My son was supposed to return to London with his Israeli mother, after a holiday in Israel,and resume his studies there at school but she insists on staying in Israel, where her family live, although we have always lived in England. Can I bring legal action for my son’s return, without filing for divorce ,and how quickly could my son be ordered back home?

Yes, you can bring Hague Convention child abduction proceedings for your son’s return at the family court in Israel, without filing for divorce. Both the U.K. and Israel are bound by a Hague Convention dealing with child abduction, and there is a default time frame of 6 weeks for a judgment in first level proceedings, from the time the Hague file is opened. In the summer of 2018,  our law practice successfully represented fathers in  two separate  Hague convention proceedings in Israel, one to the U.S.A,at Jerusalem Family Court, and the other, to Argentina, at Petach Tikva Family Court, securing return orders from Israel, in each file, in August , within the prescribed time frame,  with all the children actually leaving Israel and arriving at their  respective destinations, by August 31^st 2018.

Additional  Comment: The US return order was granted after Hague proceedings initially filed against the mother in April 2018 were  withdrawn by the father, in June, shortly before the final stages, following direct dialogue between the parents themselves, but refiled ,in August, after the children were not returned. The judgment endorsed the mother’s undertaking, in the new proceedings,  to return the children by the end of August 2018, after she had been served with the second Hague plea. The return order was granted 11 days after the proceedings were refiled -  c 4.5 months after the first Hague proceedings were opened .