"GRIEVOUS WRONG" AMENDED AGAINST AGUNOT Knesset Committee: Division of property before divorce by Neta Sela Constitution, Law and Justice Committee approves bill preventing husbands from extorting wives seeking divorce. MK Melchior: There are no halachic issues here Could it be the end of divorce extortion? The Knesset’s Constitution, Law and Justice Committee approved this week an amendment to Israeli law that would prevent ‘divorce-refusing’ husbands from financially extorting their wives. According to the Property Relations Law (1973) currently in effect in Israel, property division rulings can only take place once a divorce has officially been granted, unless otherwise decreed by the Family Court. This law has thus given ‘divorce- refusing’ husbands the opportunity to extort their wives financially, forcing them to cave in on property matters in return for an official divorce (which, by Jewish law, necessitates the husband’s consent). The new bill, proposed by Knesset Mem...