Israeli father’s fight for his kids living in SA

An Israeli doctoral student has launched a court bid to force his South African wife to put their three daughters on a flight back to Israel.

The 37-year-old man‚ who approached the Port Elizabeth High Court in terms of The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction‚ claims his wife’s actions in wanting to keep their children in South Africa without his consent amount to kidnapping.

He wants the matter heard as a matter of urgency as his children must be back at school in Israel on September 1.

His case was boosted late on Tuesday when the Israeli government filed papers in support of his application.

The court action follows an emotional scene which played out at the Mugg & Bean in Walmer Park last week when the woman‚ also aged 37 and formerly of Port Elizabeth‚ had a sheriff surprise her husband of nine years with a divorce summons.