Orthodox Jewish Community Rescues Afghans

Zebulon Simantov, Afghanistan's last Jew, has not left Kabul, despite the best efforts of some Jewish figures and organizations. One of them was Moshe Margaretten, a haredi Orthodox fixer whose passion is bringing Jews out of danger. Margaretten paid Moti Kahana, an Israeli-American businessman who helped extract people from war-torn Syria, to be a middleman and get Simantov out -- but Kahana told Margaretten what many others had heard: Simantov was not leaving because of his longstanding refusal to grant his Israeli wife a "get," or decree of divorce. Simantov feared facing Israel's legal system, which penalizes such a refusal.