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Case: HCJ 5444/13 Erez v. The Special Conversion Court
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On or about 2010, CWJ represented a woman in a particularly acerbic divorce proceeding. In order to take revenge on his wife for demanding a divorce, the husband claimed that his wife, a convert, still believed in Jesus and was not vigilant in obeying the commandments. (She was a nurse and worked on the Sabbath, among other things). The rabbinic court held a hearing to determine the level of our client’s religious beliefs and practices, after which it declared that she was not Jewish, but, also, at the same time, insisted that she undergo the Jewish get proceeding.
In 2013, CWJ petitioned the Supreme Court on behalf of our client. We asked the Court to hold that rabbinic courts have no jurisdiction to repeal conversions when adjudicating contested divorces, arguing that vindictive husbands bandy false claims regarding their convert-wives in order to gain favor in the divorce proceeding. We also argued that there is no basis in Jewish law for ever repealing conversions.
In 2014, the Court refused to address and reopen the decision of the rabbinic court. It held that a rabbinic court, like any court, can repeal a prior decision if there is a finding of “fraud.” It refused to address the question of whether the lack of sufficient religious observance could be proof of fraud. We asked the Court to set down a hearing before an expanded tribunal, but the Court refused.