"The only organization that can successfully bring onto one stage the head of the altKnesset opposition and the head of the Knesset coalition is Mavoi Satum,” said Likud head MK Zeev Elkin at Mavoi Satum’s annual Leah Globe Memorial Evening. The event, held this past Monday night at Jerusalem’s Cinematheque, honored Hebrew University President Prof Menachem Ben Sasson, Yaakov Herzog Founding President Tova Ilan, and longtime volunteer Jeremy Berkovits, for their important contributions to the advancement of agunot.“The issue of agunot and mesoravot get crosses coalition and party boundaries,” Elkin continued, “and the Knesset needs to do more in the way of legislation about this issue.”

MK Daliah Itzik congratulated Prof. Ben Sasson on his success in passing the Law of Division of Property in 2008, and said that “he was willing to take on his shoulders full responsibility for this issue, to the point of risking the fall of the government.” She added that Prof. Ben Sasson is “sorely missed” at the Knesset and that “we need more Ben Sassons in government.” MK Itzik also congratulated Mavoi Satum for lobbying diligence.

Sharona, who has been a mesorevet get for three years, said that the legal support she receives from Adv. Gitit Nachliel and social worker Joanne Zak-Pikes of Mavoi Satum has helped her legally and emotionally in her efforts to rebuild her life. BatSheva Gabbai, who waited for eight years for her get, described horrific abuses that she suffered during her marriage, followed by many years in which she did not receive even one ruling from the rabbinical courts. Ramit Alon, who has been waiting for four years, read a beautifully moving poem that she to describe her journey.

Prof. Ben Sasson, speaking on behalf of the recipients, said that he saw the passing of the Law for the Division of Property a mission. As a historian, he added that “A thousand years ago, when Jewish women were in crisis, the Jewish community stopped the prayer. It’s called ‘Ikuv Tefilla’ and it’s the right of the mesoravot to cry out in the same way. It’s time to scream, to do what’s necessary, even stopping prayer services.” This is what Prof Ben Sasson said to the ultra-Orthodox parties who opposed the law.

Ms. Tova Ilan mentioned the article by Dr. Aviad Hacohen in which he said, “If you will it, there will be no more agunot,” and added, “If you will it, there will no longer be a Dead End but only an Open Passage. My hope is that Mavoi Satum will open up all the dead ends.”

The three awards were presented by three mesoravot get who have been receiving legal and social support from Mavoi Satum. Each woman told her own painful story about the travesty of the divorce system in Israel of the 21st century.The evening was opened by Mavoi Satum Executive Director Batya Kahana-Dror who said that despite the increasing discourse surrounding the issue of mesoravot get, there is still a long way to go before enough people are willing to courageously espouse the necessary if drastic measures to advance long-term solutions to this terrible problem. Fears from rabbis, coalitions, and social rifts prevent people from displaying the courage needed to resolve the problem. “This is the time to take action in all areas – religious, social, and legislative,” Kahana-Dror said. “It’s time to establish an alternative Beit Din, and to legally establish legislative solutions that will enable all citizens of Israel to marry and divorce with respect.”

Mavoi Satum  is delighted to invite you to join us for the annual Leah Globe Memorial Evening, which will honor the distinguished  Prof. Menchachem Ben Sasson, Tova Ilan, and Jeremy Berkowitz. The evening, set for November 9, 2009 at the Jerusalem Cinematheque, will celebrate the dedicated and courageous work of each honoree on behalf of agunot and mesoravot get. 

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Professor Menachem Ben-Sasson
Professor Menachem Ben-Sasson, President of Hebrew University of Jerusalem, former Knesset member, world-renowned scholar, and respected advocate for systemic governmental reform in Israel, played a vital role in advancing legislation that benefits agunot and mesoravot get.

As a Knesset member on behalf of Kadima, Prof Ben-Sasson served as chairman of the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee and as chairman of the Parliamentary Inquiry Committee on Wiretapping.  He used his position in the Knesset to push forth vital legislation for agunot and mesoravot get, especially the fourth correction to the "Law of Division of Property" sponsored by MK MIchael Melchior, along with MK Zevulun Orlev and MK Otniel Shneller. His personal intervention ensured that the bill went through the committee despite fierce ultra-Orthodox opposition.

In addition, Prof. Ben Sasson has represented the Association of University Heads at Knesset committees, served on the board of directors at Yad Vashem, served as president of the World Union of Jewish Studies, chairs the Lobby for Higher Education. and is the vice-president of the Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture. He received a PhD in the History of the Jewish People in the Islamic Lands, completed a post-doctorate at the University of Cambridge, and became a professor of the History of the Jewish Nation before serving as rector of the Hebrew University.

Prof. Ben Sasson lives in Jerusalem with his wife and three children, and speaks Hebrew, Arabic, English, French and German.

Tova Ilan

Tova Ilan, President of the Yaakav Herzog Center for Jewish Studies in Kibbutz Ein Tzurim, which she established in 1987 and directed until 2001, is an educator, scholar, former Knesset member and pioneering activist on behalf of religious pluralism and women's rights in Israel.  The problem of agunot and mesoravot get is especially close to her heart, and she has written countless articles and spoken frequently about the need to promote viable halakhic solutions to the problem.

Tova Ilan is the recipient of many awards, including, the Avi Chai Foundation award, an honorary PhD from Bar-Ilan University in the summer of 2000, the Liberman Prize for Education, the Agerst Prize for Jewish Culture, and the "Beyachad" Prize, and was honored by the State of Israel by being asked to kindle one of the torches in the annual Independence Day celebration in 2000, in recognition of her activities to increase tolerance and understanding between different sectors of the population. She serves on many committees and forums, among them the Steering Committee for the Advancement of the Status of Orthodox Women; the Forum for the Advancement of Tolerance and Pluralism in Religious Education; a member of the Council of Governmental Religious Education; a member of the "Yachad" Council [Relations between Ultra-Religious

Jeremy Berkovits
For over ten years, friends all around the world have been getting together once a year to play in the Mavoi Satum Supper Quiz games. Forms get sent, quizzes get marked, and miraculously, scores are always posted quickly and efficiently, helping make the Supper Quiz a huge success year after year. None of this would happen quite as smoothly without the tireless work of Jeremy Berkovits, a man-behind-the-scenes, one of the most long-standing volunteers at Mavoi Satum. For ten years, Jeremy has coordinated the logistics of the Supper Quiz, working  with dedication to the vital cause of helping agunot and mesoravot get.

Jeremy was born in Manchester, UK and made Aliyah in 1982. He works as an accountant and consultant to various hotels in Israel and abroad.His real love is music followed closely by computers. He has always had an active interest in Mavoi Satum in particular and with organisations that help achieve equal rights for women and  minorities in general.

He was asked some years ago to help with the logistics of receiving up to 100 quiz answer papers simultaneously through phone calls, faxes and eventually email, and to try and design a simple system for receiving, marking and enabling participants to see the quiz results almost immediately. Thankfully this was achieved and now he sets up and attends our grand marking sessions  every year, together with a group of young volunteers.

Jeremy is active in his local community. He is married to Deborah and they have four children.

We strongly urge you to help us acknowledge the vital work of these honorees. Please take a moment to consider placing a congratulatory message in the printed journal for the evening. Each message in the journal, whether big or small, is an important gesture of gratitude for the fine work of the honorees, who give tirelessly and relentlessly of themselves. This is the least we can do in return, to recognize their commitment to alleviating human suffering and improving Israeli society for all of us.

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