Trial Transcript Part 1

2:10-cv-10308-RHC-DAS Doc # 38 Filed 04/02/10 Pg 1 of 264
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN
SOUTHERN DIVISION
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OMER G. TSIMHONI,
Plaintiff,
Case No. 10-10308
-v5
MAYA EIBSCHITZ-TSIMHONI,
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Defendant.
____________________________________/
EVIDENTIARY HEARING, VOLUME I
BEFORE THE HONORABLE ROBERT H. CLELAND

United States District Judge
Theodore Levin United States Courthouse
231 West Lafayette Boulevard
Detroit, Michigan
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
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APPEARANCES:
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FOR THE PLAINTIFF:
JAN REWERS MCMILLAN

400 Galleria Officentre
Suite 117
Southfield, MI 48034
FOR THE DEFENDANT:
AITAN D. GOELMAN
Zuckerman Spaeder LLP
1800 M Street, NW
Suite 1000
Washington, D.C. 20036
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To Obtain a Certified Transcript Contact:

Christin E. Russell, CSR, FCRR, RPR, CRR - (313) 964-2026
Proceedings recorded by mechanical stenography.
Transcript produced by computer-aided transcription.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
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IDENTIFICATION
Plaintiff's Motion by Ms. McMillan.................

Defendant's response...............................
Court's Ruling on Motion...........................
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WITNESSES FOR PLAINTIFF:

MAYA EIBSCHITZ-TSIMHONI
Cross-Examination by Mr. Prather............
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OMER TSIMHONI
Direct Examination by Ms. McMillan..........
Cross-Examination by Mr. Goelman............
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HEARING - 3/3/2010
Detroit, Michigan
March 3, 2010
9:30 a.m.
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THE CLERK:
vs. Tsimhoni.
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Calling case No. 10-10308, Tsimhoni
Counsel, for the record, please?
MS. MCMILLAN:
Good morning, your Honor.
Jan
Rewers McMillan appearing of behalf of Plaintiff, Omer G.

Tsimhoni.
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THE COURT:
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MR. PRATHER:
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(Call to Order of the Court; all parties present.)
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Good morning.
Kenneth E. Prather, Sr., also
appearing for the plaintiff father.
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THE COURT:
Very well.
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MR. GOELMAN:
And?
Good morning, your Honor.
Aitan
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Goelman for the defendant, Maya Eibschitz-Tsimhoni.
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me at counsel table is Jonathan Watkins, an attorney from
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my firm, and Defendant, Maya Eibschitz-Tsimhoni.
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THE COURT:
Thank you, Counsel.
With
Thank you for
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your extensive briefing, for your earlier conversations
21
with me, status checks, scheduling conferences and the
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like, both on and off the record.
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I'm ready for a hearing at this point, which
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will, I would expect, include testimony, at least the
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opportunity for testimony.
Counsel have both indicated
TSIMHONI vs. EIBSCHITZ-TSIMHONI - 10-10308
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that they intend to call some witnesses, certainly present
argument in the wake of presentations.
have already been submitted, likely agreed to, with respect
to the Court's ability to review these things that have
already been submitted.
dispute, I recognize, about the form in which some of these
things have been submitted, and perhaps that's been
corrected and perhaps not.
And some documents
Although there is a residual
I will listen to learn what the parties's view is
10
with respect to those things.
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substance of these matters probably outweighs the
12
significance of the form.
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prepared to go forward in this regard.
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And the attorneys are, I trust,
And, Ms. McMillan, you appear to be all lined up.

You have colored tabs and pens at your disposal.
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MS. MCMILLAN:
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THE COURT:
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But it seems to me that the
And a highlighter.
And a highlighter.
That's fine.
Mr.
Goelman is similarly equipped, I think.
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MR. GOELMAN:
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THE COURT:
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MR. GOELMAN:
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THE COURT:
No color tabs, your Honor.
But a computer.
Yes.
Okay.
Well, I am ready to receive
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your presentation, Counsel.
My view is that this is
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principally the attorneys' presentation.
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questions or direct you as I deem best or necessary in the
And I will ask
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HEARING - 3/3/2010
course of this, especially if I think that we're veering
off into either repetitive matters or things that are not
particularly contested or not particularly significant for
the Court's principal determination, which is front and
center, did the children acclimatize in Israel sufficiently
to meet the standards that are announced in the Convention
or did they not.
evidence, is not overcome, then the rest of these disputes,
it seems to me, become inconsequential.
If that hurdle, by a preponderance of the
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So, Ms. McMillan, it's your lectern.
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MS. MCMILLAN:
Thank you, your Honor.
And I
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appreciate you're giving me some wide latitude, because I
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do, at this time, intend to argue my motion.
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is primarily the reason why we're here, the petition.
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THE COURT:
And my motion
So I understand you to say, you're
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going to suggest that you should have a judgment basically
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without the necessity of presenting any live testimony.
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Just based upon what has been a presented thus far, it's
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going to be your argument here that the Court should simply
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end the case with a judgment in Plaintiff's favor?
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MS. MCMILLAN:
Well, your Honor, I'm hoping that
22
that would be the outcome of the argument.
But I do see
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that there are some issues concerning the habitual
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residence that are in dispute.
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this finite period of time in which we are addressing our
And what I mean, is that in
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focus, that the father has presented some objective --
some, has presented a good deal of objective factual data
about the building of the life that the children had in
Israel.
because she's now got a deck action for habitual residence
in the U.S.
assimilation, and so forth.
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The mother is coming forward in her position,
And she is saying lack of language,
So you would have to adapt your decision in the

context of the fact that there is some distinction of fact
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within that situation.
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assuming everything the mother says is true about the
12
habitual residence that -- well, let me retract that.
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THE COURT:
So I can't say invariably that
And as you're doing that, would you
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pick the microphone stand up, please, and just move it a
15
little bit closer to the lectern?
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bends.
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And I think that will pick your voice up a little bit
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better.
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It's been -- and then it
And just bend it in the direction of the speaker.
MS. MCMILLAN:
Let me rephrase this.
Your Honor,
the answer is yes.
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THE COURT:
Okay.
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MS. MCMILLAN:
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THE COURT:
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MS. MCMILLAN:
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THE COURT:
Yeah.
Okay.
Yeah.
So we need to then assume for the
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purposes of your initial presentation here, that all of the
facts as stated, as proffered by the defendant are assumed
to be proven fully.
MS. MCMILLAN:
THE COURT:
Yeah, let's do that.
And even so, the plaintiff has met --
there can be no result other than that Plaintiff prevails
by a preponderance of the evidence.
your position, right?
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MS. MCMILLAN:
THE COURT:
Yeah.
Okay.
That would have to be
It is my position.
So explain it to me.
How can
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it be that a three-month stay in Israel, for children that
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were born, raised and acclimatized, clearly acclimatized to
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stated permanence in the United States, Ann Arbor,
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Michigan, how can that be held inevitably to have
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re-acclimatized them to a foreign land where they did not
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speak the language, sufficiently to get along with their
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playmates, sufficiently to do well in school -- though they
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were, at least the oldest, recognized as being a quick
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learners and so forth.
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determination of acclimatization of the convention, please?
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MS. MCMILLAN:
How can that inevitably lead to a
All right.
The first aspect of
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your discussion, Judge, about the being born here, raised
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here, acclimatized to this society and this culture, all
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goes to what was the children's habitual residence before
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they moved to Israel, before the parties packed up their
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entire worldly possessions, sold the house, sold their
cars, had the garage sale.
disposed of, packed and shipped over to Israel, along with
the children, and repositioned in a new locus, the site of
the new family.
Schools were abandoned in Michigan.
were abandoned in Michigan.
Michigan.
abandoned in Michigan.
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Anything that wasn't sold or
Contacts
Classes were abandoned in
Friends were abandoned in Michigan.
Jobs were
And the entire family shifted the
center of their lives to Israel from Michigan.

Now, this involved the rental of a home.
Now,
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the parties rented a house.
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several times before the actual move took place, that there
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was a false start with the move.
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recall we had a false start early in the year of '09, kind
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of in the middle of the year in July of '09, and then it
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finally took place in September.
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But you know, there had been
Your Honor, you may
And so the leased premises that were to have gone
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forward in Israel initially had to be let go.
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got there, they had to get into temporary quarters and then
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find a place.
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that was being leased for at least two -- $2,200 a month,
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four bedroom, two bathroom house.
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But a new home was located.
So when they
This is a house
The container arrived at a couple weeks time

after their arrival.
They unpacked the container.
They
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may not have unpacked everything.
there's some old memorabilia or something that I don't need
that I can store in the attic, I will do that until time
allows me to get to it.
The children came over.
I know when I move, if
They were at the school
holidays at that time.
children were each enrolled in a school, your Honor.
That's undisputed.
enrolled in school.
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When the holidays were over, the
Everybody admits the children were
Now, before they left, your Honor, this thing
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about language seems to be becoming the main focus of the
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case, at least as from the mother's perspective.
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does advance it as a very strong factor that this Court
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should consider in determining what the habitual residence
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is, immediately preceding the removal.
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submission that two things:
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one of many factors.
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up from time to time as a factor, but in our controlling
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authority, in Robert v. Tesson, you know, in Friedrich, of
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course Friedrich I, it was merely one of the things spoken
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of.
And she
And it's my
One, that language is merely
If you read the case law, it may come
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THE COURT:
Every one of these cases is heavily
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bound to the facts.
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generis, certainly very, very much bound by the unique
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factual circumstances that are found within them.
The cases are, if not each sui
And
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almost --
MS. MCMILLAN:
THE COURT:
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Yes.
-- every case is going to have a
variety of factual influences.
MS. MCMILLAN:
I think that's right, your Honor.
And I would agree with that.
But Robert v. Tesson did lay
out a bit of a road map by citing to the Karkkainen case,
your Honor.
this was a new articulation of the standard.
When Robert v. Tesson set up the standard,

Before,
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Friedrich had those five points, a child can have just one
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habitual residence.
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common law domicile or residence.
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child's perspective, not the intentions of either parent.
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That it involves a change of geography and the passage of
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time and is not reliant on nationality of the parents.
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It's not to be bound by rules of

That it involves the
So in that context, Robert v. Tesson developed a
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new standard that it had assimilated from the Third
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Circuit, Feder vs. Evans-Feder, your Honor.
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the habitual residence of a child should be the place at
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which the child has had a sufficient amount of time to
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become acclimatized, and to have some degree of settled
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purpose.
It said that
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So that standard is easily distinguished from
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something like well settled, which is another standard
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within Hague Convention judicature.
If the Sixth Circuit
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wanted well settled to be the standard for habitual
residence, they would have said so.
mere degree of settled purpose.
But instead, it's a
And for acclimatization and a degree of settled
purpose, the Court looked at Karkkainen.
And in
Karkkainen, that was a case where the child had been in the
United States for three months.
fact specific.
consider the parental intent.
Yes, of course the fact,
But in Karkkainen, the Third Circuit did

And it was the shared
10
parental intent in that case that contributed to the
11
decision.
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The issue of language in that case was not first
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and foremost as something that the Robert v. Tesson court
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paid attention to.
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school, the social activities, the interaction with the
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family, and the bringing of possessions from the one place
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to the other, and literally the physical look and feel of
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the number and amount of possessions that were transferred.
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What they paid attention to was the
This was followed up in Jenkins, your Honor.
In
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the Jenkins case, it was found to be evidence of settled
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purpose when everything that the family owned was either
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shipped over to Israel, or sold, or disposed of in a
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donation.
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THE COURT:
What circuit, for Jenkins?
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MS. MCMILLAN:
Jenkins is a Sixth Circuit Court
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of Appeals.
THE COURT:
And that was looking at the family's,
the family's activities and simultaneously having a
child-centric view, as it's called?
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MS. MCMILLAN:
Yes.
Well, the family's
activities -THE COURT:
And explained the impaired
inconsistency between considering heavily what the family
did, the parent.
Children don't pack moving boxes and
10
engage international shipping agencies.
11
So what -- tell me about the interplay between the family,
12
the parents' activities and engaging the movers, and a
13
child-centric orientation.
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MS. MCMILLAN:
Parents do that.
Well, I don't see that it -- it's
15
an interesting issue, Judge.
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for a child to move the habitual residence.
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consider that habitual residence is the ordinary residence
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of the child, and the parents typically arrange for the
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day-to-day functions, and ordering, and furnishing, and
20
supplying food and other lifestyle elements required for
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the child --
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THE COURT:
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MS. MCMILLAN:
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THE COURT:
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But obviously it's impossible

