A Jewish man who refuses to divorce his wife in defiance of a rabbinical court order to do so will be liable to face criminal charges in the future, according to a policy change announced on Monday by State Prosecutor Shai Nitzan. […]

Under the new directive, in cases in which a husband is convicted of violating an order to grant a get, the prosecution will ask that he be sentence to a significant prison term.

If, following the conviction, the defendant relents and grants the get, it will be considered grounds for lenience. Nevertheless, the prosecution will insist that the conviction should stand and that a significant punishment should be imposed. […]

The directive also addresses the prospect that a get issued after criminal proceedings are instituted could be regarded as not having been granted by the husband’s free will and thus invalid. Criminal charges will only be laid following an order by the rabbinical court and after consultation with the legal adviser to the rabbinical courts, Nitzan said.