Couple may divorce over vaccine conflict

The wife is the only one currently working, but she's not allowed to go to work until she vaccinates, which she refuses to do.

Divorce 150 (photo credit: Thinkstock/Imagebank)
Divorce 150
(photo credit: Thinkstock/Imagebank)

The COVID-19 pandemic has not been easy on most of us, but some families have experienced it to more extreme ends, even to the point of separation.

For one couple in the north of Israel who had been married for more than 25 years, the vaccine issue came up and caused a serious conflict between the husband and wife.

While the husband was unemployed for months because he was on halat (unpaid leave) and has not gone back to work, the wife continued her job.

Lately, the wife's refusal to vaccinate has torn apart the family, and the foremost victims are the children, who have found themselves in the middle of the conflict between their parents.

The lawyer representing the husband has heard all about the family drama that has become a common phenomenon in many homes and places of work lately - anti-vaxxers.

A NURSE draws up a COVID-19 vaccine dose at a Magen David Adom vaccination center in Jerusalem earlier this month.  (credit: OLIVIER FITOUSSI/FLASH90)
A NURSE draws up a COVID-19 vaccine dose at a Magen David Adom vaccination center in Jerusalem earlier this month. (credit: OLIVIER FITOUSSI/FLASH90)

So what do you do when the family's income is affected, especially when it only comes from one paycheck?

"My wife's employers instructed everyone who isn't getting vaccinated to continue working from home, but my wife cut her income in half," said the husband. 

He added that her salary alone will not be enough for them because he has not been called back to work as a chef.

"I would just get over it if she wasn't vaccinated because of a reason that makes sense, but everything [she says] sounds ridiculous and filled with conspiracy to me," he said.

The wife continues to insist that she will not vaccinate, even if it means she will get fired or divorced.

"I'm done trying to please the world," she said in court. "I'm not getting the first shot or the second shot or any shot at all. I know how to look after myself, and the same goes for my three children."

After the conflict about the vaccine started, the question of the children's vaccines came up.

"Let my wife do whatever she wants, as long as she leaves the children alone," said the husband. "They get brainwashed from morning to night. We ear apart, we sleep apart - the house has fallen apart. I'm just trying to find work and save my family, but in my line of work, it's difficult."

The lawyer said that the two will need to get divorced, but that it seems that the issues have been present long before the current conflict. She thinks the marriage will end in the next few weeks.