Rabbi's "kidnap team" case brings religious law into spotlight

TRENTON, N.J. -- A New York rabbi testified Thursday that Jewish law allows for nonviolent force to be used against husbands who don't want to give divorces, as prosecutors began presenting their case against an Orthodox rabbi accused of using a kidnap team to force the hand of reluctant husbands.

"In this time and age, violence shouldn't be used," Rabbi Jacob Goldstein said. During cross-examination, he acknowledged that "perhaps" some rabbis still use brutal means to secure a divorce.

Prosecutors say New Jersey Rabbi Mendel Epstein's team used handcuffs and electric cattle prods to torture men into granting a religious divorce, known as a "get."

But defense attorney Robert Stahl says the rabbi wasn't involved in any crimes and is a "champion of women's rights."

Goldstein says people must abide by the Jewish principle that the law of the land is the law. "We have religious laws. In the case of a just government ... like the United States, the laws of the land are the ones we must follow," Goldstein said.

Epstein's son and two other rabbis are co-defendants in the trial. The jury is expected to hear from an undercover FBI agent and some recordings made by agents on Thursday afternoon.