Quick Answer: Israeli divorce is governed by religious courts for personal status and civil Family Courts for financial matters. Jewish couples require a religious divorce (get) in addition to any civil proceedings. Foreign nationals face unique jurisdictional complexities.

1. Overview: Why Israeli Divorce Is Unique

Israel has no civil marriage or divorce for its citizens. Personal status — including marriage and divorce — is governed by the religious law applicable to the parties' religion: Jewish, Muslim, Christian (various denominations), and Druze. Each community has its own religious courts with exclusive jurisdiction over divorce matters.

For foreign nationals, the situation can be complex. If you were married in Israel, the religious court has jurisdiction over your divorce. If you were married abroad and are now living in Israel, the question of which court has jurisdiction — Israeli or your home country's — requires careful legal analysis.

2. Which Court Handles Your Divorce?

Jewish couples: The Rabbinical Courts have exclusive jurisdiction over divorce. All matters of the divorce itself (the grant of a get) must go through the Rabbinical Court. Financial matters (alimony, property division) can be handled either in the Rabbinical Court or the Family Court, depending on which party files first (a "race to file" in practice).

Muslim couples: The Sharia Courts have exclusive jurisdiction over divorce for Muslim couples.

Christian couples: Ecclesiastical courts of the relevant denomination have jurisdiction.

Mixed-religion couples or non-Israelis: The Family Court may have jurisdiction, particularly where the couple has no clear religious affiliation or was married in a civil ceremony abroad.

In Practice: Under the Rabbinical Courts Jurisdiction (Marriage and Divorce) Law 1953, the Rabbinical Court and the Family Court have concurrent jurisdiction over financial matters between divorcing Jewish spouses — and whichever court receives the first petition gains jurisdiction over property, alimony, and child support. Financial proceedings typically reach a first-instance judgment within 12–24 months of filing at either forum, but the forum choice determines the applicable law. Financial matters in the Rabbinical Court (Beit Din HaRabanuti) are governed by Jewish religious law, under which the husband's support obligation (nafka) exists regardless of the wife's income. The Family Court applies a more balanced standard based on both spouses' earnings. This difference routinely amounts to NIS 3,000–6,000 per month in ongoing spousal maintenance. I advise every Jewish client considering separation to call their attorney the same morning the decision is made — by the time you reach the second appointment, the other spouse may have already filed.

3. The Get: The Religious Divorce

A get is a religious bill of divorce — a document given by the husband to the wife in Jewish law. Without a get, a Jewish woman is called an agunah (a chained woman) and cannot remarry under Jewish law, even if she has obtained a civil divorce abroad.

The get must be given voluntarily by the husband, in the presence of a rabbinical court. If a husband refuses to grant a get, the Rabbinical Court can issue a ruling compelling him to do so (Siddur Get). If he still refuses, the court can impose increasingly severe sanctions: fines, imprisonment, restriction of business licences, and publication of his name.

For foreign Jewish couples who divorced civilly abroad without a get, the religious divorce remains an open issue in Israel — and affects any future remarriage under religious law.

In Practice: Under Section 7(a) of the Rabbinical Courts Law 1953 (*Hok Batei Din Harabaniyim*), the Rabbinical Court can order a husband to grant a get and, if he refuses, impose fines of NIS 500–5,000 per day and prison terms of up to five years under the Rabbinical Courts (Enforcement of Divorce Judgments) Law 1995. But these tools require the husband to be present in Israel — a husband who has returned to the United States, United Kingdom, or Australia after separation is effectively beyond the Rabbinical Court's enforcement reach. The result is an *agunah* (a "chained woman"): civilly divorced abroad but still religiously bound under Jewish law and unable to remarry. In two matters I have handled involving Israeli-American couples, the wife's civil divorce was finalised in New York within 18 months while the get remained outstanding for over four years. The solution — ideally agreed before the marriage breaks down — is a halachic prenuptial agreement with a civil-court-enforceable financial penalty clause.

4. Division of Assets on Divorce

Under the Spouses (Property Relations) Law 1973, spouses who married after the law's enactment are entitled to equal division of the "marital estate" upon divorce — i.e., the assets accumulated during the marriage. Pre-marriage assets, gifts, and inheritances are generally excluded.

A prenuptial agreement (Heskem Yadua Muqdam) can modify these default rules — specifying which assets are separate and how the marital estate is defined. For international couples, choosing the applicable law in the prenup is critical.

5. Custody and Children

Child custody is governed by the Legal Capacity and Guardianship Law 1962 and Family Court precedent. The overriding principle is the best interests of the child. For children under 6, there is a presumption that the mother is the appropriate primary carer; for older children, the child's own preferences are given increasing weight.

International child custody — where parents live in different countries — is one of the most complex areas. Israel is a party to the Hague Convention on International Child Abduction, which provides mechanisms for the return of wrongfully removed children.

6. Recognition of Foreign Divorces in Israel

A civil divorce obtained abroad is generally recognised in Israel for most civil purposes (property rights, remarriage under civil law). However, for Jewish Israelis, a civil divorce abroad does not substitute for a get — the religious marriage remains intact until a get is granted through the Rabbinical Court.