Back in 2024, I went to a rally near the UN for the Israeli hostages. BH, there was a good crowd and almost all the speeches/presentations were poignant and beautiful and appropriate. But even as I was thinking of the hostages (and crying a little over them), there was something else that bothered me. Here we were screaming over our hostages and the abuses they’re going through and complaining that the rest of the world doesn’t want to take the issue seriously. But meanwhile, we, as a Jewish community, are allowing thousands of women to be held hostage in their marriages by abusive husbands. 

Yes, ABUSIVE. You read that correctly. Because gett refusal is abuse. Period. No excuses and no justifications. Ever. 

Not long after this rally we were hearing the call for a mikvah strike or mitzvah strike regarding the case of an Agunah named Malky. It referred to married women not going to the mikvah and giving their husbands more of a sense of urgency to help the Agunah. While it got some support, it was also questioned not just by naysayers but by those who support efforts to help Agunot. And I was one of the people who questioned it because there were too many problems to really make it work. However, the very call for........

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