Orthodox Jewish Group Takes Liberal Stance on Child Custody Battle
Religious differences can be a divisive source of strife during a divorce and child custody hearings. In fact, religious differences can often be the cause of marital strife in the first place, making decisions that must be made about how children are to be raised even more heated.
A custody battle that is ongoing in Kansas City, Kansas has attracted much attention among family law experts and divorce lawyers across the country for the important precedent it could set regarding a child's choice in religion.
And it has brought out some interesting changes of opinions and positions by one typically conservative civil advocacy group.
Agudath Israel of America is one of the United States' largest Orthodox Jewish organizations, one known for its traditionally conservative view points on family issues. In keeping with a parent-first stance, most of the group's public opinions on issues support parental rights. In the past, for example, it has advocated parental notification laws for female minors seeking abortions.
However, the custody case of Kansas City's Robert Solko against his ex-wife over their four children has caused Agudath Israel to support the rights of the children, specifically 13-year-old Ephraim Solko. To support young Ephraim's wish to observe Orthodox Jewish rites in defiance of his non-practicing father, Agudath Israel has filed an amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief alongside many liberal organizations that advocate juvenile rights.
In their amicus brief, Agudath Israel and its more liberal allies argue that the boy should have the final say over his own religious upbringing. According to their argument, the U.S. Constitution and the Kansas State Constitution allows minors to exercise First Amendment rights just as adults.
The custody case has been as bitter and contentious as any high-profile case. Robert Solko, who maintains custody over his four children, forbids his son from observing all Jewish rites, including keeping kosher and wearing a yarmulke. He himself was formerly an Orthodox Jewish convert, though he has since renounced the faith.
The disagreement between father and son came to a head in September when the boy was picked up by police after running away from home on the Tisha B’Av Jewish holiday. Ephraim is the youngest of the Solko children, and the only one who lives with his father in Kansas City. Three older siblings, all at least the age of 18, live in Brooklyn on their own.
Despite their unusual stance, officials at Agudath Israel made it perfectly clear that they do not advocate that a 13-year-old child have unlimited rights, nor would they advocate rights in every case. They were particularly interested in supporting Ephraim Solko in this case because of the dispute between father and son over Orthodox versus Reform Judaism.
A lawyer for Agudath Israel was quoted as saying, "As a matter of law, we wouldn't argue that a 13- or 14-year-old child would have no rights if their parents were forcing them against their will, let's say, to attend a religious school. That would be an inconsistency, and that's a position that I believe we have never taken."
Though this particular case has been heated between the two parents over the custody of their children, it is not uncommon for differences in religious views to play the important role that they play in this case. Especially since courts over the past ten years or so have been much more willing to grant custody to fathers than they have been in the past, parents find themselves on more equal footing when it comes to deciding upon a religious upbringing for the child. In any case, more arguments are bound to follow.