The child, a boy, was 10 at the date of the alleged wrongful removal. He had spent his entire life in the United States. The parents were divorced and shared custody, although there were repeated proceedings as to the division and nature of custody. In December 1995 and July 1998 the child was hospitalized in the Oakland Children’s Hospital psychiatric ward as a result of depression.
In August 1998 the mother traveled to Israel with the child after the maternal grandmother, in so doing the mother relied on a court order permitting her to travel to her family in cases of emergency. The father subsequently obtained an emergency order requiring the immediate return of the child and the mother brought the child back to California.
On 9 February 1999 the mother’s request to relocate with the child to Israel was dismissed and the father was granted full custody. On 14 February the mother removed the child to Israel. On 22 November 1999 the father’s return petition was rejected by the Ramat Gan Family Court on the basis that the Article 13(1)(b) exception had been made out. The father appealed to the District Court.
