Quick Answer: Israel has no civil divorce. If either or both spouses are Jewish, the marriage can only be dissolved by the Rabbinical Court through a get (גט) — a formal religious document that the husband hands to the wife. Non-Jewish foreigners typically divorce in their home country and register the judgment with Israel's Population and Immigration Authority. Property division, spousal maintenance, and child custody are handled by the Family Court for all couples, regardless of religion or nationality. An uncontested Jewish divorce takes 3 to 6 months; contested proceedings routinely last 2 to 5 years.

Most foreigners who move to Israel and later separate are caught off-guard by how radically different the Israeli divorce system is from the civil family courts they know at home. There is no judge to file a petition with, no "irreconcilable differences" box to tick, and no civil decree nisi. The system is built on a patchwork of religious courts that the British Mandate inherited from the Ottoman Empire and that the State of Israel has maintained since 1948. Understanding which court governs your divorce, and what each one can and cannot do, is the first thing to get right — because filing in the wrong place wastes months and costs real money.

This guide covers the full picture: why Israel's divorce system works the way it does, the Jewish divorce (*get*) process step by step, options for non-Jewish foreign nationals, property division rules, costs, timelines, and what happens to your Israeli residency when a marriage ends.

1. Israel Has No Civil Divorce — And Why That Matters for You

The foundational rule is this: personal status law in Israel is controlled entirely by religious authorities. Jews divorce through the Rabbinical Court, Muslims through the Sharia Court, and recognized Christian denominations through their ecclesiastical courts. There is no secular family court with the power to dissolve a marriage.

This arrangement flows from the Rabbinical Courts Jurisdiction (Marriage and Divorce) Law 5713-1953, which gives the Rabbinical Court exclusive jurisdiction over Jewish marriage and divorce in Israel. Section 2 of the Law states plainly that matters of marriage and divorce of Jews in Israel shall be decided exclusively by Rabbinical Courts. A parallel framework exists under the Muslim Religious Courts Law 5713-1953 for Muslims, and various other religious community statutes for recognized Christian groups.

For foreigners, this creates two immediate practical questions: which religious tradition governs your marriage, and what do you do if neither spouse belongs to a recognized community with courts in Israel?

In Practice — The Courthouse Surprise

A couple from New York — one Jewish, one Catholic — married in a civil ceremony and later moved to Israel. When they separated after four years, both partners assumed they would file for divorce at the Family Court the same way they would in the US. At the Tel Aviv Family Court (Beit Mishpat LaMishpacha, at 1 Weizmann Street), the clerk explained that the court had no jurisdiction to dissolve a Jewish marriage. The Jewish spouse had to file a divorce petition (tvia laget) at the Tel Aviv Rabbinical Court (at 56 King George Street, Tel Aviv). The Family Court could hear property division and child custody claims, but the marriage itself — the formal legal bond — could only be cut by a rabbinical panel. This is the situation that surprises nearly every American, British, and Australian Jewish couple who moves to Israel and later separates.

2. Which Court Handles Which Part of Your Divorce

Israeli divorce law splits jurisdiction across multiple institutions, and understanding the division prevents costly procedural errors.

The Rabbinical Court (Beit Din Harabani)

Handles the formal dissolution of Jewish marriages. The get — the religious divorce document — must be written by a court-appointed scribe (sofer) and handed by the husband to the wife in the presence of three rabbinical judges (dayanim). The Rabbinical Court has no power over property or custody on its own, though parties can agree to submit those issues to it voluntarily.

The Sharia Court (Beit Mishpat Sharia)

Has exclusive jurisdiction over marriage and divorce of Muslims in Israel. There are Sharia courts in Jerusalem, Nazareth, Haifa, Jaffa, and Acre. Sharia courts also have jurisdiction over child custody and inheritance for Muslims, operating under the Ottoman Sharia courts framework updated by Israeli legislation.

