A push to educate Orthodox Jewish women about their rights in marriage and divorce turned sour in Borough Park on March 29, when a group of women were attacked and their materials destroyed by a large group of men and boys.
The organizers of the event — former city council candidate Amber Adler and local activist Adina Sash – wanted to teach women how to “safeguard their futures,” Adler said — how to protect themselves from becoming an agunah, or a “chained woman.”
In Orthodox Judaism, for a couple to divorce, the husband has to obtain and sign a document called a “get” from a rabbinical court and deliver it to his wife. A woman cannot obtain a get on her own.
But some men refuse to sign a get, sometimes for years, leaving their wives “chained,” Adler said. Some women end up tethered to abusive partners, and all are unable to remarry without a get.
“This particular topic is very personal to me because I spent over two years as an agunah, and it was a very painful period in my life,” Adler told Brooklyn Paper.
Rallies to support agunot — women unable to obtain a rabbinic divorce — and pressure their husbands are not uncommon. Sash is leading a campaign in support of Malky Berkowitz, a woman living in Kiryas Joel whose husband has allegedly refused her a get for more than two years.
At their March 29 pop-up, Adler and Sash wanted to take a new approach. They planned to distribute information about the legal rights women have in marriage and divorce, and hand out copies of halachic (Jewish law) pre- and post-nuptial agreements, which can prevent a husband from refusing his wife a get.
With a few other women, the two set up a table and tent outside a Judaica store in Borough Park. Their timing and location were intentional — they knew people would be out and about on a Friday afternoon, preparing for Shabbos.
The first few hours went smoothly. Women — both married and unmarried — wanted to learn more. So did some…
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