Rabbi and Wife Charged With Beating Man To Accept Divorce
Federal authorities filed charges of kidnapping against a New Jersey rabbi and his wife for allegedly detaining and threatening to kill a recalcitrant husband.
David Wax, 49, and Judy Wax, 47, appeared in a federal court in Trenton, N.J. on Monday and were each released on a $500,000 bond, the Associated Press reported.
The couple are alleged to have lured Yisrael Briskman to their Lakewood, N.J. home last October with the possibility of assisting Wax, a noted scholar, on his next book.
Briskman allegedly fled Israel in 2008 because he was wanted for not granting his wife a court-ordered divorce.
There have been calls in recent years for tougher measures to deal with men who reufse their wives divorce, leaving them unable to remarry. Such women are known as “agunot,” or chained.
When he arrived at the house, two men allegedly bound Briskman and beat him, threatening to bury him alive in Pennsylvania’s Pocono mountains if he did not grant his wife a divorce.
Wax allegedly threatened to kill Briskman’s father if he did not pay the Briskman’s ex-wife $100,000.
Supporters of the Waxes appeared in court when they were charged. The case now goes to a grand jury.
Lawyers for the couple said that they would plead not guilty if they were indicted.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30