Ecclesiastical Courts

Recognized Christian communities — Greek Orthodox, Latin Catholic, Greek Catholic, Maronite, Syrian Catholic, Armenian Catholic, Armenian Orthodox, Chaldean Catholic, and Coptic — each have their own ecclesiastical courts with jurisdiction over marriage and divorce of their members. Protestant and Evangelical Christians are not covered by ecclesiastical courts and must use alternative routes.

The Family Court (Beit Mishpat LaMishpacha)

Family Courts operate under the Family Courts Law 5755-1995 and sit in every judicial district. They handle property division, spousal and child maintenance, child custody and visitation, and adoption — for all residents regardless of religion. They cannot grant a get or dissolve a Jewish marriage, but they are the primary forum for everything that happens alongside or after the religious divorce.

Foreign Court Divorce + Israeli Registration

Foreign nationals who married civilly abroad and are not Jewish, Muslim, or members of a recognized Christian community can divorce in the country where they married and then register the foreign judgment with the Interior Ministry. Israel applies its own private international law rules to decide whether to recognize the foreign divorce — primarily looking at whether the issuing court had valid jurisdiction over the parties and whether Israeli public policy is offended.

3. Jewish Divorce: Getting a Get from the Rabbinical Court

The get (גט) is a handwritten document prepared in Aramaic on the day of the divorce ceremony. It must be written specifically for the couple seeking the divorce — it cannot be prepared in advance. The scribe writes twelve lines while the husband watches, confirms it is his document, and then physically hands it to his wife in the presence of the three rabbinical judges and two witnesses.

On paper, the process requires mutual consent. The husband chooses to give the get; the wife chooses to receive it. If either refuses, the situation becomes legally and religiously complicated in ways explained below. But in the majority of Israeli divorces where both parties have decided the marriage is over, the practical steps are straightforward.

Step 1: File the Divorce Petition (Tvia LaGet)

Either spouse files the divorce petition at any regional Rabbinical Court. There are district Rabbinical Courts in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa, Beer Sheva, Petah Tikva, and several other cities. The filing fee is NIS 1,950 (2026 Court Fees Regulations for Rabbinical Courts). The petition sets out basic identifying information, the marriage date and registration number, and the grounds for divorce.

Step 2: The First Hearing and Reconciliation Attempt

The court schedules the first hearing typically 6 to 10 weeks after filing. Both parties appear before the three dayanim. The rabbinical judges are required under the Rabbinical Courts procedure to attempt reconciliation (shidur shalom bayit) before granting the divorce. In most cases this is a brief formality. The court will question both parties separately and may refer the case to a Rabbinical Court counselor for one session before proceeding.

Step 3: Agreement on Ancillary Matters

The Rabbinical Court will not grant the get while child custody and financial arrangements remain unresolved. Practically, this means the parties must either (a) reach a written settlement agreement covering all issues, or (b) separately commence Family Court proceedings and obtain an order from the Family Court, which the Rabbinical Court then takes into account. Many couples negotiate a global settlement agreement covering property, custody, and maintenance simultaneously with the get proceedings so the final divorce can happen in one ceremony.

Step 4: The Get Ceremony

Once the court is satisfied that both parties consent and ancillary matters are resolved, the get ceremony is scheduled. The scribe prepares the document in the husband's presence. The husband declares the document is his gift to his wife freely and without reservation. He places it in her hands; she raises it and lowers it to signify acceptance. The dayanim then pronounce the couple divorced. The entire ceremony takes approximately 30 minutes. Each party receives a te'udat gerushin (divorce certificate) that day.

In Practice — What Filing Costs and How Long It Takes

Costs at the Jerusalem Rabbinical Court (at 10 Strauss Street) for a typical uncontested get proceeding, 2026:

  • Filing fee: NIS 1,950 paid by the petitioner
  • Scribe and witnesses fee: NIS 700–1,000 (paid at the ceremony)
  • Certified copy of divorce certificate (te'udat gerushin): NIS 80 per copy
  • Attorney representation (optional for uncontested cases): NIS 3,000–8,000 for the full proceeding

Total elapsed time from filing to receiving the divorce certificate in an uncontested case where both parties agree on everything: 3 to 6 months. The primary variable is court scheduling availability, which in peak periods at Tel Aviv and Jerusalem can push the first hearing to 10–12 weeks out from filing.

