Last Afghan Jew Grants Divorce Via Zoom Conference With Dayanim

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — In a zoom meeting organized between Zevulun Simantov, the last Jew in Afghanistan who fled the Taliban’s rule earlier this month, and rabbinical figures from around the world, Simantov agreed to make them emissaries to divorce his wife, who had been an agunah for many years. The unusual method of divorce was due to the fact that Simantov is still in a foreign country awaiting permission to fly to the US and once he had finally agreed to divorce his wife it was imperative for the rabbis to act fast and obtain his signature on a divorce document. The document will which then be brought to his wife, who has been living in Israel with her daughters since 1998.

The 62-year-old Simantov had refused previously to leave his home country and travel to Israel to grant his wife a get (divorce document). The current get was granted remotely by the Sydney Beth Din, headed by Rabbi Yehoram Ulman, the Makor Rishon weekly reported on Sunday. Rabbi Mendy Chitrik, a Chabad rabbi in Turkey also assisted in facilitating the get.

Istanbul-based Rabbi Mendy Chitrik teamed up with businessman Moti Kahana, who had assisted in getting Simantov out of Afghanistan. On the eve of Yom Kippur Simantov signed the document and spoke by zoom with the rabbis, empowering them to transfer a get to his wife.

היהודי האחרון באפגניסטן זבולון סימן טוב העניק גט לגרושתו גט אחרי כ-20 שנים שחיכתה לכך. בית הדין של סידני בראשות הרב אולמן ניהלו את התהליך ושימשו כבית הדין. נכחו גם הרב מנדי חיטריק מאיסטנבול ואיש העסקים מוטי כהנא pic.twitter.com/rZcZoV534e

— Zvika Klein (@ZvikaKlein) September 26, 2021

Kahana jokingly said, “I’m sure there will be arguments over this — after all, we are Jews. But we live in the twenty-first century, and Zoom exists.”

https://twitter.com/motikahana/status/1438127414429818882

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, Orthodox rabbis have given their okay for divorce proceedings to held over Zoom in cases where a get is refused.

Several similar procedures were held in Israel, meaning Simantov’s divorce will likely be recognized by religious authorities as valid.