[Avodah] prozbul & heter iska

[Shoshana L. Boublil]

> From: "Eli Turkel" <eliturkel at gmail.com>
> Cc: avodah <avodah at aishdas.org>

> <<How did the court rule?  If it ruled against the bank, does the bank
> continue to lend on the same terms?  If so it appears that it now
> agrees to those terms knowing what they >>
>
> I believe the secular courts ruled in favor of the banks. How we continue
> using the same heter iska is a good question
>
> any israeli lawyers in the crowd?

Besides the court case that R' Folger mentioned there was another case where 
the banks won only b/c the other side didn't completely fulfill the 
requirements of the heiter iska - the Shevu'a. The court ruled that if the 
Shevu'a had been carried out, the banks would have lost their case.

In a later case (about 20 years ago), my husband, Rabbi Tsuriel Boublil, 
Adv., represented a person who had lost everything he owned and owed the 
banks hundreds of thousands of shekalim. His situation and the conditions of 
the loss were such that he could undergo the Shevu'a and my husband 
petitioned the Beit Din Rabbani to administer the Shevu'a.  They did not do 
so, but they wrote that if necessary - they were willing to do so (I don't 
recall the names of the Dayanim).

Following this, the court recommended that the bank settle with our client 
out of court.

Shortly afterwards, the Israeli banks rewrote all the Heter Iska documents 
in the country.  I don't know of a test case that went to court after the 
amendments.

Shoshana L. Boublil