Fathers' Rights Movement By Country - Israel

Israel

In Israel, fathers' rights activists, who protested and appealed to the United Nations, managed to get the Tender Years' Clause of Israeli law, which automatically awarded custody of any child aged six or under to the mother, repealed and replaced with mandatory joint custody. A committee, the Schnitt Commission, had been tasked with looking into the issue following protests from father's rights groups. It recommended joint custody in favor of automatic custody for mothers, and it became law on January 19, 2012, after Justice Minister Yaakov Neeman accepted its findings.

In the 2013 Israeli election, a new political party, Calcala, unsuccessfully ran for the Knesset. One of its two main platforms was father's rights, in particular against child support laws that they view as harsh. The party did not win any seats. However, the election saw Rabbi Eli Ben-Dahan, who also stated that he would dedicate himself to father's rights, enter the Knesset. Ben-Dahan stated that he intends to propose legislation to establish an authority for the enforcement of parenting arrangements to prevent mothers from violating court order and keeping children from fathers, and stiffening penalties for false claims of abuse.