Emotional parenting obligations in Israel raise difficult questions for both families and the courts. What happens when a parent refuses to stay emotionally involved in their child’s life? Can the law force them to participate—or is financial support the only enforceable duty?
This issue comes up often in custody and visitation disputes, especially when one parent disappears from the child’s life after a separation. The courts are then faced with a tough balancing act: how to protect the child’s best interests without violating the parent’s emotional freedom and autonomy.
How Emotional Parenting Obligations in Israel Relate to the Child’s Best Interests
In Israel, the child’s best interests are the gold standard when it comes to legal decisions about minors. This principle—anchored in both legislation and court rulings—guides everything from custody to education and medical decisions.
One important aspect of this principle is the child’s right to maintain a relationship with both parents, even after a divorce or separation. This isn’t just a parental right—it’s the child’s right to meaningful, ongoing connection with both mother and father.
But while courts encourage and support this connection, they also acknowledge a serious limit:
⚖️ “You can’t force love or emotional closeness by law.”
In other words, even if the court believes that contact with a parent is essential to a child’s well-being, trying to legally enforce that contact might backfire—and hurt the child even more.
Financial vs. Emotional Responsibility: A Key Legal Divide
Financial Support = Legally Enforceable
Under the Family Law Amendment Act (Maintenance), 1959, parents in Israel are legally required to support their minor children financially. This includes food, housing, education, and healthcare.
This obligation applies no matter what—even if the parent has no relationship with the child, or has never met them. It’s a mandatory, enforceable duty, and the amount is calculated based on the child’s needs and the parent’s financial ability.
Emotional Involvement = Not Legally Enforced
When it comes to emotional or practical involvement, however, the law is much less clear.
The Legal Capacity and Guardianship Law (1962) says parents must care for their minor child. But this mostly refers to physical protection, education, and supervision. It doesn’t specifically require emotional presence or day-to-day interaction.
This creates a gap in the law:
- A parent must pay child support.
- A parent is not required—by law—to be emotionally present or involved.
Key Takeaway for Parents & Professionals
Israeli law draws a clear line between what can and cannot be enforced:
- You can enforce financial support.
- You cannot enforce emotional parenting.
While this protects individual freedoms, emotional parenting obligations in Israel remain outside the court’s enforcement powers—raising tough questions when a child is harmed by a parent’s absence.
Coming Next:
In our next post, we’ll look at how Israeli courts handle these situations in practice, including real-life case examples where a parent refused contact—and what (if anything) the judge could do about it.