And if you
Well, it seems to me --- it has to happen by some adult.
It seems to me that acclimatization
is something not that a child does.
But something that
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happens to a child over the course of time, the passage of
time, and the changing of circumstances and so on.
consistent with your view?
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MS. MCMILLAN:
Is that
That's consistent with my view.
Absolutely, Judge.
THE COURT:
Okay.
So let's bring it down to
cases here.
And you think that given all of the
circumstances, some of which, and only some of which I
articulated on behalf of the plaintiff, that it's
10
inevitable, a decision must be rendered in favor of re --
11
or acclimatization?
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MS. MCMILLAN:
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THE COURT:
Acclimatization.
If not re-acclimatization.
But it
14
does seem to me that re-acclimatization is a fair concept
15
as well, because we do indeed have to have a starting point
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to determine whether the change, the change has taken root.
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All of these cases involve a change.
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whole argument, is that there has been acclimatization
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different from what the status quo was, status quo ante, so
20
to speak.
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MS. MCMILLAN:
Because that's the
Right, because there's no question
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that the habitual residence before the move was established
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in the United States.
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we're arguing that it had shifted.
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But immediately preceding the move,
And for all the reasons that, you know, we've set
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forth in our motion, the children were enrolled in classes,
they -- let me digress, though, your Honor.
statement, I said there were two reasons about language.
And I didn't get to the second one.
In an earlier
And I apologize.
The second one was that there is no dispute here
that the children did have a familiarity with Hebrew before
they left for Israel with the family, and all the
possessions, and moved everything over to Israel.
undisputed.
That is
It is also undisputed that the children have
10
some language skills in Hebrew, even today, and that they
11
existed in time, in the period September through December
12
of '09 in Israel, before they were taken.
13
What their circumstances are now, I don't know.
14
There could be some influence, or just simply coming back
15
into an environment where they are surrounded by only
16
English may have some effect.
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But this isn't a situation where you took a
18
child, who had no background in Hebrew, from the United
19
States and just transported them in a bubble to Israel.
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You've got children who were born of two Israeli natives,
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who spoke Hebrew to each other at home.
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Hebrew to the children.
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children.
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household in which the parents were raising the children on
25
both languages within the United States.
The father spoke
The mother spoke both to the
The father spoke English, as well.
So it was a
So all that does
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is it gets picked up, carried over and taken to, to Israel.
Now, in that particular climate, in Ra'anana,
this is an area of Israel that was settled by English
speaking Jews, and in effect favored by English speaking
Jews because it has a little bit more Western style
approach.
in this particular area of Israel, you are going to hear
both or other foreign languages, because Israel is a magnet
for people from many countries to settle.
10
There are many English speaking immigrants.
So
So in that context, we are not going from ground
11
zero and moving forward.
12
it stayed the same, which would be hard to do, if you are
13
in an environment, particularly in a school where it's
14
being spoken almost exclusively to you, that you are going
15
to pick it up.
16
And I would submit that even if
There's no dispute that the eldest child -- and
17
we haven't decided how to address the names of the children
18
here for the record, but that the eldest child was
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taking --
20
THE COURT:
I think, frankly, I just don't think
21
there's a heck of a lot of concern, frankly in simply using
22
their names.
23
record, un-redacted, just because they are mentioned so
24
often.
25
spelled out verbatim un-redacted in Hebrew language
Their names appear various places in the
And I'm reasonably confident that their names are
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presentations.
Hebrew probably can.
16
I can't read it, but somebody who reads
MS. MCMILLAN:
We did try to redact the Hebrew.
But you did have to notice, Judge, that the appellate cases
all named the children by name.
THE COURT:
MS. MCMILLAN:
8
9
Right.
And we go to such great lengths.
And I think they are in the same system we are.

THE COURT:
Well, I think it's a -- we don't have
10
a situation in which children are, or a child is an alleged
11
victim of criminal activity, at least I don't think even
12
the worst allegations rise to that level at this point,
13
such as, you know, victim of child pornography, in a child
14
pornography prosecution or some sort of extraordinary
15
situation such as that.
16
are redacted or protected in some way.
17
Sometimes regularly those names
And the electronic filing protocols have been
18
established in order to be sort of universally protective.
19
And I, I'm not sure that it's -- I'm not sure that the
20
parties would frankly particularly care about that.
21
leave that to the parties.
22
23
MS. MCMILLAN:
Well, with the Court's permission,
I think I'll just go ahead and use the name Liam.
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THE COURT:
25
MS. MCMILLAN:
But I
What do you think, Mr. Goelman?

The eldest child?
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THE COURT:
Mr. Goelman, have I struck a cord
with you as well?
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4
MR. GOELMAN:
Yes, your Honor.
We don't have any
objection to using their proper names.
THE COURT:
MS. MCMILLAN:
17
Okay.
Fine.
As I was saying, your Honor, Liam
--
THE COURT:
Who is the eldest?
MS. MCMILLAN:
10
THE COURT:
11
MS. MCMILLAN:
He is the eldest.
The eight-year-old?
The eight-year-old was not in the
12
traditional third grade school program because he did need
13
remedial education in Hebrew language before he could begin
14
full participation in the academic aspect of it.
15
was taking not the traditional program, but taking what
16
were called studio classes to build his language skills.
17
So there was definitely some progress.
18
by my client and others.
19
children as well, who were not taking official classes.
20
Obviously it can't help but to pick this up, it's spoken in
21
the home.
22
themselves.
23
And so he
This was observed
And even among the smaller
And they were beginning to even speak among
So language, I think, should be considered in the
24
mix of things.
But I don't think it should be prioritized.
25
I think it should be down on the list of all the things to
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be considered.
two Israeli parents, whose native tongue is Hebrew, and to
children who heard this growing up -- and I'm informed that
the younger children, the children even spoke for a while
with a little bit of an Israeli accent, spoke their English
with a little bit of an Israeli accent.
take diction lessons here to get rid of the Israeli accent
that he had here in the U.S.
But in the context of the fact that we have
And Liam had to
So the bilingual nature of the family, I think,
10
can be understood from a context of their family
11
relationship, so it existed here and it existed there.
12
Obviously in the school setting, there's going to be a
13
little bit more difficulty.
14
see from the report, the school teacher, was not an issue
15
as far as the schools were concerned; that he was
16
progressing well.
17
child.
18
highly intelligent and very well educated.
19
going to produce children who might have the same
20
capacities as well.
21
child is a mature adult, but it does mean that he has a
22
capacity for language skills and could easily have
23
progressed with that language, your Honor.
24
25
But this was certainly, as we
He's a bright child, an extremely bright
I think we have very bright parents here, who are

And they are
It doesn't mean that an eight-year-old
In addition, the children, in addition to going

schools, they also traveled.
That's undisputed.
Visiting
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the sites and sacred places.
discussion between my client and the children about living
in Israel, and what Israel was, and what it meant to him as
a Jew, and what the heritage of living in Israel meant.
There had been some
The children attended the religious services,
just as in Jenkins, with the grandpa.
And we have some
photos that we had provided as one of our late filed, as
Mr. Goelman calls them, exhibits from yesterday, showing
some of the participation of the children there in the
10
activities of both religious services and at those events,
11
going to the various sites, the Wailing Wall and other
12
places.
13
The children also had close connection with some
14
of their classmates, particularly the child who lived in
15
the unit next door.
16
describe it, like a duplex where they had one half, and a
17
family had the other half.
18
had like a gap in the fence so that the kids could pass
19
through the gap between the houses, one to the other.
20
Mrs. Eibschitz-Tsimhoni had the gardener re-pave the paths
21
so it made it easier for the kids to pass through back and
22
forth.
23
friend with the three Tsimhoni children, your Honor.
24
25
Their house was, as best I can
And the back garden apparently
And
And the child who lived in that home became a fast
But in addition, there were friends from school

with whom they played soccer.
Classmates came over to the
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house.
membership at the local swimming pool.
said birthday parties.
parties.
at birthday parties, because that does seem to be like the
dinner out with friends for children, just like school, I
think of as the full-time job for children.
8
9
The children were enrolled in a six-month

They -- I haven't
There were a lot of birthday
And the Sixth Circuit does talk about attendance
We've already discussed the Hebrew.

visit friends and relatives.
They went to
And on this point, your
10
Honor, I'd like to point out that all of the parties's
11
relatives reside in Israel, with the exception temporarily
12
for this academic year, I'm correct.
13
is a visiting professor at Northeastern University in
14
Boston.
15
sets of grandparents, all siblings, everybody, aunts and
16
uncles, cousins, everybody is over there.
17
who are here were Mr. and Dr. Tsimhoni.
18
Mr. Tsimhoni's mother
But she'll be back home in Israel soon.
So both
The only people
So that the children did not have the relation --
19
ability to develop a relationship with the family here that
20
they then were able to develop in Israel.
21
soccer with friends.
22
into a class for robotics.
23
his development with Hebrew, it wasn't going to be
24
particularly productive and that didn't carry on.
25
They played
The mother said that she had looked

But at this stage, she said, of
The kids liked to go to the Spaghetti
Pg ID 955
HEARING - 3/3/2010
21
restaurants.
Spaghettim restaurants.
village or on their travels, they would go to the chain
Spaghettim.
to mispronounce his name, Moran, M-O-R-A-N, who came to the
house and played with them several times, and also met them
at the shore and played with them on the seaside.
8
9
Apparently they still like to go to the

And so whenever they were in a
And they did visit with the uncle, I'm going
The children had school on a daily basis, with

the exception of Saturday, from 8:30 to one o'clock.
And
10
after that time, you know, their activity was free.
11
occasion, mom would pick them up and take them to the
12
beach.
13
the months that they were there.
14
get cold, they were September, October, November, and
15
December, and were able to be outdoors and be active.
16
the pictures showed they were having some good times in the
17
process.
18
And on
So the weather there was comfortable and warm in

When we were starting to
And
And then, of course, we've already talked about
19
the possessions.
Everything that had been the center of
20
their existence, their toys, their lunch boxes, their
21
books, their games, their clothes, their stuff, came with
22
them, and with all of their furniture, their beds,
23
everything that was in the house.
24
everything from A to Z on there, your Honor.
25
twenty-eight boxes that came and were shifted over.
The inventory shows

Two hundred
The
Pg ID 956
HEARING - 3/3/2010
1
2
22
family flew together as a unit, shifted over.

Again, so children pick up their cues from what's
happening around them.
provide the shelter and the love and the protection, you
know, that gives them the security.
And they look to the parents to
To see the cars being sold and everything being
shipped up and flying over with 12 suitcases to Israel
would, I think, necessarily send a signal to the children
that the center of their existence is now being settled in
10
11
the new place.

