Montreal, Canada - Rabbis Organize Protest Outside Home of Get Refuser

Montreal, Canada - Communal pressure on men who refuse to give their ex-wives a get was ramped up to an unprecedented level in Montreal, when rabbinical authorities organized a demonstration outside the home of a man, who has been civilly divorced from his wife for seven years.

About 20 people responded to the e-mailed invitation from Rabbi Michael Whitman, president of the Rabbinical Council of Montreal, that is affiliated with the Rabbinical Council of America, to participate in a “forceful yet peaceful rally” in front of the man's modest apartment building on Beaucourt Street in Cote des Neiges.
Rabbi Whitman said the action was taken after the man failed to respond to the imprecations of numerous rabbis over the years and repeated summons by the Beth Din. “Every kind of persuasion, everything imaginable, by everyone who knows him, has been tried, all to no avail,” he said.

The action was supported by the Vaad Ha’ir (the Jewish Community Council of Montreal) and the Coalition of Jewish Women for the Get.

The man, if he was home, did not respond to the protesters.