When One Spouse Refuses: Get Refusal

Get refusal is one of the most serious legal problems in Israeli family law. If the husband refuses to give the get, the wife becomes an agunah — bound by Jewish law even after civil courts have addressed all financial and custody issues. If the wife refuses to receive it, the husband faces different but also significant complications.

The Rabbinical Court can compel cooperation through the Rabbinical Courts (Enforcement of Divorce Judgments) Law 5755-1995, which authorizes a range of coercive sanctions against a recalcitrant spouse: fines up to NIS 5,000 per day, imprisonment for up to 10 years, suspension of the driver's license, passport confiscation preventing travel abroad, blocking of bank accounts and credit, and bars on professional licenses. These tools have been used with increasing frequency since 2000. For a complete guide to this specific situation, see our dedicated article on get refusal and agunah rights in Israel.

4. Divorce for Non-Jewish Foreign Nationals

The Israeli divorce system is most confusing for foreigners who do not belong to any of the recognized religious communities. Their marriage was likely registered abroad in a civil ceremony, and Israel recognizes that marriage — but has no clear domestic institution to dissolve it.

Muslim Couples

A Muslim husband can pronounce a talaq divorce before the Sharia Court. Muslim wives have the right to petition for khul' (divorce in exchange for returning the mahr) or faskh (judicial dissolution on specific grounds such as harm, abandonment, or failure to provide maintenance). Sharia courts sit in Jerusalem, Nazareth, Haifa, Jaffa-Tel Aviv, Taibeh, and Acre. Filing a petition at the Sharia Court costs approximately NIS 500–800 (fees set by the Ministry of Religious Affairs for Sharia courts).

Recognized Christian Denominations

Members of recognized Christian communities appear before their ecclesiastical court. The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate Court in Jerusalem, for example, applies canon law. Most ecclesiastical courts require residency in their jurisdiction and membership in the specific community. Filing fees and processing times vary substantially by community and court. Foreign nationals who are nominal members of a recognized denomination but have never registered with the community in Israel often find the ecclesiastical route impractical.

The Foreign Civil Divorce Route — Recommended for Most Non-Jews

For the majority of non-Jewish foreigners — Americans, Britons, Canadians, Australians, Europeans who married civilly abroad — the most practical path is to divorce in the country where you married and then register the foreign divorce with the Israeli Population and Immigration Authority (PIBA).

Israel recognizes foreign divorce judgments under the principles of private international law consistently applied by the Supreme Court. The key conditions are: (1) the court that issued the divorce had valid jurisdiction under the law of that country; (2) the judgment is final; (3) recognition does not violate Israeli public policy; and (4) neither party was denied a fair hearing. A US, UK, Australian, or Canadian divorce judgment meets these conditions in virtually all cases.

In Practice — Registering a Foreign Divorce with PIBA

An Australian couple — both non-Jewish — married in Melbourne, moved to Israel on work permits, separated, and obtained an Australian divorce order from the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia. To update their status in Israel, each spouse submitted the following to the nearest Interior Ministry (PIBA) district office:

  • Original or certified copy of the foreign divorce order
  • Apostille from the Australian competent authority (each state has its own issuing authority)
  • Certified Hebrew translation by a sworn Israeli translator
  • Passports and current Israeli residency permits (A/5 cards in their case)
  • PIBA Form 12 (declaration of change of civil status)

Processing time at the Tel Aviv PIBA district office was approximately 3 to 4 weeks. The fee for updating civil status in the Population Registry is NIS 180. Once registered, each spouse's Population Registry entry showed their marital status as "divorced" — which is required for them to remarry in Israel or to update bank, insurance, and legal documents.

What If There Are No Courts With Jurisdiction?

Foreign nationals who belong to a non-recognized religious community (many Protestant denominations, Druze who are not Israeli citizens, or those of no religion) and who did not marry in Israel face a genuine jurisdictional gap. In this situation, the Israeli Supreme Court has in several cases exercised residual jurisdiction to recognize that the marriage has dissolved, applying private international law. This requires a petition to the District Court and is both expensive and slow. Legal advice from an Israeli family law attorney specializing in cross-border cases is essential before taking any step.

