Women in Israel are at an inherent disadvantage in matters of family law, especially with regards to their status in relation to divorce proceedings in the rabbinical court system. This court system reflects the lack of separation between matters of state and matters of religion. Rabbinical courts are state sanctioned and allow for divorce proceedings to be held in lieu of the state sanctioned civil proceedings. Divorce cases are heard in either of the two systems and the system is determined according to the system the instigating party chose to apply first. Since the Rabbinical court system is patriarchal in nature, in many cases it serves the husband to make the first move and apply in their system even if the feuding couple conducts a secular lifestyle.