Arutz 7 reported that last Thursday, a private Beit Din in Jerusalem annulled the marriage of Oshrat Ben-Haim to her then-husband, Sharon ben-Haim, who had refused to grant her a divorce for nine years.

After legal attempts to pressure the husband into giving her a divorce failed, Oshrat Ben-Haim sought to annul her marriage on the grounds that one of the witnesses was a pedophile. The Haifa Beit Din denied her claim but refused to explain why.

Now, a Beit Din of Rabbi Daniel Sperber, Rabbi Michael Abraham and a third Rabbi who preferred to remain anonymous has ruled that Ms Ben-Haim is not married, and the child she is carrying will not be a “mamzer”.

The ruling was based on the fact that a pedophile is considered a “Rasha”, a wicked person, and wicked people are invalid as witnesses. Out of concern for the status of her unborn child, the Rabbis were able to be more creative in finding a solution for her Aguna status.