Page 16 - IAV Digital Magazine #537

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Australian Man ‘Stuck’ In Israel Since 2013 Can’t Leave For 8,000 Years, Thanks To A Divorce Law
By: ABP News Bureau
An Australian citizen’s 2012 trip to Israel to be with his children turned out to be the most unfortunate decision he ever made. With his estranged wife, an Israeli national, seek- ing a divorce from him, he has to pay over $3 million towards child support, failing which he can’t leave the country for a very long time — nearly 8,000 years to be precise, all thanks to a specific local
law.
According to a report in news.com.eu, Noam Huppert (44) is barred from leaving Israel — even for holi- day or work — until December 31, 9999, or until he pays the amount.
The report said he had moved to Israel in 2012 so he could be closer to his two young children, then aged one year and
five years old, after his wife returned to her country in 2011.
With the wife soon moving an Israeli court seeking divorce and child support, Huppert was issued a “stay-of-exit” order due to his monthly “future debt” of 5,000 Israeli shekels, until the children turned 18.
He has been stuck in the country ever since.
The total amount in
the year 2013 came to roughly$3.34 mil- lion, Huppert was quoted as saying in the report.
He works as an ana- lytical chemist for a pharmaceutical com- pany, according to the report.
While this aspect of Israeli divorce law does not attract much attention inside or outside the country, Huppert said there are many Australian men with Israeli wives who are facing the
same problem.
Quoting Marianne Azizi, an independent British journalist cam- paigning to raise awareness about the issue, the report said there could be “hun- dreds” of Australians and other foreigner men in the same situ- ation in Israel.
The US State Department, inciden- tally, warns trav- ellers of the potential issue in its Israel trav- el advisory.
In its “court jurisdic- tion” section, the department warns that Israel’s civil and religious courts “actively exercise their authority to bar certain individuals, including nonresi- dents, from leaving the country until debts or other legal claims against them are resolved”.
It adds: “Israel's reli- gious courts exercise jurisdiction over all cit- izens and residents of Israel in cases of marriage, divorce, child custody, and child support.”
The US Department of State cautions its citizens to be aware that “they may be subject to involuntary and prolonged stays (and even imprison- ment) in Israel if a case is filed against them in a religious court, even if their marriage took place in the United States, and regardless of whether their spouse is present in Israel”.
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