No ! The Greater Rabbinical Court accepted an appeal by a wife against her husband’s conditioning of divorce upon her giving him back maintenance he had paid her. After the district rabbinical court had declared the wife “ rebellious” , the husband had said he would only divorce her if she gave him back a substantial sum of maintenance which he had paid her over the years following litigation she had brought in the civil system. It accepted the husband’s action but the wife won on appeal.

The Greater Rabbinical Court held it was clear that the couple, who had lived separately for over 10 years, should divorce, but said it was very hard to understand the district court ruling allowing the husband to condition his consent to end their marriage upon the return of the maintenance sums. The money had been used to support the wife and there was no justification for its return , especially given the extreme violence within the marriage. As both sides were interested in divorce, it held that they must divorce immediately, without reference to the question of returning maintenance money, which should be dealt with afterwards. It ordered the wife to produce two guarantors.