Your Honor, the mother focuses on the language.
12
And I think I've explained the language issue to you.
13
what I want to point out is that many of the defenses that
14
I find that the mother raises to habitual residence in
15
Israel deals with the custody determination, your Honor,
16
and the best interest matters.
17
But
One is that the children didn't -- well, that's
18
another issue.
One is that returning the children to this
19
place would be harmful because they don't like it, they are
20
unhappy, and so on and so forth.
21
go back, is a preference that's the best interest
22
determination.
23
then also in the GAL motion, that these things are things
24
that you really can't consider in the matter, which place
25
is better?
And a preference not to
I've briefed that both in this motion and
Were the schools better?
Were the schools
Pg ID 957
HEARING - 3/3/2010
easier?
the weather warmer or hotter?
services adequate?
to decide, and you really can't focus in that area.
Were the houses bigger?
23
Were they smaller?
Was
Was the food adequate or the
That's a matter for the custody court
You cannot focus on a decision made by Liam, or
Natalie, or Roee as to where they felt at home.
And this
is where I take issue with the report of Dr. Erard that's
been submitted.
analysis section, and also in just giving some basic
I think it's extremely weak in the
10
foundation as to how he could have reached the conclusions
11
that he reached.
12
For example, he doesn't tell us how many times he
13
met with the children, for how long, if he met with them
14
alone and how they -- how it came to pass that they were
15
able to bring in a list, it seems, of almost six different
16
points, speak with one voice, unequivocally, that they
17
didn't like Israel, they didn't feel at home, this, that
18
and the other thing.
19
way to describe habitual residence to a child and evoke the
20
right answer.
21
parents are, where the focus of the life is at that present
22
time.
And I'm not sure "home" is really the
Home to a child is going to be where the
23
If Dr. Erard perhaps would have asked the
24
children where do you feel at home in November, or December
25
before they moved from Israel, I suspect they would have
Pg ID 958
HEARING - 3/3/2010
24
had a different answer.
stuff is, where their house is, where they are in school,
where their parents are and where their friends are, and
family.
would suggest strongly that you give it very little weight,
if any at all.
Home would have been where their
So there's so much to discredit the report, that I
And also, that you don't abrogate your
decision-making powers on the legal issue of habitual
residence to the small children because clearly, they are
10
incapable, no matter how bright, to determine, you know,
11
the legal standard in the case.
12
something that they can understand, but it's just not
13
applicable in this situation, your Honor.
14
And a trigger of home is
Now, did you want me to speak only as to habitual
15
residence or also as to defenses, Judge?
16
habitual residence is everything, but habitual residence is
17
not just language.
18
THE COURT:
19
MS. MCMILLAN:
20
21
Because I agree,
It's the big hurdle.

Yeah.
It's just not language,
though.
THE COURT:
Fair enough.
Your presentation in
22
the form of an argument on your motion for judgment, based
23
upon all of the evidence, including the evidence proffered
24
by the defendant, and crediting all reasonable inferences
25
to that evidence is taken as an argument under Rule 56.
Pg ID 959
HEARING - 3/3/2010
25
Mr. Goelman should listen carefully, to this effect:
Plaintiff has pointed to the absence of any genuine issue
of fact in the motion, and the argument we've just heard
the last 30 minutes, that stands in the way of a judgment
in favor of Plaintiff on the issue of habitual residence or
re-acclimatization, as I've called it.
should pause, Ms. McMillan, and give Mr. Goelman a chance.
8
9
And I think you
And his task then would be to present evidence.

Evidence has already been presented.
So explain the
10
evidence that has been presented that, with reasonable
11
inferences drawn from it, would stand in the way of a
12
motion, or I'm sorry, of a judgment for Plaintiff in that
13
regard.
14
residence.
15
And I'm only thinking here about habitual
Mr. Goelman, from the defendant's point of view,
16
what evidence stands in the way of a judgment for Plaintiff
17
on the issue of habitual residence?
18
MR. GOELMAN:
Well, your Honor, to begin with, we
19
do rely heavily on language, and there's a reason for that.
20
And the reason for that is a kid cannot be at home in a
21
country, a kid cannot be acclimatized if they can't
22
communicate with other children.
23
language is not the only issue that the other cases speak
24
to, is only because in those cases, language is a
25
non-issue.
And the fact that
Pg ID 960
HEARING - 3/3/2010
26
In Friedrich, in Maynard vs. Maynard, which I
note that Mr. Prather represented one party and Ms.
McMillan represented another party in that case.
was in the Eastern District of Michigan.
involved a kid who went to Australia, and was there for I
think from November to the following September.
the Court talked about -- in Australia, of course they
speak English.
opinion --
10
11
And that
And that case
And what
And what the Court talked about in their
THE COURT:
There's a little bit of dispute about
that.
12
MR. GOELMAN:
Australian-English.
And that's
13
what the Court talked about in its opinion.
14
started to adopt Australian idioms, boot, football, mate.
15
This is the same language.
16
kids who can't even communicate in school.
17
understand what's going on in school.
18
It said they
And here, we're talking about

They don't even
So I agree language is not everything, but if you
19
can't get beyond language, I think it is just a deal
20
breaker.
21
country that you can understand the language.
22
It is a condition precedent to feel at home in a
And Ra'anana, you know, despite the Wikipedia
23
article that is attached to the plaintiff's summary
24
judgment motion, Ra'anana is not a bilingual place.
25
not like San Diego or Los Angeles, where they teach English
It's
Pg ID 961
HEARING - 3/3/2010
27
language in classes.
And the evidence in this case proves
it.
Yeah, there's some immigrants from
Russia, from Anglo countries, from other places.
speak English -- they speak Hebrew on the playground, they
speak Hebrew on the television, and they speak Hebrew in
the schools.
It's in Israel.
But they
And these kids, your Honor, I disagree that they
had some familiarity with Hebrew when they went over there.
They had -- it's true, their parents, they had heard Hebrew
10
before.
But remember, Ann Arbor is a place where --
11
there's a Hebrew day school in Ann Arbor.
12
to Hebrew day school.
13
private school.
14
religious schools in Ann Arbor.
15
that.
16
familiarity with Hebrew, except for occasionally hearing it
17
in the house.
19
20
He went to the non-denominational
There's Hebrew schools, there's Saturday

None of the kids went to
They didn't go to services.
18
Liam didn't go
So they go over there.
These kids had no
They are absolutely
unable -THE COURT:
Do we know from the record that's
21
been presented, about religious affiliation in Ann Arbor,
22
in the United States?
23
MR. GOELMAN:
24
THE COURT:
25
I don't think there's --
Religious services, religious
affiliations and so forth?
Pg ID 962
HEARING - 3/3/2010
1
2
MR. GOELMAN:
28
I don't think there's anything in
the record about that, your Honor.
THE COURT:
All right.
Is there anything about
it, other than mention of visiting the Holy Sites in
Jerusalem, for example, that was mentioned by Ms. McMillan,
there's some photograph I think, and other evidence of that
in the supplementals submissions.
evidence about religious affiliation?
Jewish and being religious are two different things.
Is there significant
Keeping in mind that
10
starting at that proposition.
11
that in the record, with respect to the residence in
12
Israel?
13
MR. GOELMAN:
So what do we know about
We know that they went to Jerusalem
14
one time, and included in the trip to Jerusalem, they
15
visited the Wailing Wall.
16
services for I think Rosh Hashana in Haifa with the
17
maternal grandfather.
18
I'm
We know that they went to
We know -- or at least Liam did.
We know that they may have, there may be some
19
relevant, some reference in there to a meal, Sukkoth meal,
20
which is another holiday, another Jewish holiday in the
21
fall.
22
a reference in the affidavit of Dr. Lichter to holiday
23
meals here in Ann Arbor, that he hosted the family at.
And just to be fully accurate, I think there may be
24
THE COURT:
Okay.
25
MR. GOELMAN:
In terms of them having some kind
Pg ID 963
HEARING - 3/3/2010
29
of latent familiarity with Hebrew, once they were dropped
into this foreign culture, all of a sudden, they would be
able to converse, I think the evidence, your Honor, will
squarely be the other way.
And we do agree that language is not the "be all
end all."
other case where there has held to be acclimatization, the
kids are fluent in the other language.
I think it is a condition precedent.
And every
But even beyond language, there are real cultural
10
differences between Israel and the United States.
11
evidence will be that these cultural differences were felt
12
acutely by the children; that Liam felt terribly out of
13
place in his class; that his class was a zoo and Liam was a
14
very polite kid.
15
being an American kid and being an Israeli kid.
16
the plaintiff, Mr. Tsimhoni, actually recognized that
17
difference and encouraged Liam not to be as polite so he
18
would fit in better in Israeli schools.
19
And our
And that there's a difference between

And that
And this idea, your Honor, they were playing
20
soccer, they were having play dates, they were going to
21
birthday parties.
22
these kids were shut-ins and had no contact with the
23
outside world, not at all.
24
amount of social interaction, because it necessarily was
25
limited, because they couldn't speak -- and you even have
We are not painting a picture where
But that was a very limited
Pg ID 964
HEARING - 3/3/2010
30
their, Mr. Tsimhoni's complaint talks about a couple social
interactions.
"Y".
he's a classmate, name begins with a "Y".
his mother.
Sturm.
Talked about a kid whose name begins with a
And as long as we're -- well, I'll just keep it --
Angela Sturm is
There's a declaration in the record by Angela
And in his complaint, he says, oh, "Y" was a
friend.
He played soccer with "Y".
Liam's house.
"Y" came over to
And she talks about that.
And that's true,
10
they played soccer one time, and he came over to the house
11
one time.
12
realize just how handicapped Liam was in interacting with
13
other kids.
14
do you want to play ball.
15
leave.
16
And it's not until Mr. Tsimhoni translates, he wants to
17
know if you want to play ball, into English, that Liam goes
18
and plays ball with the kid.
19
And if you read Angela Sturm's declaration, you
Because he's sitting there and the kid says,

And this is right before they
This is in early December.
And Liam doesn't react.
So there is -- there really can be no question
20
but that the kids didn't speak, didn't speak Hebrew.
And
21
we are not claiming for a minute that they didn't improve.
22
Kids pick up language more quickly than adults.
23
in a Hebrew speaking environment.
24
and understood more in December than when they got there in
25
September.
They were
So obviously they spoke
But the baseline, your Honor, was very, very
Pg ID 965
HEARING - 3/3/2010
1
2
close to zero.
31
I can expound on that if you want.
THE COURT:
Well, that's the aspect of language.
All right.
I'm not sure how that differs from being a condition
precedent.
think it's fair to say, though it may not be the only
matter that weighs in the balance.
matter of significance to the Court.
And you say it's not the "be all and end all."
But it is a matter of some significance, I
It is, in this case, a
Are there other facts within the evidence that's
10
been presented thus far, that Defendant would point to that
11
would, if credited, dispute the concept of acclimatization
12
in Israel?
13
MR. GOELMAN:
There is, your Honor.
We dispute
14
the idea that because midway through the stay in Israel the
15
container arrived, that somehow, that made this rental
16
house into their home.
17
We dispute the idea that, and I think Ms.
18
McMillan said that the home does not necessarily equal
19
habitual residence, and that was part of her criticism of
20
Dr. Erard's declaration.
21
Robert case, the Holder case, where the court said habitual
22
residence is where -- I'm paraphrasing I'm not quoting --
23
is basically where the kid would call home.
24
where Liam, Roee and Natalie would call home in December.
25
We're not saying it matters where they would call home
And I refer this Court to the
So it matters
Pg ID 966
HEARING - 3/3/2010
32
today.
and there's a lot of criticism about how purportedly weak
and how shallow it is.
But I think if you read Dr. Erard's declaration --
We hired Dr. Erard after receiving the Court's
determination that there wouldn't be a guardian ad litem
appointed.
and we'd be happy to bring him in as a witness if the Court
wants to hear from him, or if Ms. McMillan would like to
question him.
10
11
He spoke to the kids once.
He is available,
So don't take his declaration as the sum
total of what Dr. Erard has to offer.

