Where there is no mutual consent by the parents to permanently uproot from Israel and settle abroad, then Israel will be the minors’ place of habitual residence even if they were born abroad . So ruled Tel Aviv Family Court a few years ago, when it rejected a father’s plea for the return of two children, aged 2 1/2 and 16 months old, to Paraguay under the Hague Convention.

The parents were a young Israeli couple who had married in Israel but lived in South American countries for vocational/work reasons, without acquiring residency there. Their elder child had dual Israel and Venezuelan nationality and the younger one dual Israeli and Paraguayan nationality, as well as both being Israeli citizens. They had only been in Israel on visits. The parents had only tourist visas in South America and had been obliged to cross the border every three months to remain living there. The couple and their children visited Israel , where their families resided, between one and three times a year. The family had been living together in Paraguay for four months, and the mother and children came to Israel for a two month visit during the Summer. Soon after the father joined them, the mother announced that she would not be returning as planned.