DOES NOT ACCEPT REFERRALS although some member organizations do WEBSITE: www.aacd.org/chained.html Educational WEBSITE in Hebrew: www.snunit.k12.il/seder/agunot
INTERNATIONAL JEWISH WOMEN'S HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH Sharon Shenhav, Advocate Director 13 Tel Hai Street Jerusalem 92107 Israel Fax: 972-2-5619112 E-mail: sshenhav@internet-zahav.net ACTIVITIES AND INFORMATION: Documents the human rights violations of women in Jewish communities all over the world. With International Council of Jewish Women, establishing a central data base which will include cases of women who have been denied the right to marry and to found a family from every Jewish community with the belief that each case is a violation of a Jewish woman's human rights; gathers information, researches and publicizes the infringement of Jewish women's rights with the goal of their elimination. WEBSITE: www.jcpa.org/jcprg3.htm
MAVOI SATUM Rachel Azariya, Director 19 Yad Harutzim Jerusalem 9180 Israel Tanya Zion, Director Education Projects Email: rachel@mavoisatum.org Shula Wittenster, Social Work Director Email: Shula@mavoisatum.org Telephone: 02-671-2286 Fax: 02-671139 Email: Office@mavoisatum.org ACTIVITIES AND INFORMATION: Emotional, legal and financial assistance; education on the issue of iggun; some lobbying. ACCEPTS REFERRALS WEBSITE: www.mavoisatum.org
THE ORGANIZATION FOR AGUNOT AND MESURREV GET ( Israel) Chairperson: Daniella Valenci WEBSITE (Under Construction): http://www.sanhedrin.co.il/kavenet/index.html RACKMAN CENTER FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF THE STATUS OF WOMEN, BAR ILAN UNIVERISTY LAW SCHOOL Ramat Gan Legal Clinic Telephone: 03-531-8895 E-mail: rackmanc@mail.biu.il ACTIVITIES: Research, training of law students about problems of agunot. WEBSITE: None
YAD L'ISHA (THE MAX MORRISON LEGAL AID SERVICE AND HOTLINE) 31 Leib Yaffe Street Jerusalem 93390 Yad L'isha Hotline (free call within Israel) 1-800-200-380 Telephone in Jerusalem: 02-678-0876 Telephone in Tel Aviv: 03-695-1899 E-mail: yad.lisha@ohrtorahstone.org.il legalaid@ohrtorahstone.org.il ACTIVITIES: Offers assistance to Israeli women in legal matters pertaining to the process of obtaining a get. Clients are offered legal advice as well as representation in the Rabbinical Courts. In addition, callers to the Hotline receive free advice in matters pertaining to personal status and divorce. ACCEPTS REFERRALS WEBSITE: www.legalaid.org.il
UNITED KINGDOM: AGUNAH RESEARCH UNIT Bernard S. Jackson, Alliance Professor of Modern Jewish Studies Humanities Lime Grove University of Manchester Oxford Road Manchester M13 9PL UK E-mail: Bernard.Jackson@man.ac.uk ACTIVITIES AND INFORMATION: Halakhic research into possible global solutions to the problem of get refusal. DOES NOT ACCEPT REFERRALS WEBSITE: http://www.mucjs.org/agunahunit.htm
AGUNOT CAMPAIGN Sandra Blackman Gloria Proops 121 Devonport 23 Southwick Street London W2 2QH agunot@msn.com sandra@duvt.com ACTIVITIES AND INFORMATION: Offers help and support and makes contact with relevant batei din; organizes demonstrations/vigils. Supports Agunah Research Unit of Professor Jackson at Manchester University. ACCEPTS REFERRAL WEBSITE: agunot-campaign.org.uk
AGUNOT ANONYMOUS EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION 2 Egerton Gardens Hendon, London NW4 Telephone: 020-8202-5551 020-8202-5552 ACTIVITIES AND INFORMATION: A confidential support group for agunot in the UK. WEBSITE: www.agunot-campaign.org.uk/support.htm GETTING YOUR GET London Telephone: 02082036311 (Sue) Email: info@jmc-uk.org ACTIVITIES AND INFORMATION: Information for Jewish men and women in England, Wales and Scotland about divorce according to Jewish law with articles, forms and explanations for lawyers. WEBSITE: http://www.gettingyourget.co.uk/
EUROPE: GET HELP: Netherland Shifa Sjenitzer-(in New York as Jacobs) ACTIVITIES AND INFORMATION: Agoena (agunah) support in the Netherlands. If you know of an organization which assists agunot that is not listed above please send us their information at agunah@jofa.org
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