I also do not disagree with Ms. McMillan that the
12
kids can't determine the legal standard.
And we are not
13
saying that Liam, Roee or Natalie should be asked where
14
their habitual residence was.
15
and there are legion cases where the court has taken kids
16
and talked to them in camera.
17
where these three kids, before they went back to the United
18
States on December 14th, what they would have called home.
19
And the idea that everything, all their
20
connections with Michigan and with the United States were
21
severed, that simply is not true, your Honor.
22
have evidence of that.
23
abandoned - the mother took a leave of absence.
24
was, the record shows, very concerned about maintaining her
25
immigration status.
But it is directly relevant,
It is directly relevant
And we'll
The idea that the jobs were

The mother
She wanted to get citizenship.
Now,
Pg ID 967
HEARING - 3/3/2010
33
if you're severing all roots from your old country, why
would that be a concern for you?
quit your job?
Why wouldn't you actually
Finally, we have a disagreement about best
interest of the child.
We agree that that's not the
Court's job, to decide best interest of the child.
not asking the Court to count play dates in Ann Arbor and
measure them against play dates in Ra'anana.
that just because something would be relevant to best
We're
But the idea
10
interest, that means it's necessarily irrelevant to a Hague
11
Convention case?
12
that, your Honor.
13
relevant under various articles, I hate to mention.
14
just because they also would be relevant to best interest
15
determination, doesn't make them per se excludable.
I don't think there's anything to support

There are certainly things that are
16
That's all I have, your Honor.
17
THE COURT:
18
MR. GOELMAN:
And
Well -I'm sorry.
There's one additional
19
thing.
20
burden on habitual residence, the case is over.
21
agree that if he can, the case isn't over because we do
22
think our defenses are substantial and carry the day in
23
that event.
24
the Court wants to hear about that.
25
We do agree that if the plaintiff cannot carry his

We do not
But I'm not going to address them now, unless
THE COURT:
No.
I invited Ms. McMillan to limit
Pg ID 968
HEARING - 3/3/2010
34
her comments; and yours, accordingly, should be limited.
Thank you.
Ms. McMillan, it's my view, it was my view when
you began speaking, and it's my view now on all, assisted
to some extent by the things Mr. Goelman has pointed out,
that the evidence is sufficiently ambiguous and open to
interpretation on the question of habitual residence and
re-acclimatization; that a judgment on that question in
favor of the plaintiff is not warranted.
And a motion for
10
judgment simply based upon the standards of Rule 56 is
11
denied accordingly.
12
And do you want to present any evidence beyond
13
what has been already proffered?
14
what's been proffered and what the defendant present?
15
What's your desire?
16
17
MS. MCMILLAN:
No.
Or do you want to rest on
We present evidence, your
Honor.
18
THE COURT:
Well, let's go ahead.
19
MS. MCMILLAN:
20
MR. PRATHER:
All right.
We call the defendant mother as our
21
first witness for purposes of cross-examination under the
22
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
23
MR. GOELMAN:
We object to them calling the
24
mother in their case in chief.
25
think that this is something that the Court can deny based
We intend to call her.
Pg ID 969
HEARING - 3/3/2010
35
on the Court's right to manage the trial.
start with the cross-examination of the mother, and then
having us have to do a direct examination during our case
in chief, we think it is inefficient, unnecessarily
prolongs the process, and there's no reason to do it.
We're going to call her.
THE COURT:
Having them
Well, I think that I don't see a
substantial basis to deny the request to put her on the
stand and question her.
It's regularly done in civil
10
cases.
11
Convention.
12
terms, Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
13
should take the stand.
14
you are certainly not limited to cross-examination
15
techniques on your own, on your own witness.
16
think it actually opens that area up for you.
17
benefit accordingly.
18
stand.
19
20
21
This is a civil case, under the terms of the

Rules of Procedure apply, at least in general
So I think she
And to the extent you want to --
Although, I
It may be a
But I think she should take the
MR. GOELMAN:
Yes, your Honor.

*
MAYA EIBSCHITZ-TSIMHONI
22
was called as a witness at 10:25 a.m., and after being
23
sworn to testify to the truth, was examined and testified:
24
25
CROSS-EXAMINATION
Pg ID 970
MAYA EIBSCHITZ-TSIMHONI - CROSS
36
BY MR. PRATHER:
Q.
the father of your three children?
A.
Yes, I do.
Q.
And it is a fact that you and the children and your
husband resided in Ra'anana, Israel from October the 10th,
until December the 14th, 2009?
A.
It was October the 3rd.
Q.
You resided there from October the 3rd?
10
A.
Yes.
11
Q.
And you're acknowledging the fact that you took the
12
children from Israel to Michigan on December the 14th,
13
2009?
14
A.
Yes.
15
Q.
And you filed -- and you returned to Michigan on what
16
date?
17
A.
18
we arrived here December the 15th.
19
Q.
20
Circuit Court on December the 17th, 2009, did you not?
21
A.
Yes.
22
Q.
And you alleged in that complaint that you were a
23
resident of the County of Oakland for ten days before you
24
signed and filed your complaint for divorce, did you not?
25
A.
Dr. Tsimhoni, you realize I represent your husband and
On December -- the flight was December the 14th, and
And you filed a divorce case in the Oakland County
Yes.
TSIMHONI v. EIBSCHITZ-TSIMHONI - 10-10308
Pg ID 971
37
Q.
And that was a false statement, wasn't it?
A.
No.
Q.
Did you live in Oakland County for ten days before you
filed your complaint for divorce on December the 17th,
2009?
A.
Yes.
Q.
But you lived in Israel, you left Israel on December
the 14th, did you not?
A.
Not continuously, but yes.
I did.
But when I, when I was running away from what
10
happened to me when my husband came to visit us in Ann
11
Arbor, I seek a shelter next to a friend of ours here,
12
Miriam Ducovny (phonetic), and I lived in this county for
13
awhile.
14
Q.
15
about where you lived when you came back to the United
16
States.
17
before you filed your complaint for divorce, did you?
But that was in December 23rd of 2008.
You did not live in Oakland County for ten days
18
19
MR. GOELMAN:
Objection to form, and asked and
answered.
20
21
I'm talking
THE COURT:
Overruled as to form.
And I think
she has answered it.
22
Go ahead.
What else do you want?
23
BY MR. PRATHER:
24
Q.
You actually lied to the Court?
25
A.
I did not.
Pg ID 972
MR. GOELMAN:
THE COURT:
Objection.
I think you've explored this
sufficiently.
to the Court for further explanation.
38
I don't think this is likely to be helpful
Go ahead.
Anything else?
BY MR. PRATHER:
Q.
children moved to Ra'anana.
a little while?
Let's, let's talk about what happened when the
10
MR. GOELMAN:
They lived in an apartment for
Objection to the time.
Just a time
11
frame, your Honor.
12
BY MR. PRATHER:
13
Q.
14
you and the children live?
15
A.
16
we lived in a one week apartment.
17
temporary place, as my husband's parents would not allow us
18
to live in their house.
19
sabbatical, but they said that I did not deserve to live in
20
their house.
21
rental.
22
one rental, one-week rental.
23
and allergic to, to the dust and conditions of the, the
24
conditions of that place.
25
When you arrived on October the 3rd, 2009, where did
We actually arrived in Israel on September 10th.
And
And then that was a
They were out of the country for
And, and so we had to live in a one-week
And after that one week, we moved to a second week

And both of my kids were sick
And then after the second week I was over, we had
Pg ID 973
39
nowhere to move to.
could -- what to do.
one night.
So then we went to, for three days, in spite of his
disapproval, we had no choice, but we lived -- he agreed
that we would be at his parents' house for three days.
And I asked my husband again if we

And we ended up going to a hotel for
And then we couldn't stay at the hotel anymore.
And during that time, he told me that when I
asked to stay there longer, he said that I do not deserve
it, and that the party is over for me.
And when I asked to
10
use the computer in their house to look for a hotel, he
11
said there was no internet --
12
Q.
13
asking about discussions you had with your husband.
14
15
16
Doctor, I'm asking you about where you lived.
I'm not
I show you Plaintiff's Exhibit 107 and ask you if

you recognize this particular exhibit.
MR. GOELMAN:
Your Honor, I would just ask that
17
when talking about exhibits, we have not been able fully to
18
conform the new numbers to those attached to their
19
pleadings.
20
we can locate the exhibits.
If they could just give us a cross-reference so
21
THE COURT:
What's the cross reference?
22
MS. MCMILLAN:
23
MR. GOELMAN:
24
MS. MCMILLAN:
25
MR. GOELMAN:
Exhibit F to the complaint.

Exhibit?
"F".
Six to the complaint?
Pg ID 974
MS. MCMILLAN:
contract for the Hegalim house.
THE COURT:
Oh, I'm sorry.
40
It's the lease
You don't have a conform --
consolidated set of those for the bench, do you, other than
what's already been filed electronically?
Do you?
MR. PRATHER:
We do not.
MR. GOELMAN:
It's Exhibit 9 to the plaintiff's
complaint, your Honor.
9
10
THE COURT:
In any event, he wants to know if you
recognize that.
11
THE WITNESS:
I do.
12
BY MR. PRATHER:
13
Q.
14
reside in that apartment for 11 months; isn't that a fact?
15
A.
You did sign the lease.
The lease --
16
17
And it provided you would
MR. GOELMAN:
Objection, compound.
Objection,
compound.
18
THE COURT:
That's inconsequential.
19
THE WITNESS:
The lease was initially not to, was
20
not to my satisfaction because it missed a paragraph that
21
would say that we can leave before -- that we can leave in
22
the middle of that period.
23
BY MR. PRATHER:
24
Q.
Doctor --
25
A.
And we changed the --
Pg ID 975
Q.
Doctor --
2
3
41
MR. GOELMAN:
Objection to Counsel interrupting
the witness, your Honor.
THE COURT:
Agree.
THE WITNESS:
Go ahead.
Continue.
So the lease was initially designed
for nine months.
But then I wanted to leave before nine
months, so we added a paragraph that says that we will be
able to leave before nine months.
BY MR. PRATHER:
And that was --
10
Q.
You and the children and your husband lived in that
11
apartment until you left on December the 14th.
12
fact, isn't it?
13
A.
Yes.
14
Q.
And when you got to Ra'anana, you engaged in certain
15
activities with your husband and children.
16
sites and sacred places in Jerusalem, including the Wailing
17
Wall, did you not?
18
A.
19
Jerusalem.
20
that, a tourist there -- because in all Jerusalem city,
21
there is a market.
22
touristic place.
23
picture of us.
24
commenting -- he was from Scotland -- Ireland, I'm sorry.
25
And he was happy to, the names of the kids reminded him of
That's a
You went to see
We went, there was one Saturday that we went to

And we, when we got there, I asked someone
And there are lots of -- it's a very
So I asked one of the tourists to take a
And he was very nice man.
And he was
Pg ID 976
Irish names.
And he became very friendly.
that he's a priest in Ireland.
group to meet us.
very nice.
42
He said Liam, and he thought it was Rory.

And he ended -- he told us
And he brought all his
And I remember that I thought he was
And Omer said -- Omer was angry at me to how come
I'm coming to a sacred, special place for Jewish people and
end up communicating with someone from the church.
And then when we got to the Wall, and I told the
10
kids they could put a note in the Wall for to ask, to -- to
11
ask, to ask for special wishes.
12
could not go with me to the Wall because in the Jewish
13
religion, men are more important and they should just go
14
with him.
15
And Omer said that they
And so it ended up being a terrible visit.

