Just my thoughts here: I read through all this. I got to say, it's surprising to see the amount of times certain folks here are stating as 'fact' things that they've heard or things that they preface with 'as far as I know' or 'as far as I'm aware'. I'll admit, I do have a personal connection to Aaron's wife's family. And I've heard plenty of stuff from their family.
But, I'm also an attorney, and my nature is to be skeptical of what people say, and try to independently verify what I'm told.
So, for example, yes, I heard that Aaron told their oldest daughter that he would kill her mother (Aaron's wife), and I was also told that, because of that, Aaron's wife filed for a protective order against him (which seems like a reasonable thing to do
if (huge if) the allegation is true). So, I went on my own and actually checked court records in Palm Beach County, FL, and I found the case. I did see that a hearing was scheduled in relation to a protective order and that a minor would be testifying during the hearing. However, because this is a family law case, most of the record is sealed to everyone but the parties and the attorneys on the case. So, to be honest and consistent,
I don't know whether Aaron actually said that to his daughter or not.
However, for anyone here to say that the above is factual or not or to say that the above is a misrepresentation of the facts (I'm talking to you @S209), I just don't see how you could independently and honestly come to that conclusion.I have been posting all the different posters and photos on these protests on my social media over the past few weeks. Before I did so, I called my Rav and asked him if it's ok al pi halacha, since it would seem that hilchos lashon hara could be seriously implicated here. I told him that I've heard a lot of things, but I honestly don't know what is true and what is not. I told him that I
do know 2 facts:
1. The couple did get divorced in 'secular' court in Florida. This is a fact that can be independently verified by simply checking the Palm Beach County, FL court records, which I've done; and
2. Aaron's wife, today, wants a get, but he won't give it to her (for whatever his reasons are). This seems pretty obvious at this point, but I still verified it directly with her (and I believe it's reasonable to verify her own state of mind with her, feel free to disagree with me on that if you want).
Based on those two
absolutely true facts alone, my Rav said that Aaron's wife is an agunah (regardless of other disputes about custody, support etc.) and that it's fine for me to post those notices and even to attend a protest, all in order to apply any pressure that we think is beneficial in convincing Aaron to give his wife a get (obviously, cow prods and large, disorganized mobs tend not to be beneficial in the larger scheme of things). So, I'm going to continue posting these things and continue trying to pressure Aaron to give his wife a get. If anyone here disagrees with me, all the more power to you. I would just be curious what you're basing your position on, other than your own sense of what is right and wrong.
All in all, I think the entire story is tragic. Not so much for the adults, because it's quite possible that blame can be shared for getting to this point. However, it's sad that 3 young and innocent children have to grow up with this hanging over their heads. That's a true tragedy.
