There is more to the agunah issue than halakha alone. For years—decades perhaps—women have been frustrated by rabbinic responses to the suffering of agunot, and especially the argument that there is nothing to do in the face of halakha. In fact, argues Rachel Azaria, executive director of Mavoi Satum, (literally. “The Dead End”), an organization working on behalf of agunot in Israel, solutions within the halakha have existed for a long time, but the problem rests in their implementation.
“We now take a different approach to this problem,” Azaria says. “We are looking at the larger picture, at social pressures, and the structures that are in place that can give us leverage.”
Towards this aim, Mavoi Satum has created powerful working groups that lobby Knesset committees, cooperate with the Ministry of Justice, speak to audiences around the country, and appear regularly on television, radio and in print. “We are not just talking about recalcitrant husbands anymore,” Azaria explains. “We are trying to challenge a system that is abusive, that empowers the wrong people.”
“We are trying to change the way people think about agunot,” explains co-founder and co-chair Judith Garson Djemal. “We no longer have to explain to people that there is a problem—thankfully, everyone now knows about it. What we need to do is send the message that solutions exist, but it is up to lawmakers and judges to see that they are implemented. It is about using our grassroots leverage, the public’s legitimate demand for justice for agunot.”
Mavoi Satum has also convened a think tank that is comprised of some of the top academics, lawyers and business people in Israel. The goal, says Azaria, is for people to understand that “agunot are not just a problem for women— it is a problem for all of us.”
Since its inception in 1996, Mavoi Satum has helped hundreds of agunot through financial, legal, and emotional support, while simultaneously working towards education and change. For more information, contact agunot@netvision. net.il, or visit their website, at www.mavoisatum.org.