So, and then he took the kids and went to -- it's
16
divided between women and men at the Wall.
17
religious people divide it like that.
18
mommy, why can't you come with us?
19
leave her alone and, and you need to come with me.
20
And the
And the kids said,
And he said just, just
And so that was -- and then on the way back, when
21
we were at the market, my little one, Natalie said that she
22
wants to buy me a present.
23
chose something little at the market.
24
away from her and gave it back to the man and said she
25
doesn't, she doesn't need any presents.
And she was going to -- she

And he just took it
Pg ID 977
43
And that's basically how he treated me the whole
time we were there, just saying that the party is over and
I'm done and it's the end for me.
THE COURT:
And --
I think that's a sufficient answer.
BY MR. PRATHER:
Q.
Haifa; that's true, isn't it?
A.
Yes.
Q.
Yom Kippur and Sukkoth with the grandpa, Saba Izy, you
Now, the family attended services at the synagogue in
Yes, it is.
10
attended that?
11
A.
12
kids, it was a new adventure, because they -- it was an
13
opportunity to be with Grandpa.
14
Omer didn't go with them.
15
talking to friends.
16
come in?
17
the religion.
18
did not expose them to any religious ceremonies.
19
said, mom, why do you have to stay outside?
20
go inside?
21
religious people.
22
he said, he said, you know, that's just not fair.
23
about -- anyway.
24
25
My father was, was at the synagogue.
And for the
And they went inside.
And
And he stayed outside, just
And my son said, mom, why can't you
And because he was not used to -- he doesn't know

And he is not used to, to religious -- we
And he
Why only men
And I just said this is how it is for the

They just, women wait outside.
It was the time --
MR. PRATHER:
Your Honor, I object to her
narrative testimony.
And, and
How
Pg ID 978
THE COURT:
Yes.
I think that's, I think that's
a sufficient answer to that question.
BY MR. PRATHER:
Q.
The oldest son --
THE COURT:
It would be well to fairly directly
answer the questions.
needed, I'm certainly going to give you time to do that.
8
9
44
If there's reasonable explanation
Go ahead.
BY MR. PRATHER:
10
Q.
11
third grade, did he not?
12
A.
He did.
13
Q.
And he did well in school?
14
A.
He, he -- we at some point, the kids were very bored
15
and there was nothing to do.
16
the beach was -- they just was enough of the beach at some
17
point.
18
would be kind of -- I told them, look, it's an adventure.
19
You can just see how it is.
20
school.
21
Liam attended school in Ra'anana.
He started in the
And they didn't even -- go to
And, and so school I thought they would be, it
And they suffered a lot at
They were begging to -- they didn't say how -MR. PRATHER:
Judge, I have to object to her
22
testimony what the children said.
23
asking her whether the son, the oldest son attended school
24
in Israel.
25
The question is only
That was the answer.
THE COURT:
No.
Actually, your question was he
Pg ID 979
did well in school, didn't he?
question.
question.
And she is answering that
So did he do well in school?
THE WITNESS:
45
That's the
He did not, because he really
suffered there.
He told me that Hebrew to him is like
Chinese.
I learn Spanish that is Latin, but this is like Chinese.
don't understand anything that some people say to me.
He said, mom, it's like Chinese.
I only learn -I
And people are -- the kids were laughing at him
10
for his behavior.
11
feel like I came to -- I'm surrounded by monkeys.
12
want to touch me and they all feel like I'm something
13
different.
14
pushing each other and shouting?
15
shouting?
16
other?
17
He, and he even said, mom, it's like I

They all
And no one even -- and he says why are people

And why is the teacher
And why are people throwing things at each
And Roee and -- and they didn't want to go to
18
school.
And Roee and Nathalie didn't want to go.
They
19
begged not to go to school.
20
just, it's just interesting to see how, you know, people,
21
different people behave differently and it's interesting.
22
But they begged every day to stay home.
23
actually stayed home a lot, except for the times when they
24
were sick and didn't go.
25
different.
And I said guys, you know,
And they
But they just, they just felt so
And kids there were laughing at them and
Pg ID 980
46
throwing things at them.
to go.
And they kept saying we want, please, take us back
home.
We just cannot -- and they were standing on the side
and --
THE COURT:
question.
BY MR. PRATHER:
Q.
14th, 2009?
And they, they all begged me not
That's a sufficient answer to that
Go ahead.
Next?
Did he continue to go to school until December the
10
A.
He went sporadically to school because we all got the
11
swine flu.
12
the swine flu and Roee got the swine flu, and then Natalie
13
got the swine flu.
14
got sick, because we didn't want to give it to anybody
15
else.
And we all had to stay home for, first Liam got
And we all stayed home when they all
16
And even though we didn't have insurance, we
17
somehow find a physician that saw us in the backyard,
18
pretty much, and gave us Tamiflu.
19
-- they couldn't even take the medications.
20
used to the Motrin that they have here.
21
didn't like the taste.
22
them to take medication.
23
And they didn't want to

They are not
They couldn't --
The whole day was spent convincing
And so they, they went very, very little to
24
school in between, in between the sicknesses and in between
25
the rainy days and in between the -- I think Roee and
Pg ID 981
47
Natalie went for about 20 days total to the kindergarten,
were very disturbed how, but by the different culture and
how kids are so violent and just, I don't know, just not
respecting the teacher.
and how the kids communicate between themselves.
they were, they were -- they felt very out of place.
Q.
was not doing well in school?
A.
And how the teachers communicate

And so
Did you ever complain to the teachers that your son
Actually, I didn't need to complain because the
10
teacher, Roee's and Natalie's teacher gave me a note of a
11
place that would -- she said she cannot attend to their
12
needs because she has many other kids in the class.
13
I wanted to, that I could teach them Hebrew in an afternoon
14
class.
15
suggested that they would -- she suggested that they are
16
out of place, but that it takes a long time to, to adjust.
17
And Liam's teacher said that he doesn't
And she gave me the details of that.
And if
And she
18
understand anything and he seems bored.
And she said, Liam
19
said that the kids are talking to him during the class.
20
And I told the teacher that.
21
sorry, Liam said he can't even ask them to not talk to him
22
because then he would interrupt the class.
23
kept saying that he does not -- that he, he -- she kept
24
commenting to how polite he is.
25
in that class would be like that.
And she said, actually -- I'm
But the teacher
And she wishes everybody

And she cannot -- how
Pg ID 982
48
did -- how is this possible that the child would be so
respectful and so polite.
the class would behave like Liam.
And she wishes everybody else in
And she kept commenting to how he can't
understand a word in Hebrew.
she recommended to like go to a class that is like English
speaking class.
in English.
that's one, one hour a week Liam would feel he's more
And there was a teacher that spoke to him
And that teacher commented to how -- and
10
relaxed.
11
misery of his week schedule.
12
13
So at some point, she said
And she feels like he needs that break out of the
MR. PRATHER:
Judge, this is not responsive to my
question.
14
THE COURT:
At this point, I agree.
Go ahead.
15
Next question.
16
BY MR. PRATHER:
17
Q.
18
with the school?
19
A.
Liam did.
20
Q.
Did you talk to your husband, Omer, about it?
21
A.
Liam told me.
22
Q.
Did you?
23
A.
Yes.
24
Q.
When did you talk to your husband?
25
A.
It was every, every time that they went, came back
Did you talk to your husband about Liam's problems

Did you talk to him about that?
We both, we all talked.
Pg ID 983
49
from school in the evening, they would say we don't want to
go back.
Q.
And what did, what did Omer say in response to that?
A.
You should stop being so polite.
you and please.
should just push.
They are not standing on the side waiting to be invited.
You should be -- you shouldn't be so polite.
from -- this is you just have to start to be -- you have to
It's terrible.
Will you please take us home?
Stop saying thank
This is not the way it's done here.
You
And in Israel, people push their way.
You're not
10
be Israeli.
This is not the way things are done here.
11
Stop.
12
said, this is not the way it's done here.
13
shout like everyone else.
14
Liam said that's --
15
Q.
16
did that improve during the time he was at school?
17
A.
18
bright and that he's making nice progress.
19
the alphabet.
20
to start to read like "the little bunny" or "I am a big
21
boy," things like that.
22
wanted to give him opportunity, and so she gave him like a
23
few sentence of I am -- this is a bunny, which is rhyming
24
in Hebrew, Hashafan Hakatan, and it's easy words.
25
he read in front of the class.
And but I want to say please and thank you.
He
You should just
You should push your way.
And
Did his use in speaking the Israeli language, Hebrew,
Yes, he improved.
And the teacher said he's very

And he learned
And she -- they gave him a short -- he got
And she -- the school teacher
And so
Pg ID 984
50
And then later, Liam told me that all the
classmates were laughing at him for reading it like he
said, I feel like I'm a kid, like a baby.
bright, very, very bright boy.
little, he learned ulpan.
early stages of languages.
like Chinese.
Q.
different culture?
But he's a
And he's, he learned a
The book just goes about the

But he kept saying, mom, it's
You realized before you moved to Israel, that was a

That there would be a period of
10
adjustment for your children, did you not?
11
A.
12
went for a little while to like -- like Liam says mom, if I
13
would want to go to do research on penguins in Antarctica,
14
we went like to observe, to enjoy, to have some time with
15
family.
16
them to have time with Omer and, but they didn't go in the
17
purpose of adjusting.
18
and taking a trip.
19
Q.
20
in Ann Arbor.
21
2009 for $470,000?
22
A.
23
the packing started in January, when we were going to get a
24
divorce.
25
that's when the house was -- that's when we decided to sell
I didn't look at it as a period of adjustment.
We
And of course, at that time, you know, I wanted
They went in the purpose of visiting
But your children saw that you moved out of your home
You sold the house on September the 8th,
They realize that?
They realize that we start, we want -- the selling and
Then we had to separate our belongings.
And
Pg ID 985
And that's when we started packing.
51
the house.
And it had
nothing to do with our move.
Q.
longer going to be their home and they would have a home in
Israel.
A.
new place here.
Q.
personal belongings?
So the children knew that the Ann Arbor home was no
That's a fact, isn't it?
No, it's not.
The children knew we were looking for a
It is a fact that you had delivered to Israel all your

There was no personal property that
10
was left behind?
11
A.
12
packed, as I said, because we are going to get a divorce.
13
And the children, actually, the realtor said clean the
14
house from everything.
15
the junk of toys and old books.
No.
That, that -- there was no personal property.
We
The house will never sell with all
16
And so they knew that we are going to spread
17
our -- divide our assets and move to a smaller place.
18
my husband didn't give us much money to support our stay
19
here, because he said he would do -- he would make sure
20
that we wouldn't be able to stay here.
And
And so --
21
MR. PRATHER:
Judge, she's interjecting her
22
arguments against her husband.
23
establish that they did move to Israel, and they
24
transferred all the property.
25
THE COURT:
I'm just trying to
Why don't you re-cast the question
Pg ID 986
52
and ask it directly.
Go ahead.
BY MR. PRATHER:
Q.
transferred to Israel?
A.
the garage sale before we left.
Q.
sale was transferred to Israel; isn't that a fact?
A.
It is a fact that all of your personal property was
No.
Because most of our personal property was sold in
Okay.
Well, anything that was left after the garage
Not to my wishes.
I asked to store it in our old
10
house on Traver.
I asked to store it in the basement
11
there.
12
Q.
13
question is, in fact, did all the personal property go to
14
Israel?
15
Michigan?
16
A.
17
insisted, and said that's the only option.
18
allow me to store it here.
19
Q.
And you bought a one-way airline ticket to Israel?
20
A.
Not to my knowledge.
21
And I asked my husband not to do it through a -- I was
22
aware -- I was worried that he would use my move there as,
23
as putting check marks on some form that he has to show
24
that, that I got the ticket, that I am a returning citizen.
25
And I asked him please do not buy any tickets under
And I said that that makes more sense.
Doctor, the question isn't whether you asked.
The
Did you leave any personal property back in
It was moved there only because my husband forced me,

He would not
I didn't purchase that ticket.
Pg ID 987
53
returning citizen's discount.
I don't need that discount.
And I asked him specifically please do not do that.
agreed not to do that, not to buy tickets for returning
citizens for a cheaper price.
purchasing the tickets.
as I asked him to.
did.
Q.
moved to Israel, you were never able to reach an agreement
And he
And I was not involved in
And I trusted him to buy tickets
And I never, I never checked what he
In your negotiations with your husband, before you
10
where he said that you could come back to the United
11
States; isn't that a fact?
12
A.
13
Otherwise, I would have never gone.
14
July, we were supposed to go July 2nd, and we did not reach
15
an agreement.
16
No.
That's not true.
We did reach an agreement.

In June, beginning of
And I cancelled my move because of that.
And later on, I only went because of his word.
17
Trust my word, I will let you go back.
You don't need no
18
paper will protect you.
19
Q.
20
you were returning as an Israeli citizen to establish a
21
residence in Israel; isn't that a fact?
22
A.
23
returning citizen.
24
returning citizens, except for one, which I explain were
25
done in my name.
Trust my word.
And you signed a document in Israel, indicating that
I did not.
I asked him, I do not want to be a

None of the documents that were
I was not aware that he pursued that type
Pg ID 988
54
of returning citizen proof.
Even though I ask, I told him
specifically that I do not want to be a returning citizen.
When the only time that I, if you are calling telling the
trial this way, he said the only way he could get the
container out of the port is if my passport is stamped,
because his passport is out of date for that, because nine
months has passed for him to come.
just -- and I said look, it's a -- I do not want -- I'm not
a returning citizen.
And he said just,
I do not want my passport to be
10
stamped.
11
one will ever use it.
What is your -- why are you
12
concerned about that?
This is nothing to do with returning
13
citizens; just to get the container out.
14
And he said why are you so bothered about it?
No
And I was so -- I told him, I just do not want it
15
done.
I am not a returning citizen.
He says why are you
16
so concerned about that?
17
It's just, it's just for releasing the container.
18
have any money to release the container without that stamp.
19
Q.
Let's talk about your second son, Roee.
20
A.
Roee.
21
Q.
He went to school in Israel.
22
He went to kindergarten from October 2009, up to the time
23
you left, did he not?
24
A.
Not, not exactly.
25
Q.
But he did go to school?
I has nothing to do with that.

