Organization for the Resolution of Agunot
{{Infobox organization
| name = Organization for the Resolution of Agunot
| abbreviation = ORA
| founded = 2002
| founder = students at Yeshiva University
| status = Charitable organization
| methods = advocacy, support, education, subsidies
| location = New York, United States
| leader_title = Co-CEOs
| leader_name = Yonatan Klayman & Jennifer Lankinhttps://www.instagram.com/oraagunot/p/DEQHBlryd0V/?img_index=3
| website = {{URL|https://getora.org}}
}}
The Organization for the Resolution of Agunot (ORA) is a New York-based non-profit organization that advocates for the elimination of the infliction of abuse from the Jewish divorce process. The organization advocates on behalf of agunot and promotes the universal adoption of Jewish prenuptial agreements for the prevention of get-refusal (a get is a bill of Jewish divorce).{{cite web |work=Organization for the Resolution of Agunot |title=Our Mission |url=https://www.getora.org/about-us |access-date=November 9, 2019}} Although 98% of the people ORA helps are women, they also support men whose wives refuse to accept a get.{{cite news |url=http://www.jta.org/2017/06/28/culture/can-a-woman-refuse-to-give-her-husband-a-jewish-religious-divorce-it-just-happened-in-australia |title=Can a woman refuse to give her husband a Jewish religious divorce? It just happened in Australia. |newspaper=Jewish Telegraphic Agency |first=Josefin |last=Dolsten |date=June 28, 2017 |access-date=November 9, 2019}} ORA views get-refusal as a form of domestic abuse.{{cite news |url=https://www.newsweek.com/2015/04/17/fighting-be-free-lengths-orthodox-jewish-women-will-go-get-320536.html |title=In Orthodox Jewish Divorce, Men Hold All the Cards |last=Jones |first=Abigail |date=April 8, 2015 |work=Newsweek |access-date=November 9, 2019}} The organization is currently led by co-CEOs Yonatan Klayman and Jennifer Lankin. https://www.instagram.com/oraagunot/p/DEQHBlryd0V/?img_index=3
History
ORA was founded in 2002 by a group of Yeshiva University students.{{cite news |url=https://forward.com/sisterhood/152345/congressman-pressed-on-agunah-issue/ |title=Congressman Pressed on Agunah Issue |last=Cohen |first=Debra Nussbaum |date=March 1, 2012 |work=Forward |access-date=November 9, 2019}} Since then, the organization has resolved over 220 cases of get-refusal,{{cite news |url=https://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-news-and-politics/184339/rivky-stein-agunah |title=Facebook, Unchain Me! |last=Janofsky |first=Adam |date=September 22, 2014 |work=Tablet|access-date=November 9, 2019}} and at any given time is actively involved in approximately 50 open agunah cases.{{cite news |url=https://www.ozy.com/fast-forward/-will-the-chained-wives-of-judaism-finally-be-released/4279/ |title=Will the 'Chained Wives' of Judaism Finally Be Released? |last=O'Neil |first=Lorena |date=January 24, 2014 |work=OZY |access-date=November 9, 2019}} In 2014, the Slingshot Guide named ORA as one of the most innovative non-profit organizations in North America for its success in "advocating for vulnerable women and changing the conversation about divorce in the Orthodox community".{{cite web |title=The Organization for the Resolution of Agunot |url=https://www.slingshotfund.org/organization/the-organization-for-the-resolution-of-agunot/ |website=Slingshot Fund |access-date=November 9, 2019}}
Advocacy efforts
ORA resolves cases of get-refusal by combining facilitation with advocacy.{{cite news |url=http://www.5tjt.com/from-darkness-to-light-oras-mission-of-hope/ |title=From Darkness to Light: ORA's Mission of Hope |last=Miller |first=Rochelle Maruch |date=May 16, 2013 |work=The 5 Towns Jewish Times |access-date=November 9, 2019}} Their strategies may include "staging protests in front of a husband's home and office, urging his community and synagogue to keep him out, raising awareness in the media and applying financial and legal pressure."
