Congressman facing pressure from Jewish groups on adviser's religious divorce dispute (Change.Org?)

Fox News ^ | February 29 | Judson Berger

[PghBaldy]

A top House Republican is facing a swell of pressure from Jewish communities across the country as they lobby, not for legislation, but for his intervention in the personal life of an adviser.

The adviser, Aharon Friedman, has been shunned by Jewish leaders for refusing to grant his ex-wife a religious divorce known as a "get."

[PghBaldy]

Am I wrong to question the uproar over this? I do find a selective outrage among the left, and wonder if this is part of it. I do understand the general issue of a refusal to grant a get (just due to the media and movies).

[nickcarraway]

What will this Get him?

[beethovenfan]

Short for Get Lost?

[VeniVidiVici]

What will this Get him?

A mulligan.

[PghBaldy]

That’s not punny!

[GeronL]

I don’t get it. Why do they even care?

[nickcarraway]

Here's the problem. Is this guy supposed to force someone who works for him to make a personal decision? It might even be illegal for him to intervene in an employee's religious life.

Would anyone want their boss to get involved in their marriage etc.?

[Lurking Libertarian]

I don’t get it. Why do they even care?

Under Orthodox Jewish law, only a husband may give a religious divorce ("get") to his wife; a wife cannot divorce a husband. So when an Orthodox Jewish couple get a civil divorce, the wife cannot remarry unless the husband also gives her a religious divorce; if she does remarry, she is considered an adulteress. Some unscrupulous husbands refuse to give the religious divorce in order to pressure their ex-wife to give up alimony or child custody.

[PapaBear3625]

Still, the divorce details of a staff member is none of the Congressman's business.

What would a Dem Congressman say if some Catholics approached him to talk a staffmember out of having an abortion?

[Lurking Libertarian]

I don’t disagree with you. I took the “why do they care?” question to mean why anyone would care about a get.

[Cyman]

Wasn’t this an episode of Law and Order?

[PghBaldy]

Because he is Republican and/or Jewish, is my guess.

[PghBaldy]

Good points.

[PghBaldy]

Probably. I seem to recall hearing about it before, and assumed it was through movies or TV.

[x]

Possibly it does have to do with right-left politics, but the group that's pushing this most is apparently using it to dramatize its own cause -- that of women who can't get a get.

The media and liberals will pitch in, because the Congressman's a Republican, but the people pushing the story most are using it as a "teachable moment" for their own interest/victim group, not for partisan reasons.

[SJackson]

Middle East and terrorism, occasional political and Jewish issues Ping List. High Volume

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The guy is a jerk and deserving of shunning however there is no reason for the government to be involved. Or for pressure to be applied to his employer, since he isn't employed by a religious institution. Like the contraception "debate", this is nothing but pressure groups attempting to get the government involved in issues of faith.

[SJackson]

Here's the problem. Is this guy supposed to force someone who works for him to make a personal decision? It might even be illegal for him to intervene in an employee's religious life.

Not just some employer, a government employer.

[Darren McCarty]

Why are they bringing Dave Camp into this guy’s personal life? It’s none of his business, and Camp’s also Catholic and not Jewish.

[PghBaldy]

He’s a Republican.