I don't
Roee.
He went to school there.
Pg ID 989
55
A.
He only started, he only started to go on October
27th.
days in October that he went, only two days.
bullied by a girl that was emotionally disturbing and had a
social worker attached to her.
MR. PRATHER:
He went, he went 27 and 28th.
Those are the two

He then was
And he --
Judge, all I asked her about
whether he attended school.
that.
And she's embellishing on
It's not responsive to my question.
THE COURT:
The --
10
MR. PRATHER:
11
THE COURT:
I ask she be instructed to just --
Sir, I understand that the question
12
was simple, and the answer was not responsive.
And I
13
agree.
14
BY MR. PRATHER:
15
Q.
He did, he did attend school in Ra'anana?
16
A.
The reason I explained is because --
17
Q.
Did he --
18
A.
-- to say October is inaccurate.
19
November 1st when he started, and October 27th, to be
20
accurate.
21
Q.
22
when you removed the children from Israel, that's a fact?
23
A.
24
they were not at school when they left.
25
Q.
Please ask the question again.
He started on October 27.
That's not true.
He did?
It was actually
And he was going to school
Because it was Hanukah holiday and
And was he doing well in school?
Pg ID 990
No.
He was very miserable.
56
A.
He's a very social kid.
He had a million friends here.
happy.
Came home with tantrums and miserable and begging not to
ever go there again.
Q.
And your daughter, did she attend any school at all?
A.
She did with Roee, same school, same times.
Q.
And she did okay in school?
A.
No.
He loves people.
And he was very miserable and never wanted to go.
She was very miserable.
She was -- she begged to
10
go back to her friend, Kiera.
11
anything.
12
people drink from my water bottle?
13
mommy, don't touch me and don't push me?
14
Q.
Did the children have any friends in Israel?
15
A.
Roee and Natalie had no friends.
16
friends here.
17
kid that was even communicating with them.
18
about friendship.
19
He's very
And she didn't understand
And why do people touch my lunch?
And why do
And how do I tell them,
They have a million
They had not -- they didn't have a single

I'm not talking
The only person -- and Liam had was -- the
20
teacher of Liam asked a child that has an American mom that
21
lived next door in the duplex, to take care of Liam in
22
terms of explain to him where is the class going, explain
23
to him what's going on in the class, as he was both
24
speaking English and had exposure to an American culture.
25
And that kid referred to Liam as, as a burden, as
Pg ID 991
57
I need to take care of you and kept complaining to the
teacher, who told me that he is complaining why was he
removed from sitting next to his friend.
4
5
MR. PRATHER:
to my question.
Judge, this is again not responsive
She's just embellishing.
THE COURT:
Well, actually, I think it was.
asked if they had any friends.
open-ended question.
And that's a fairly
What else?
MR. PRATHER:
You
Go ahead.
Okay.
10
BY MR. PRATHER:
11
Q.
12
at the local swimming pool where they would swim?
13
A.
14
actually, Liam was asked, before they took swimming here
15
before, in during the years, and Liam was --
Were the children enrolled for a six month membership
The kids were -- the kids loved swimming.
16
MR. PRATHER:
And
Judge, it was a simple question.
17
Were the children enrolled for a six month membership at a
18
local swimming pool where they would swim.
19
question.
20
THE WITNESS:
That's a simple
They were only enrolled because
21
Omer insisted to do a membership because he said going once
22
at a time is too expensive and doing a membership would,
23
would enable us to go.
24
THE COURT:
So the answer is yes?
25
THE WITNESS:
Yes.
Pg ID 992
THE COURT:
58
Go ahead.
BY MR. PRATHER:
Q.
Herzliya Beach and Marina, Old Jaffa Port and Tel Aviv Port
where they saw an amateur juggler, who became an
inspiration to your son Liam's interest in juggling?
A.
Did the children enjoy visits to Tel Barukh Beach,
Liam is a great juggler.
8
9
MR. GOELMAN:
Honor.
10
11
I'm going to object to form, your
THE COURT:
it.
Go ahead.
12
I think your client is able to handle
Answer.
THE WITNESS:
We went to the beach a lot.
It was
13
-- they, the kids complained about why is it so hot and we
14
want to go back to the snow.
15
the beach a lot.
16
was a very good juggler.
17
juggling.
18
BY MR. PRATHER:
19
Q.
20
their school friends, including the birthday of a friend by
21
the name of "D" at a bowling facility with four other
22
children?
23
A.
24
was a birthday party that was an army base simulation.
25
Liam was -- and we were -- I was there with two other moms.
But we ended up, we went to
And they were impressed by a juggler.
He
And they all like magic and
The kids love that.
Did the children attend several birthday parties for
They attended three birthday parties.
The first one
And
Pg ID 993
59
And we were all commenting to how harsh it is and how
unnecessary it is to have kids celebrate a birthday party
in an army base and talk down to them:
You do ten push-ups
now.
Run.
like a course.
Who didn't talk.
Get up.
Move.
And it was
And then they had them shoot with paintballs
without any protection.
And I said that I did not want my
son to participate in such a birthday.
I've seen enough eyes lost with paintball guns, and
I'm an eye doctor.
10
certainly in the middle of the woods, and just shooting,
11
kids holding -- I objected to the fact that kids should
12
even hold a gun to shoot.
13
kids should be exposed to that.
14
terrible experience.
15
I was, I was -- and Liam was horrified by it.
16
That's against my beliefs, that

But I -- but it was a
And that was one birthday party.
And
And me, too.
And actually, I was there with Dan's mom, who is
17
Australian.
18
but that is the only way these kids in Israel can actually
19
respond to commands, because if they -- if people talk to
20
them nicely, then they never listen.
21
are commanding them in this language, and it's, it's not
22
acceptable in my opinion to talk to little kids, then they
23
respond.
24
25
And she kept commenting to how horrible it is,
But here, since they
That was one birthday party.

And then there was another birthday party of
karate that Liam again was alarmed by, and me, too, was
Pg ID 994
60
alarmed by the way they, the teachers were like harsh and
criticizing and commanding, not the type of behavior they
are used to.
And the third birthday party was not really a
birthday party, because Dan's mom told me that she cannot
stand in the classroom, the parents have to invite all the
kids if they are having a birthday party.
8
9
MR. PRATHER:
birthday party.
Judge, I just asked her about a
And she's going on bringing statements
10
from other people that's hearsay.
11
cross-examine those people.
12
But she said --
THE COURT:
I don't get a chance to
You asked did the children attend
13
several, you asked her to talk, talk about the children
14
attending several birthday parties.
15
MR. PRATHER:
16
THE COURT:
17
Yes.
She's apparently listing the birthday
parties that the children attended.
18
MR. PRATHER:
She should just tell us about the
19
birthday, not what other people said to her at the birthday
20
party.
I didn't ask her that question.
21
THE COURT:
Oh, okay.
22
THE WITNESS:
Okay.
Well, I thought, I thought
23
the same thing.
24
at this age, are exposed to military type of behavior.
25
I thought it's disturbing that kids are,
THE COURT:
Okay.
We have that.
I have that
Pg ID 995
61
concept.
THE WITNESS:
The third time was when Dan's mom
invite us.
And it was not a birthday party, because she
couldn't, she could not, not invite the whole class.
she just said let's not call it a birthday party, but Dan
had recently a birthday, and she wanted Dan to improve his
English by being around Liam.
bowling.
bowling was something he's familiar from here, and he
So
And so she invited them for
And actually, Liam was very happy, because
10
enjoyed playing bowling.
11
BY MR. PRATHER:
12
Q.
And he had the highest score?
13
A.
And he had the highest score.
14
he's a good --
15
Q.
16
party?
17
A.
18
watched a move in English.
19
husband about asking him to take him for a job at GM
20
because he is unemployed and he wanted to, to get, to start
21
working at GM.
22
to, to hire him.
23
Q.
24
quickly?
25
A.
He's a very -- he's,
And then he went to -- you went to "D's" house for a
Yes.
We went to Dan's house afterwards.
And the kids
And Dan's dad talked to my
And he spent the whole time begging Omer
The children's conversational Hebrew developed
They could not --
Pg ID 996
62
Q.
They were speaking Hebrew pretty good, weren't they?
A.
They were not speaking between themselves or between
them and other -- they were not speaking Hebrew.
could -- they did improve, I do not deny that.
never spoke Hebrew among themselves or with me.
Q.
schools?
A.
person that could communicate with Liam was this, the boy
They
But they
They were taught exclusively in Hebrew at their
The schools speak, speak Hebrew.
Liam, the only
10
Adam, who spoke English.
And they had one hour a week of
11
English class for, by, given by a British teacher, who
12
spoke English and by a teacher born and raised in Michigan.
13
Q.
14
became quite proficient in Hebrew, did he not?
15
A.
16
basics of Hebrew language.
17
come to school, go into the class for a little bit.
18
then that teacher would come to collect a group of kids
19
that don't know Hebrew, and take them for a few hours, for
20
most of the day to sit at ulpan.
21
made real good progress, but it was, it was the A, B, C
22
level.
23
Q.
24
both among themselves and with you and your husband?
25
A.
And Liam attended special Hebrew language classes and
Liam had ulpan, it's called ulpan to teach the basics,

And he actually was, he would
And
And she did comment he
All the children spoke primarily Hebrew at the home,
That is not true.
They spoke only English and they
Pg ID 997
63
just cannot speak Hebrew.
Q.
their cousins, that's a fact, isn't it?
A.
went to see my parents, Yom Kippur.
went to my sister.
Q.
mother and father have been married a long time.
are residents of Israel, are they not?
The children visited Haifa several times to play with
We went on Rosh Hashana, that we talked about it, we