ORA's advocacy efforts on behalf of agunot have been covered by several major newspapers, including The New York Times,{{cite news |title=Unwilling to Allow His Wife a Divorce, He Marries Another |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/22/us/a-wedding-amid-cries-of-unfinished-business-from-a-marriage.html |newspaper=The New York Times |date=March 21, 2014 |access-date=November 9, 2019 |first=Jennifer |last=Medina}}{{cite news |title=Religious Divorce Dispute Leads to Secular Protest |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/04/us/04divorce.html |newspaper=The New York Times |date=January 3, 2011 |access-date=November 9, 2019 |first=Mark |last=Oppenheimer}} New York Post,{{cite news |first=Doree |last=Lewak |author-link=Doree Lewak |title=An orthodox woman's 3-year divorce fight |date=November 4, 2013 |url=https://nypost.com/2013/11/04/orthodox-jewish-womans-plea-for-a-divorce/ |newspaper=New York Post |access-date=November 9, 2019}}{{cite news |url=https://nypost.com/2014/02/05/victory-orthodox-jewish-woman-finally-gets-her-divorce/ |title=Orthodox Jewish woman finally gets her divorce after 3 years |first=Doree |last=Lewak |author-link=Doree Lewak |date=February 5, 2014 |newspaper=New York Post |access-date=November 9, 2019}} Washington Post,{{cite news |title=To get around Jewish law, some rabbis insist on prenups |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/religion/to-get-around-jewish-law-some-rabbis-insist-on-prenups/2014/01/29/4aee0d42-891d-11e3-a760-a86415d0944d_story.html |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=January 29, 2014 |access-date=November 9, 2019 |first=Lilly |last=Fowler}} Newsweek,{{cite news |url=https://www.newsweek.com/divorce-orthodox-jewish-community-can-be-brutal-degrading-and-endless-3082 |title=Divorce in the Orthodox Jewish Community Can Be Brutal, Degrading and Endless |last=Jones |first=Abigail |date=November 12, 2013 |newspaper=Newsweek |access-date=November 9, 2019}} The Daily Beast,{{cite news |url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/witw/articles/2013/11/04/for-orthodox-women-getting-the-get-can-take-years.html |title = For Orthodox Women, Getting the Get Can Take Years |last=Brenhouse |first=Hillary |date=November 4, 2013 |work=The Daily Beast |access-date=November 9, 2019 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170504124156/http://www.thedailybeast.com/witw/articles/2013/11/04/for-orthodox-women-getting-the-get-can-take-years.html |archive-date=May 4, 2017}} New York Daily News,{{cite news |url=https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/lost-women-struggle-jewish-divorce-orthodox-husbands-article-1.1085440 |title=Get lost! Women struggle to get Jewish divorce from their Orthodox husbands |last=Furman |first=Phyllis |date=May 28, 2012 |newspaper=New York Daily News |access-date=November 9, 2019}} and The Huffington Post.{{cite news |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/compelling-jewish-men-to-_b_1306198 |title=Compelling Jewish Men to Grant a Divorce Through Social Media |last=Miller |first=Rabbi Jason |date=May 5, 2012 |work=The Huffington Post |access-date=November 9, 2019}}
Educational initiatives
ORA's Agunah Prevention Initiative raises awareness in the Jewish community about the importance of signing the Jewish prenuptial agreement for the prevention of get-refusal.{{cite news |url=https://collive.com/will-the-halachic-prenup-catch-on/ |title=Will the Halachic Prenup Catch On |last=Herz |first=Libby |date=April 28, 2015 |work=COLlive |access-date=November 9, 2019}} The tagline of their initiative is: "Friends don't let friends get married without the halachic prenup", and in November 2014, ORA released a video to promote that message.{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GevonP1T23A |title=Friends Don't Let Friends Get Married Without The Prenup! |date=November 20, 2014 |access-date=November 9, 2019 |website=YouTube}} While there is no way to know definitively if Jewish prenuptial agreements are becoming more popular in the Orthodox world, Rabbi Shlomo Weissmann, Director of the Beth Din of America, stated that, "Anecdotally, there appears to have been a big increase in awareness and usage in the last few years."{{cite news |url=https://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-life-and-religion/189149/sign-on-the-dotted-line |title=Sign on the Dotted Line |last=Siegel |first=Beverly |date=March 6, 2015 |work=Tablet |access-date=November 9, 2019}}
References
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