N.Y. - A social media and phone campaign to bar an estranged
husband from the Yeshiva of Staten Island is the latest gambit in an
increasingly aggressive and professionally-orchestrated effort to extract a
"get" from the son of a prominent Island Jewish family.
Rabbi Yosaif Asher Weiss of Prince's Bay, who has defended
his son and family against accusations by his estranged daughter-in-law, Gital
Dodelson, reportedly has taken a leave of absence from Artscroll publishing
house, which was the target of a boycott promoted on Ms. Dodelson's web site.
Rabbi Weiss is the father of Avrohom Meir Weiss, formerly of
Staten Island, who now lives in New Jersey, as does his estranged wife Ms.
Dodelson.
The Weiss family is well-known in the Island Jewish
community and various relatives have worked for both Artscroll and the Yeshiva
of Staten Island in Pleasant Plains.
Ms. Dodelson first asked Avrohom Meir Weiss for a
"get," which is a Jewish bill of divorce, four years ago, and their
civil divorce was finalized in August 2012. Ms. Dodelson claims on her Facebook
page that Weiss refuses to give her a "get" unless she agrees to
myriad conditions.
"We turn to the administration of the Yeshiva of Staten
Island, where he studies, to protest against him and to remove him from the
Kollel" says a notice posted on Ms. Dodelson's web site. "Tell them
in no uncertain terms that withholding a get is NOT acceptable."
Supporters are urged to call the yeshiva and the phone
number and address are listed on the web site. Calls to the yeshiva for comment
weren't immediately returned.
Shira Dicker, who described herself in an email to the
Advance as "part of Team Gital," acknowledged that "Gital is one
of my clients" and became defensive when asked whether she was paid for
her services.
"I have seen some people jump on the fact that the
Dodelsons hired a publicist as if this is some kind of crime or sinister
strategy," Ms. Dicker said. "That really confuses me. What is
problematic about a victim taking her story public? I hope that is NOT what
your question implied. Other women in Gital's position hired hit men."
Ms. Dodelson's Facebook page includes a letter from Rabbi
Weiss and his brother, Rabbi Yisroel Weiss, who worked at Artscroll, describing
the "get" dispute. Rabbi Yosaif Weiss declined to comment other than
to verify the authenticity of the letter.
"As we believe you are aware, all the accusations and
pressures attendant to the campaign of slander that has been leveled against
our families, including the heinous desecration of G-d's Name recently
perpetrated by the Dodelson family, are based on untruths and lies," the
rabbis said in the letter.
The letter goes on to say that, with regret, they "ARE
LEAVING ARTSCROLL/MESORAH UNTIL THIS SITUATION IS RESOLVED."
A get is given by a husband and received by his wife in
order to end a Jewish marriage. Without a get, neither party is permitted to
remarry according to Jewish law. An agunah is a woman whose marriage has
functionally ended but whose husband refuses to give her a get, said the Organization
for the Resolution of Agunot, which has championed Ms. Dodelson's cause on
Facebook.
By Maura Grunlund * Staten Island Advance
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