And then Sukkoth, we
And your parents, your father is a doctor.
Yes, they are.
Your
And they
10
A.
Actually, they are residents of
11
Israel, but my father was born in Romania and European
12
cities, and my mother spent many years in Switzerland.
13
Q.
14
children was to be closer to your relatives?
15
A.
16
them to, obviously, I want them to know my parents, and my
17
parents came to visit a lot.
18
parents, but I never moved to Israel.
19
Q.
Does your sister live in Israel?
20
A.
My -- I have two sisters.
21
in America, was in Cincinnati for two years in sabbatical
22
and returned to Israel.
23
then they moved, they returned to Israel about the time we
24
came.
25
Q.
One of the reasons of moving to Israel with your
I never moved to Israel with my children.
I wanted
And I was happy to visit my
One of them lived in, was
They only came for two years.
And --
And
Pg ID 998
64
A.
And my --
Q.
Your aunt, your aunt Nava, does she live in Israel?
A.
Yes.
Q.
Your children played soccer with multiple friends from
Liam's class?
soccer?
A.
to stop at some point taking soccer here after first grade.
They don't like it.
He learned to play soccer and he liked
My children don't like soccer.
Actually, Liam asked
But kids over there, they don't really
10
do, they don't know golf, they don't know sports that
11
tennis, they don't do sports that they are hockey, the
12
sports they are used to from here, T-ball, all that.
13
the kids actually just spend most of the afternoon just
14
hanging out outside, without doing much, but just kind of
15
hanging out at the field with a soccer ball.
16
And
And the kids did stand there and just waited to,
17
to be invited.
But just, just were kind of on the side.
18
And at some point, they went in and played.
19
they were asking me to, not to go anymore, because they
20
felt like they just don't want to -- want their outside of
21
the house up until, up until late in the evening.
22
Q.
23
physics?
24
A.
25
And Dan's -- and since in school, he's here taking Stanford
But they were,
Your oldest son was interested in robotics and
My oldest son is a very bright kid and he loves math.
Pg ID 999
65
courses, and he's a very, a very bright kid in math.
And the level of math at the school there, was
since he, that's the one -- that was a class he could sit
at, because they thought math, you know, he could sit.
They were counting by tens to 100.
And so Dan's mom suggested that her son is going
to a robotic class.
Maybe Liam would want to go.
time we went with her.
wanted to go back.
And one
And Liam was so -- Liam never
Number one, he didn't understand what
10
the teacher was saying, or what the kids were saying.
It
11
was kind of a group type of a project they were building
12
robots.
13
who started to talk to him in fast Hebrew and say, "you be
14
this robot now, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5.
15
come you didn't do it?
16
didn't, I was alarmed by -- I didn't like the way that
17
class was handled.
18
he was not signed for it.
19
and never want to come back.
20
Q.
21
Morgan Tsimhoni, and told him that the children were doing
22
well in school, your son Liam was doing well in school, and
23
was popular with the girls in his class.
24
that, didn't you?
25
A.
And but maybe he was discouraged by the teacher
You didn't do?
Go back to it," like that.
How
And I
And Liam never wanted to go back.
And
He just went to see how it is
You had a conversation with your brother-in-law,
You told him
No, not in these words.
Pg ID 1000
Q.
And you said that he was doing --
A.
Not in this meaning.
Q.
-- well in soccer?
A.
Sorry?
Q.
You told him he was doing well in soccer?
A.
No, not this these words.
My, my husband's family never said hello to me.
came, they just ignored me completely.
Q.
No.
66
It's taken out of context.

When we
I'm not talking about -- I'm talking about did
10
you or did you not make these statements to his brother?
11
A.
No.
12
Q.
So you're denying you made the statements?
13
A.
When he came to us that day, he sat with my husband
14
for about two hours in the living room whispering to each
15
other.
16
came and just tried to be conversational, and he completely
17
ignore me.
18
And my husband took him -- was going to take him home.
19
they left around eleven, and my husband came back around
20
three a.m.
21
Q.
22
are some photographs.
25
And I was in the kitchen.
And towards the end, I
And then they both said that they need to go.

And
Dr. Tsimhoni, I show you proposed Exhibit 131, which
23
24
Actually, at that time, he --
THE COURT:
Your supplemental material; is that
right?
MR. PRATHER:
Yes.
Yes.
Pg ID 1001
THE COURT:
Go ahead.
BY MR. PRATHER:
Q.
photographs.
A.
Yes, I do.
Q.
And are the photographs a fair and accurate
representation of the children and objects photographed?
A.
cell phone over there, of me and the kids on the beach.
And ask you if you had an opportunity to review those
These are, these are photographs that I took with my
10
Yes.
11
Q.
12
persons photographed?
13
A.
I'm sorry?
14
Q.
They are an accurate representation of the persons
15
photographed?
16
A.
Yes.
17
Q.
Let's go through the pictures.
18
67
They are a fair and accurate representation of the
They are, they are, aren't they?
MR. GOELMAN:
Judge, they are not in evidence.
19
And we would object because it's discovery abuse when we
20
asked repeatedly for pictures and other documents and
21
never, never got them for trial.
22
this, that there would be some selective universe of
23
pictures that he retained, that the husband retained in the
24
house in Ra'anana.
25
show up on the eve of trial.
We were afraid exactly of
We were never given anything and they

We object.
Pg ID 1002
MS. MCMILLAN:
MR. PRATHER:
handled this.
68
If I may, your Honor?

I didn't handle it.
Ms. McMillan
I'll ask her to respond.
THE COURT:
Well, I recognize that Hague
Convention cases are sufficiently unusual in their pretrial
proceedings.
come to hearing may not permit the full array of ordinary
discovery motions, demands, trading of documents and things
of that sort.
And the speed with which they are designed to
I've encouraged the parties to do the best
10
they could under the time constraints I've imposed.
11
I'm going to permit the questions and the receipt of these
12
photographs.
13
not sure.
14
And
To whatever end they might be offered, I'm
Go ahead.
(PX #131 received at 11:10 a.m.)
15
BY MR. PRATHER:
16
Q.
Photograph 1 is whom?
17
A.
Natalie and Liam.
18
Q.
Photograph No. 2?
19
A.
Natalie, Liam and Roee.
20
Q.
Photograph is yourself, 3?
21
A.
Me.
22
Q.
Photograph 4?
23
A.
Photograph of my three kids.
24
Q.
Where were you at this time?
25
A.
This was when I took them to the beach in Herzliya.
Pg ID 1003
69
Q.
And Exhibit No. 5?
A.
Same place, the marina in Herzliya.
Q.
Exhibit No. 6?
A.
Same place.
Q.
Next page, Exhibit No. 7?
A.
This was outside of one of the rental places we were
in the beginning.
Q.
Exhibit 8, that's your daughter, Natalie?
A.
Yes.
10
Q.
Looks pretty happy?
11
A.
I think -- I didn't try to make them suffer and I'm
12
not claiming that they suffered.
13
wanted them to enjoy it.
14
them liking the culture over there.
15
all these pictures are isolated when the only person that
16
is with them is me.
17
good time.
18
Q.
Exhibit 9?
19
A.
Same place, outside in the --
20
Q.
A picture of yourself?
21
A.
The little apartments that is shown in the background.
22
Q.
Exhibit 11 is what?
23
A.
Same place.
24
Q.
Exhibit 12?
25
A.
This is my mom in the picture.
They are kids, and I
But that has nothing to do with

This is an isolated --
And I'm trying to have them have a
This may be one of the
Pg ID 1004
70
apartments.
Q.
Exhibit 13?
A.
This is at Nava's house on a swing set.
Q.
Exhibit 14?
A.
Nava's house on the swing set.
Q.
Exhibit 15?
A.
This is when we were at my sister's house and they
were building a Sukkoth.
Q.
16 is the same?
10
A.
Mh-hm.
11
Q.
And 17?
12
A.
Yes, same.
13
Q.
Eighteen?
14
A.
All the pictures in this picture are from the same
15
day.
16
Q.
And what --
17
A.
Which was October, the beginning of October.
18
Q.
And Exhibits 21, 22 and 23, who is the man?
19
A.
My father.
20
Q.
The children were there with their grandfather?
21
A.
That was the day that they in the beginning of
22
October, building a Sukkoth.
23
Q.
Exhibit 24?
24
A.
This must be one of the rental places.
25
actually no, I'm sorry.
I'm not -- no,
This is inside of the house in
Pg ID 1005
71
Ra'anana.
Q.
And is that your oldest son playing chess?
A.
Yes, with me and Roee.
Q.
And Exhibit 26 is the three children at a fruit
market?
A.
vegetables and fruit in Israel.
All these pictures were taken by me, on my cell phone.
Q.
And what is 27, a picture of what?
10
A.
This is where Nava took us to, just when we start,
11
just when we got there, they took us to a park next to
12
their house.
13
Q.
Twenty-three is what?
14
A.
You're going back?
15
Q.
We're at twenty-three.
16
A.
Twenty-six you mean?
17
Q.
Twenty-three.
18
A.
It says 28.
19
Q.
I'm sorry.
20
A.
This is next to -- that's in Ra'anana, running on the
21
-- next to the shops there.
22
Q.
And 30?
23
A.
That's on the beach.
24
Q.
Thirty-one?
25
A.
On the beach.
This is when Nava was showing us how, where to buy
I'm sorry.
And we went with Nava.
That's the same playground.
This should be 28.
Twenty-nine is what?
Pg ID 1006
Q.
Thirty-two?
A.
On the beach.
Q.
And a photograph No. 33?
A.
This is, my sister had a baby when we were there and
my mom is feeding the baby.
Q.
And number 34?
A.
Same thing.
Q.
Thirty-five?
A.
Same thing.
No.
I'm sorry.
72
Thirty-five is at the
10
school.
That's in the yard of the school.
11
Q.
And 36 is your daughter?
12
A.
Mh-hm.
13
Q.
Thirty-seven?
14
A.
Thirty-seven is outside of the school, Roee found a
15
cat and tried to play with the cat.
16
Q.
And 38?
17
A.
That's they were some heavy, rainy days, and the kids
18
are putting their raincoat on.
19
Q.
Thirty-nine and 40 and 41, what do they represent?
20
A.
Eating dinner, or lunch.
21
Q.
Pardon me?
22
A.
One of the dinners at home, breakfast, lunch or
23
dinner.
24
Q.
And 42 is what?
25
A.
The marina.
No.
I'm sorry.
That's -- yeah, that's
Pg ID 1007
73
Marina.
Q.
Forty-three?
A.
Same, on the beach.
Q.
Forty-five?
A.
Same thing, on the beach.
Q.
Forty-six?
A.
On the beach.
Q.
Forty-seven?
A.
On the beach.
10
Q.
Forty-eight, is that?
11
A.
I'm sorry.
12
There was a beach in Tel Aviv extends into Yaffo and that's
13
the beach there.
14
Q.
Forty-nine?
15
A.
Same place.
16
Q.
Fifty?
17
A.
Same place.
18
Q.
I show you proposed Exhibit 132, which are some
19
additional photographs, and ask you if the photographs are
20
an accurate and fair representation of the persons and
21
objects photographed.
22
A.
23
Sunday.
24
said Aba forced us to smile to the camera.
25
bigger, smile bigger.
These are, this is the beach in Yaffo.
These, these photographs were taken I think this

And I must say that when the kids came home, they
Aba said smile
And they said mom, why is Aba taking
Pg ID 1008
so much pictures of us?
the camera, smile bigger.
Q.
then?
A.
picture of us.
camera.
first picture.
Q.
74
And he kept saying smile, smile to
And so you don't know where these pictures were taken

You have no idea?
I know the first one, because Omer asked me, take a

And he said smile, and smile bigger to the
And actually, I was -- he asked me to take the
And you have actually been very opposed to permitting
10
the children to see their father --
11
A.
That's not true.
12
Q.
-- since he came back from the United States; isn't
13
that a fact?
14
A.
15
of all of my efforts that the kids would see their father.
16
Otherwise, I would have never agreed, I would have never
17
even gone to Israel in the first place.
18
That is not true.
I think I'm here today just because
I wanted them to have a chance to visit with him.
19
And I always wanted them to be -- to have a dad.
And I
20
disapprove that he decided to leave them.
21
everything I could to bring them to him.
22
is not coming back to us, I should have, have them have
23
contact with him.
24
him until he comes back to us.
25
Q.
And I did all -I thought if he
And I should make an effort and come to
It is a fact that he didn't see his children on
Pg ID 1009
75
December the 14th, 2009, when you left without his
knowledge or consent?
A.
don't leave that way, I will never be able to leave.
seek legal advice.
up to that point, he has been treating me like a rug on the
floor.
I have no other choice.
8
9
I was advised that, that if I

