Protests Gather Against Husband Who Refuses to Grant Jewish Divorce
Image by Thinkstock
More than two-dozen people protested last week in Norwalk, Connecticut against a Jewish husband, who refused to grant his wife a divorce, the Jewish Ledger reports. The demonstration, organized by the non-profit Organization for the Resolution of Agunot (ORA), took place outside the hospital where the husband, Ephraim Ohana, works.
Ohana is refusing to grant a get — a Jewish divorce — to ex-wife Cynthia, though the couple has been legally divorced since 2005.
Rabbi Jeremy Stern, ORA executive director, told the Jewish Ledger that the refusal to issue a get is considered a form of domestic abuse, and that the goal of the protest was to inform hospital employees and Ohana’s colleagues about the situation in an attempt to shame him and cause him to change his mind.
“We want to raise awareness in the local community and increase the pressure by Ephraim Ohana’s colleagues so that he can’t hide,” Stern told the Jewish Ledger. “We hope the Jewish community will state that he’s persona non grata in its shuls. We’re hoping that he’ll get tired of this and will want to improve himself and give the get.”
According to Stern, Ohana has lived in Norwalk for several months and was attending a local synagogue until his identity was discovered, when he was asked to leave.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and the protests on college campuses.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
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.
