Wrongful Retention of Israeli Children

This article addresses the wrongful retention of Israeli children, or in other words, the abduction of Israeli children.

Child Abduction and Wrongful Retention of Israeli Children

There are two primary cases of child abduction in Israel. The first is the removal of a child from their habitual residence to a foreign country. The second is the retention of a child abroad without returning them to their habitual residence.

We most often see these two cases when parents who are separated, divorced, or still together do not agree on where to live and raise their children. If the family has been settled in Israel and it is their habitual residence (their center of life is here, children were enrolled in schools, etc.), and then one parent who has residency or citizenship abroad decides to take the children without the agreement of the other parent, the parent who has made these decisions can be taken to court for child abduction in order to return the children to Israel. In the first case, they leave the country without the permission of all parties with custody, and in the second case, they leave the country (perhaps with permission of the other parent) but decide not to return the children.

It is important to note that a parent’s custody rights can be defended if they are implementing their custody rights. For example, if a mother or father has visitation or custody rights, yet they are not implementing them, and the other parent takes the children to live abroad, the remaining parent can try and file a case, but it will be harder to argue for their return in the court.

Legal Protections of Custody and Children

Israel has signed the Hague Convention, which protects the rights of children and parental custody rights. The Hague Convention has a set of legal procedures in place that all signatories agree to. This means that if children are taken to a country that is also a signatory to the Convention, the legal procedures are in place to help bring the case through the courts quickly, and the courts are committed to cooperating with their international counterparts. Even if the country children are taken to is not a signatory to the Convention, it is still possible to take legal action, although more complex.