The end of the era of early childhood education – is it true?
Quite a few divorced fathers face a very frustrating situation after the divorce is granted. If their child is under the age of 6, custody goes almost entirely to the mother.
This is stated in the presumption of early childhood, which is a section of the Parental Training and Guardianship Law of 1962. The section states that if the parents have not reached an agreement or the agreement has not been implemented, the court may determine the division of custody as it sees fit in the minor’s best interest, “provided that children up to the age of six will be with their mother if there are no special reasons for ordering otherwise.”
The result of this legal determination is little control and influence of fathers over their children, while their ex-partner has a great deal of involvement in raising the child.
A situation that fathers in the past accepted as a fait accompli, but today, in an era where men are no less involved than women in raising children, many fathers protest this, and rightly so.
Appointment of a review committee and a memorandum on the Parents and Their Children Law
The Schnitt Committee, appointed in 2005 by then-Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, set itself the goal of addressing parenting and divorce issues, with the issue that received the most media coverage being the presumption of early childhood, and as early as 2011 its firm conclusions were submitted to the then-Justice Minister, Professor Ne’eman.
The committee sought to completely abolish the early childhood presumption and replace it with an appropriate alternative that would allow both parents to fully exercise their parenting.
The reform that the committee wanted to create was a shift from parental rights to the child’s needs and parental responsibilities.
That is, the ability of parents to meet the interests that will best serve their child.
Professor Schnitt argued that the terminology on the subject is also distorted and that these custody and viewing arrangements are based on the world of prisoners.
In a few days (January 2014), Minister Livni will present to the ministerial committee a bill that will adopt most of the conclusions of the Schnitt committee in a softer version – the presumption of early childhood will not be abolished, but instead of children being in their mother’s custody until the age of six, they will only be in their mother’s custody until the age of two.
MK Gila Gamliel also promoted the law, saying, “Children should enjoy the benefits of both their parents.
This cannot be turned into a card that women can use in the fight over child support.
The decision on Foods” should be received in a matter-of-fact manner and the judge should see before his eyes both spouses and their participation in raising the child.”
Many women’s organizations oppose the bill, claiming that women are discriminated against in rabbinical courts in matters of Divorce And marriage, in that only the man can give a divorce, and from an economic perspective, and the issue of custody of the children is a focus of blackmail in many divorce battles, therefore there is no reason to start with this formal equality that will only increase the gaps.
According to women’s organizations, this long-awaited equality is appropriate for involved fathers who value a close bond with their child and their role in raising him, and these are still a minority.
Spokespeople for women’s organizations claim that the face of things on the ground will be that if you don’t agree that I cut the child support, I will sue for custody of the children.
They warn that abolishing the early marriage presumption will set women back years by making them afraid of divorce due to the worsening of their conditions.
Despite these objections, the need for fathers to maintain their involvement is also indicated in the rulings of Home Family Law Recently.
For example, Judge Yaakov Cohen recently ruled in the Family Court in Rishon LeZion, exempting a father from paying child support, and justified it by saying that a situation in which the father is required to pay child support even though his income is much less than the mother’s, undermines equality and leads fathers to deny their children.
Judge Zaguri also recently issued a ruling that prevented a mother from moving to live more than 100 kilometers away from the father and the place where the child grew up, because this would prevent the father from continuing to be an important part of his development and upbringing.
Professor Schnitt argues that these rulings are not precedential and are made in family courts on a daily basis, taking into account the committee’s recommendations even before they are adopted as law.
When asked whether divorced parents with limited visitation arrangements will be eligible to improve their conditions under the law, Professor Schnitt answers that if they can prove the changing needs of their children or a change in their health or financial situation, then certainly.
Family law rulings are almost the only rulings that are not final; they are dynamic and change according to the child’s needs.
Currently, the Minister of Justice has decided to keep the Premise Early childhood, even though it has long accepted the conclusions of the Schnitt Committee, apparently as a forced compromise with women’s organizations, by leaving it until the age of two.
According to Schnitt, the compromise does harm the core of the idea, according to which from birth the child is the joint responsibility of both parents, but it is better than nothing and the law, even in its soft version, constitutes progress.
Time will tell whether the change in the Early Childhood Presumption Law will contribute to increasing fathers’ involvement after divorce or narrowing the steps of divorced mothers.
Click here to read the Schnitt Committee report.
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