Dividing Line: The paved road from Efrat in the West Bank turns to gravel on its way to a Palestinian village. Image by Jane Eisner

JERUSALEM — An Orthodox Jewish woman has been appointed director of a rabbinical court in the West Bank settlement of Efrat.

Jennie Rosenfeld will head the rabbinical court for property claims in the Efrat municipal region, The Jerusalem Post reported Tuesday. She will not serve on the court, which deals with such issues as financial disputes, inheritance arguments and disagreements between neighbors.

Last year she became the first female communal spiritual leader of an Orthodox community in Israel, in Efrat.

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The chief rabbi of Efrat, Shlomo Riskin, appointed Rosenfeld to both positions.

Rosenfeld recently completed a five-year course in Talmud and Jewish law for women at the Susi Bradfield Women’s Institute for Halachic Leadership at Midreshet Lindenbaum in Jerusalem, according to The Jerusalem Post.

The Efrat rabbinical court for property claims heard its first case this after being closed for several months, according to the newspaper. The court serves residents of Efrat and the entire Etzion bloc of which it is a part.

Israel has several rabbinical courts for property law. Both parties must agree to have the case heard in the rabbinical court and abide by its decision.

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