Rabbi Shlomo Amar met on Tuesday with rabbis who made the trek to Israel for the now canceled agunah conference. The Jewish Press spoke with one of them, Rabbi Yosef Blau, mashgiach ruchani of Yeshiva University.

"Rav Amar explained that he thought the conference was a good idea, but that he canceled it because he didn't want machlokes," Rabbi Blau said. "He said he wants to arrange a conference in the future when things are calmer. He didn't say why it's not calm now so I don't know how it's going to be calmer in the future."

Rabbi Blau said he was "disappointed" that Rabbi Amar canceled the conference, the purpose of which, he said, "was not meant to come out with a solution" but rather to "discuss different approaches to dealing with the problem of agunos."

Rabbi Blau said that Rabbi Amar told them that some rabbis - without specifying which - felt that holding the conference would give the appearance that rabbis are responding to feminist pressure. However, Rabbi Blau says this accusation is an "insult to the chief rabbi of Israel and all the rabbonim who agreed to go."

On the contrary, Rabbi Blau argued, canceling the conference "has strengthened feminist tendencies because now the perception is that rabbis are not willing to deal with the issue of agunos. The argument is backwards and upside down."

Among other problems the conference would have addressed, said Rabbi Blau, is that of "greater cooperation between batei din on jurisdiction matters Some cases are not even dealt with because there's no agreement between the husband and wife which beis din to go to, and there's no way to force anyone to go to any particular beis din."

Ultimately, Rabbi Blau concluded, "this is not a women's issue; it's an issue of tzedek." Refusing to discuss halachic problems, he added, "frustrates people and creates a lack of respect for Torah."

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