Jewish Mom Of 6 Jailed For Contempt In Marathon Divorce
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
By Josh Nathan-Kazis July 14, 2017
A Jewish mother of was briefly jailed for contempt of court in the latest chapter in a long-running divorce battle over whether her six children will be educated in Hasidic schools.
An Ohio judge briefly jailed Julie Goffstein in July for violating a court order. Attorneys for both Julie and her ex-husband, Peter Goffstein, declined requests for comment, and state court documents are sealed in the case, so it’s not entirely clear why Goffstein was jailed. According to the fundraising website, she had failed to comply with a court order to pay $10,000 in Peter Goffstein’s court fees.
Goffstein first filed for divorce from her husband, Peter Goffstein, in 2010. According to federal court filings by Julie Goffstein, the couple were members of the Chabad-Lubavitch Chasidic group, but Peter Goffstein no longer wants the children educated in the group’s tradition.
A page on the Jewish crowdfunding website The Chesed Fund has raised $17,000 for Julie Goffstein, while asking supporters to call Peter Goffstein’s employer and to demand the disqualification of the judge in the case. A federal court has previously rejected Julie Goffstein’s effort to have the judge removed.
Julie Goffstein was released from jail on July 12.
Contact Josh Nathan-Kazis at [email protected] or on Twitter, @joshnathankazis.
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