5. Property Division in an Israeli Divorce

The Property Relations Between Spouses Law 5733-1973 governs how assets are divided when a marriage in Israel ends. The Law applies to all couples who married after January 1, 1974 (couples who married before that date follow a different regime based on the Supreme Court's jurisprudence).

The core rule is the balance of resources principle in Section 5: each spouse is entitled to half of the total net resources accumulated by both spouses during the marriage. This is not automatic co-ownership during the marriage — each spouse owns whatever they purchased or earned. But on divorce, the accumulated wealth of both is pooled and divided equally.

What Counts as Marital Property

  • Salaries and employment income earned during the marriage
  • Bank savings and investment accounts accumulated after the wedding
  • Pension rights accrued during the marriage (pension funds, managers' insurance, keren hishtalmut)
  • Israeli real estate purchased with marital funds
  • Business interests and company shares built up during the marriage
  • Any asset whose value increased substantially through joint effort

What Is Excluded from Division

Section 5(b) of the Property Relations Law excludes three categories from the resource pool:

  • Pre-marital assets: property owned by either spouse before the wedding
  • Inheritances and gifts received by one spouse during the marriage from a third party (for example, an inheritance from a parent)
  • Compensation for personal injury: insurance payouts or legal awards for pain and suffering

A pre-marital apartment, for example, does not enter the pool — but any increase in its value during the marriage that is attributable to marital funds (renovation, mortgage repayments from joint income) may be subject to partial division under Section 8.

In Practice — Filing a Resource Balancing Claim

Filing a resource balancing claim (taviut lezun masavim) at the Family Court requires submitting the claim form together with a financial disclosure statement listing all assets, debts, income, and pension rights. The court filing fee is calculated as a percentage of the disputed value: for a claim up to NIS 100,000, the fee is NIS 1,650; for claims up to NIS 2,500,000, fees scale from NIS 1,650 to approximately NIS 16,500. For very large estates, an expert accountant (shama'i) is typically appointed by the court to value assets — costing NIS 8,000–25,000 split between the parties.

Timing is critical: under Section 5A of the Property Relations Law, the resource balancing claim must be filed either (a) at the time of filing for divorce, or (b) within 6 years of the date of separation. Filing late — particularly waiting until years after separation — can significantly complicate the claim and give the other side grounds to challenge the scope of assets included.

If you and your spouse agree on how to divide assets, a written property settlement agreement signed before a notary or approved by the Family Court has full legal force. Court approval is not strictly required for a settlement agreement between adults who received independent legal advice, but court approval converts it into an enforceable court order that can be acted upon through the Execution Office if one party later fails to comply.

For prenuptial agreements and their enforceability in Israeli divorce proceedings, see our dedicated guide to prenuptial agreements in Israel.

6. Child Custody and Support in Divorce Proceedings

Child custody and support are determined by the Family Court under the Legal Capacity and Guardianship Law 5722-1962, which adopts the best interests of the child as the governing standard. The Rabbinical Court can also deal with custody if both parties consent, but the Family Court has concurrent jurisdiction and is generally the more accessible forum for foreign nationals.

Israeli courts apply the tender years presumption — children under age 6 are generally placed with their mother absent compelling evidence to the contrary — though this presumption has been weakened by successive Supreme Court decisions emphasizing joint physical custody arrangements where both parents are suitable. Joint legal guardianship is the default for both parents regardless of where the child physically lives.

Child support (mezonot yeladim) is calculated by the Rabbinical Court or Family Court based on the child's needs and the paying parent's income. The National Insurance Institute (NII / Bituach Leumi) supplements child support payments when the paying parent defaults, under the Assurance of Child Support Law 5792-1972. NII pays the custodial parent up to NIS 1,680 per child per month (2026 rate) and then pursues recovery from the non-paying parent directly.

