To the 3,108 of you who signed, to the thousands who shared, commented, prayed, attended a rally, wrote a letter or a comment - and KEPT THE PRESSURE UP, both in the initial stage of eliciting a proper apology from Living Lchaim, and in the later stage of directly demanding that Raphi give the gett:
We are thrilled to announce that on Thursday, 26 Sivan 5786, after years of gett abuse and following months of pressure by all of you, Raphi Stein has finally given Adeena Kohn her gett!!
I started this petition after seeing Living Lchaim's bewildering initial response. I realized this clueless statement from a well-meaning organization was indicative of a lack of understanding in the broader community about the plight of Agunot and the absolute unacceptability of holding the gett as leverage in divorce negotiations. I knew something had to be done, so I made this petition. I cold-messaged Adina Sash (Flatbush Girl) on Instagram, asking for her advice on the petition's wording. She was instrumental in helping me parse it down to the key points, which undoubtedly helped it garner more signatures (her efforts on this case are well-documented, and I am sure the gett would not have been given by now without her tireless resolve).
This petition happened because a 30-year old never-married guy who lives 6,000 miles away from Monsey saw something that was wrong, thought for a couple minutes about what he could do about it, spent a half hour, and took a shot.
I believe Living Lchaim's mistakes happened for a reason. But not just to free Adeena. To help free all Agunot. And that is where you come in. I am now asking you to do to two vital things:
1) Follow the pages of Flatbush Girl, ORA, and Chochmat Nashim - entities doing tireless work to free Agunot, not just on the individual level but on the communal level - changing how we think and talk about these issues, educating more people on the importance of this cause (i.e. explaining how it is unacceptable for a gett to ever be held over a spouse's head as leverage in divorce negotiations; spreading the word about harchakos d'rabbeinu tam; compiling a database of cases, batei din, and key stakeholders, so that enablers can be weeded out and stopped, and so much more).
2) Ask your shul rabbi if your congregation can recite the attached mi shebeirach for Agunot every shabbat (adapted from one written by JOFA over a decade ago). This heartfelt tefila will ensure that Agunot are never forgotten and are constantly on our minds, until we create a society where gett abuse is unfathomable. Delaying kiddush by 45 seconds is the least we can do.
Thank you all so much again for all of your tireless efforts! Give yourself a pat on the back, thank Hashem, and may we be blessed to replicate and build on this success in other cases!