FREEILANA

The mother consistently maintained an open door for Shachar to be involved in the children’s lives. The court granted him time with his children over a year ago and ordered reunification therapy to rebuild the relationship.

There is exactly one place in Jewish life where “his side” belongs: in front of a beth din. That is the one place he refuses to go. Since 2023 he has declined every summons, which is why three rabbinic courts, spanning Modern Orthodox and Chabad, have ruled without ever hearing a defense he was invited to give.

The civil divorce was finalized in September 2024. There is no settlement pending, no case to leverage. A get is not a bargaining chip; withholding one is, in ORA’s words, “a serious form of domestic abuse which is never justified.” Every beth din involved has said the same thing: give the get, or come and make your case. He does neither.

It is a court, not Ilana, that set the terms, and the terms are in his favor: parenting time granted, therapy ordered, a clear path back to his kids. The door to his children is open. The door to Ilana’s freedom is the one he keeps locked.