For foreigners with children who plan to relocate outside Israel after divorce, the rules on child relocation from Israel are strict and require a Family Court order or the other parent's written consent. Taking a child abroad without either constitutes international child abduction under the Hague Convention, which Israel has been party to since 1991.

7. Timeline, Costs, and Documents You Will Need

The gap between an uncontested and a contested Israeli divorce is wide — arguably wider than in any comparable Western legal system. Get the realistic picture before you begin.

Uncontested Jewish Divorce (Both Parties Agree on Everything)

  • Rabbinical Court petition to get ceremony: 3–6 months
  • Total legal costs (both parties, each with separate counsel): NIS 8,000–20,000
  • Court and ceremony fees: approximately NIS 3,000

Contested Jewish Divorce (Property, Custody, or Get Disputes)

  • Total elapsed time: 2–5 years for the full cycle including property settlement
  • Legal fees per side: NIS 40,000–200,000+ depending on complexity
  • Family Court property proceedings alone: 1–3 years
  • Expert valuations, actuarial pension opinions, accountants: NIS 15,000–50,000 additional
In Practice — Documents to Gather Before Filing

Before meeting with an Israeli family law attorney, collect the following:

  • Marriage certificate (original + apostille if issued abroad + certified Hebrew translation)
  • Passports for both parties and all children
  • Israeli residency documents (teudat zehut, A/5 permits, or permanent residency cards)
  • Property documents: Land Registry (Tabu) extract for any Israeli real estate — obtainable online from the Justice Ministry portal for NIS 30 per property
  • Bank statements: 12 months from all Israeli accounts
  • Pension fund statements: most recent annual statement from each fund (keren pensia, bituach menahalim, keren hishtalmut)
  • Employment records: salary slips and recent Form 106 (annual income summary from employer)
  • Any existing agreements: prenuptial agreement, prior court orders on custody or support

Israeli attorneys typically charge a consultation fee of NIS 500–1,200 for an initial family law consultation. Bring a Hebrew-speaking friend or arrange for an interpreter if you are not confident in Hebrew — the attorney consultation itself does not need to be in Hebrew, but court documents will be.

Mediation as an Alternative

The Family Court regularly refers divorce cases to court-annexed mediation (gashot) under Section 79C of the Courts Law 5744-1984. Mediation sessions cost NIS 350–500 per hour at accredited mediators (rates set by the Ministry of Justice's mediation coordinator). A typical mediation process to settle property and custody takes 4–10 sessions. Where mediation succeeds, a written agreement is submitted to the court and converted into a court order — cutting the timeline to resolution from years to months.

8. Immigration and Residency Consequences of Divorce

For foreign nationals whose Israeli residency was obtained through marriage to an Israeli citizen or permanent resident, divorce is a legal status event with immediate immigration implications. The Population and Immigration Authority (PIBA) operates the graduated residency procedure (halich hadragi) for non-Jewish foreign spouses, typically running across 5–7 years from initial B/1 permit to permanent residency.

Divorce before completing the procedure normally ends the foreign spouse's eligibility to continue. However, several exceptions preserve residency rights:

  • Where the couple has Israeli-citizen children and the foreign spouse has custody or substantial visitation, PIBA has internal guidelines allowing continued status for the parent
  • Where divorce was caused by the Israeli spouse's domestic violence, PIBA's humanitarian track allows independent continuation of status with appropriate documentation (police complaint, protection order, or shelter stay)
  • Where the couple was married for more than 10 years and the foreign spouse has Israeli-born children, PIBA exercises discretion to grant permanent residency on humanitarian grounds

For a complete guide to what happens to your Israeli visa after divorce, including the documentation required and how to apply for continued status, see our article on Israeli residency after divorce for foreign spouses.

On the tax side, divorce changes your Israeli filing status from married to single as of the tax year in which the get or foreign divorce registration is completed. This affects your credit point entitlements under the Income Tax Ordinance: a divorced parent with custody of children receives additional credit points (between 0.5 and 1.5 additional points per child depending on custody arrangement). Notify the Israel Tax Authority (Rashat HaMasim) of the status change by updating your Tofes 101 with your employer.