Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit, sed diam nonummy nibh euismod tincidunt ut laoreet dolore magna aliquam erat volutpat.
Cases: HCJ 5079/08 and HCJ 2448/09. Plonit v. Rabbinic Court Judge A. Sherman
April 25, 2012
Read the High Court of Justice decisions 509/08 and 2448/09
In 2007, the Ashdod district court repealed the conversion of two women when they asked the rabbis to oversee the get ceremony that is a condition for divorce in Israel. Instead of conducting the ceremonies, the rabbinic judges interrogated the women about their religious observance. Dissatisfied with their answers, the judges declared the women and their children to be no longer Jewish. They also held that all of R. Haim Druckman’s conversions were void.
In 2008, CWJ petitioned the Court on behalf of the two women and their families to declare that rabbinic courts have no jurisdiction to repeal conversions when overseeing uncontested divorces; as well as no authority to make any sweeping determination regarding the validity of all conversions overseen by R. Haim Druckman.
The Court remanded the cases to the rabbinic courts to reevaluate their decisions regarding the Jewish status of CWJ’s clients. At the same time, the Court suggested that rabbinic courts issue regulations that govern when a rabbinic court can reopen and repeal conversions.
In 2012, the Court dismissed the cases as “theoretical” after the rabbinic courts had declared our clients to be Jewish again, and after the rabbinate had agreed to draft regulations regarding the procedures for repealed conversions. When dismissing the cases, the Court held that rabbinic courts had no jurisdiction to make any determinative declaration regarding the validity of R. Druckman’s conversions.