Litigation

In Halaf v. Halaf, 08-CV-4958, (S.D.N.Y., Feb. 24, 2009), the petitioner husband, an Israeli citizen, fluent in Hebrew but not English, married the respondent wife, an Israeli and American citizen, in Israel in 2005. Their son, an Israeli citizen, was born in May 2007, in Israel. In January 2008 the parties and their son moved to New York. The petitioner returned to Israel in April 2008. On April 24 of that year, the respondent informed him of her decision to remain in the United States, and told him that if he did not give her a religious divorce, she would not allow him to see their son. The court denied petitioner's application under the Hague Convention, as implemented by the International Child Abduction Remedies Act, for an order directing the boy's return to Israel. The court determined that when their intents last converged, the parties intended for their son to live in the United States, which the court deemed his habitual residence. Because petitioner failed to show that the boy was removed from his habitual residence or retained in another state, petitioner also failed to establish wrongful removal or retention of the child within the meaning of the Hague Convention.