And I
And that was what I've been told.
And
And I had worries that I had enough -- I had the

alarm signs before I even went there, except I wanted to
10
ignore it because I wanted to believe some picture that he
11
was painting.
12
even said in his words, you are trapped and the party is
13
over.
14
your end.
15
coming back home like he promised.
16
Q.
17
father, was able to see his children here in the United
18
States?
But by then, I knew for sure, because as he
And I'm going to divorce you, divorce you.
It is
That's when I needed legal advice to how am I
When is the first time that Omer, your husband and
When was that?
19
MR. GOELMAN:
Objection to able to see his
20
children, your Honor.
21
MR. PRATHER:
When in fact --
22
MR. GOELMAN:
Excuse me.
That --
It presupposes facts
23
not in evidence, that he tried to see them at some point
24
before that.
25
THE COURT:
Well, it also assumes a certain level
Pg ID 1010
76
of relevance with respect to this line of questioning,
concerning habitual residence and so forth.
MR. PRATHER:
THE COURT:
I'm not --
The reason --
I'm not entirely clear what the
connection is.
MR. PRATHER:
The reason I'm going through this
questioning, Judge, is we have Dr. Erard talking to the
children, the three children and talking to the mother and
filing a report.
And he has not had any meaningful contact
10
with his children since they left Israel on December the
11
14th, 2009.
12
brainwashing and teaching the children things that are not
13
true about their father, actually instilling in them a fear
14
in him.
15
show that the mother has been very opposed to any
16
relationship between the father and the children.
17
18
19
We are trying to show that this is a form of
And so it's very relevant that we be permitted to
THE WITNESS:
That is incorrect.
I was never
opposed to that.
THE COURT:
Hang on.
Let's assume for the moment
20
that all of what you just proffered is true, or and
21
provably true.
22
question of the comfort of their surroundings in Israel,
23
such that they had been -- they are to be considered
24
habitual residents of that location?
25
How does that relate to the child centered
MR. PRATHER:
It relates to what is the interplay
Pg ID 1011
77
between the father and the children, and the interplay
between the mother and the children, and was she a person
who was inculcating these types of attitudes towards
children.
father will testify the children were doing very well.
There were some problems, but they were doing very well in
Israel.
feigned removal, and an objective attempt to destroy the
relationship between the children and their father.
10
It's not the children speaking, because the
And this is, in our opinion, a imagination, a
THE COURT:
Well, that's interesting, but it
11
doesn't really answer my question.
12
take another stab at that?
13
MR. PRATHER:
And would you like to
It shows an attitude by the mother
14
that she wants to separate the children from their father.
15
And if she does that, beginning on December the 14th, 2009,
16
is the report of Dr. Erard to be given any significance?
17
Is this a planned effort by the mother to torpedo the
18
relationship between the father and his children?
19
THE WITNESS:
20
THE COURT:
21
THE WITNESS:
22
THE COURT:
23
24
25
It's not.
No.
No.
And I can answer --
We're talking about --
Oh, I'm sorry.
-- whether you should be even
questioned about these things.

The question that I am addressing is whether the
circumstances of the children's existence or living
Pg ID 1012
78
conditions in Israel, on or about the middle of December of
'09, were such that they had become habituated to the life
in Israel, in this place called Ra'anana.
The internal mental churnings of the mother and
the father or the relationship between them, seems to me
only marginally related to that question.
you're off, as a number of these questions have been, in
the fields, off the beaten path a little bit.
we've spent some time off the track frankly.
10
MR. PRATHER:
And so I think
I think
The point I'm trying to establish
11
is this demonstrates, this goes to the issue of
12
credibility.
13
to the children in Israel correct.
14
Is what she's telling you about what happened
THE COURT:
Oh, well, to the extent that you're
15
asking about credibility, well, that, you didn't say that.
16
But if this is -- if you are trying to make out a case
17
through her testimony that she is not to be credited with
18
her -- with the answers that she's given about what the
19
children's reaction was and whether they were in school and
20
how they did and so forth, well, that's a different
21
question.
22
more or less directly relate to credibility are fair to
23
ask.
Is that what you're about?
24
25
And generally speaking, questions that direct,
MR. PRATHER:
Yes, I'm about.
That's what I'm
about.
Pg ID 1013
THE COURT:
MR. PRATHER:
THE COURT:
Well, then go ahead.

Okay.
Continue reasonably directly on that
point.
Mr. Goelman, what?
MR. GOELMAN:
I don't see how it goes to
credibility.
8
9
79
THE COURT:
defined topic.
Well, it's a soft, not clearly
And it's one of those that judges tend to
10
know when they see it.
11
stays reasonably on track in that regard.
12
So let's just proceed and see if it
Go ahead.
13
BY MR. PRATHER:
14
Q.
15
only intermittent contact with the children over the phone,
16
several weeks of no contact at all; that's correct?
17
A.
18
phone number and I told him he could call any time.
19
only time they didn't speak to him are the times he didn't
20
call.
21
19th and stopped calling.
From December 14th to February 14th, the father had
I told the father on -- I told him, I gave him our

The
And actually, we know that he came here on January
22
And we were actually, we actually called him to
23
ask him to, to check what happened because he was calling
24
regularly until then.
25
calling.
And we didn't know why he's not
And we left a message where are you.
And we
Pg ID 1014
80
didn't hear from him, 19th, 20th, 21st, 22nd.
On the 23rd, I got a call from Henry Gornbein
that he's actually here.
He never called us.
He never
told us he's here.
would want to arrange a meeting.
that he has to be in my presence, nand we asked my friend
to give her house for that, because we, I -- Henry Gornbein
said that they would want us to pick a place to my liking
for them to meet.
And then Henry Gornbein said that he

And since the Court had
And we thought that a house could be a
10
more comfortable environment, and not just the outside of
11
McDonald's or a place like that.
12
And we, he was going -- he said fine.
13
he called back that actually, he would not agree that I
14
would be present.
15
not obeying the court order for me to be present, but then
16
Henry Gornbein said just have a third party present.
17
agreed.
18
And then
And even though I was a little disturbed
So I
Then first, they said you should not be in the
19
room.
So I said okay, I can be -- it's a big house.
20
be somewhere else.
21
time.
22
actually, we do not agree with that.
23
the neighborhood.
24
wanted to make it happen.
25
said no, we actually do not agree to have a third party.
I won't interrupt.
And they said no.
I can
It's their personal
They called back and said,

You cannot even be in
And then we said okay.
I mean, I just
And then they called back and
Pg ID 1015
81
And just afterwards, when they called over, they told him
you couldn't -- why, because he accused of me not letting
him see the kids.
know why you cancelled it.
that doesn't -- she doesn't.
me to, to not to see them, to, to give you -- he said my
attorney told me to make it fail.
Q.
personal contact with his children was on January 30th,
I said you had the opportunity.
I don't
This third party was a woman

And he said my attorney told
Isn't it a fact that the first time he had any
10
2010, when he had three hours of supervised parenting time?
11
A.
12
kept denying me from the option to sit in.
13
weekend, he said no, no, no, for everything that was
14
offered.
15
work and it would be the next weekend.
16
and said suddenly for the next weekend it was arranged.
17
Q.
18
are living with the children, have you?
19
A.
I'm sorry?
20
Q.
You've never told --
21
A.
Yes.
22
him.
23
from --
24
Q.
25
have you?
Only because he made it that way.
He kept denying, he
He said on that
And then during the week, he said that he's at

And then he called
You never told the father of his children where you
I am very afraid of him.
I'm very afraid of
But I didn't hide from the court.
I didn't hide
You've never told him where the children are living,
Pg ID 1016
He knew how to reach me.
82
A.
and he knew how to reach me, and he had my cell phone.
THE COURT:
We need to break.
He had my attorney's address
I'll take that as a no.

I have another matter that I
need to take up in chambers on a different record.
we'll take a recess here for approximately 15, let's make
it 20 minutes.
Ten minutes of 12 we'll resume.
MR. PRATHER:
THE COURT:
10
And
Should I move my stuff here?
No.
It's not going to be in the
courtroom.
11
Thank you.
We'll recess.
12
THE CLERK:
All rise.
13
(Recess taken from 11:40 a.m. to 11:53 a.m.)
14
THE CLERK:
15
All rise.
Court is now in recess.
Court is now in session.
Please be seated.
16
THE COURT:
You may continue with your questions,
17
sir.
18
BY MR. PRATHER:
19
Q.
20
February 26, 2010 through a Skype, through a television
21
contact with his children, wasn't he?
22
23
24
25
We'll continue through one o'clock.
The father was required to visit with his children on
MR. GOELMAN:
Objection to form.
I don't
understand the question.

THE COURT:
Well, because I had something to do
with that, I'm curious about the form of the question
Pg ID 1017
myself, the father was required.
2
3
83
MR. PRATHER:
Well, that was the only way he
could see the children.
THE COURT:
That was a request made of the
parties.
I participated in discussion and strongly
suggested that the video component of the Skype program be
added to the phone call that was --
MR. PRATHER:
THE COURT:
Okay.
-- earlier agreed to.
So it's not --
10
based on my own involvement with the preliminaries in the
11
case, it seems to me that the father was more accurately
12
permitted to use the video component, rather than being
13
required to.
14
MR. PRATHER:
15
THE COURT:
16
Okay.
I don't think you were in the case at
that point.
17
MR. PRATHER:
18
THE COURT:
No, I was not.
Okay.
What else do you have for the
19
witness?
20
BY MR. PRATHER:
21
Q.
22
2010 for five hours.
23
A.
It was the Sunday?
24
Q.
Yes.
25
A.
He spent the time, he spent the time that was
I want to know if he did see the children February 28,
Pg ID 1018
discussed about with them, yes.
Q.
are residing; is that a correct statement?
A.
I don't know.
Q.
Where are you and the children residing?
84
And you will not tell us where you and the children
I don't understand.
MR. GOELMAN:
THE COURT:
Objection.
Yes.
That's been -- your essential
question I think, sir, is whether the address of her
residence has been maintained as a matter of confidential
10
information.
11
Is that what you're asking?
MR. PRATHER:
I'm asking why is that?
Why should
12
the father be deprived of knowing where his children are
13
living?
14
There's been no -THE COURT:
Oh, I can think of a few good
15
reasons.
16
respect to whether the children, in September -- in
17
December were acclimatized to living in a village in
18
Israel?
19
20
MR. PRATHER:
Because it goes to the question of
credibility.
21
22
What relevance does that have to do, though, with
THE COURT:
I don't think there is anything that
has to do with credibility related to that.
23
Go ahead.
24
BY MR. PRATHER:
25
Q.
What else do you need?
You have never filed a complaint in the state of
Pg ID 1019
85
Michigan that the father in any way abused his children,
have you?
A.
of him.
Q.
that he was in any way abusing his children?
A.
opinion, and they said that I should get a lawyer.
Q.
I have -- I filed for a divorce because I was afraid
Did you ever file a complaint with Protective Services
I called Protective Services to ask them for their
And so there was no action taken by Protective
10
Services that the father could not have contact with his
11
children?
12
A.
13
a lawyer.
14
Q.
15
the affidavit of Deputy Marcus Kirby.
16
read this affidavit.
17
A.
They said that the first thing I need to do is to get
I show you Plaintiff's proposed Exhibit 113, which is
Yes, I have.
18
19
And I followed the lawyer's advice.
Yes, I have.
THE COURT:
exhibit?
Do you have a reference number?
I'm sorry.
An
You might have mentioned it.
20
MR. PRATHER:
21
THE COURT:
22
MR. PRATHER:
23
I ask you if you
113.
113?
Yeah.
Are you all set, Judge?
I continue?
24
THE COURT:
I'm not sure I have --
25
MS. MCMILLAN:
Your Honor, that would be
Can
Pg ID 1020
exhibit --
2
3
THE COURT:
The exhibit I have is a photograph.
Is that your exhibit?
MS. MCMILLAN:
THE COURT:
Yes, it is.
So do I have a book of exhibits?
that something that I should --
MS. MCMILLAN:
Honor?
exhibits ahead of time and was told no.
I had, I think, asked about that, if you needed the
10
THE COURT:
11
MS. MCMILLAN:
Okay.
So I'm afraid I didn't deliver a
separate copy, your Honor.
13
THE COURT:
14
MS. MCMILLAN:
15
THE WITNESS:
16
MS. MCMILLAN:
17
Is
Well, I had -- if I may, your
12
86
And you only have one, right?

No.
I think we have it.
I'm sorry.
Oh, no.
Oh.
I'm sorry.
That's not
it.
18
THE COURT:
19
Go ahead.
20
113.
Well, let's just do the best we can.
You're speaking of an affidavit here, Exhibit
What do you want to know from the witness?
21
THE WITNESS:
I'm sorry.
The affidavit itself I
22
haven't seen, but I have seen the report, the police
23
report.
24
BY MR. PRATHER:
25
Q.
And attached to the affidavit is the police report?
Pg ID 1021
87
A.
The police report I have seen.
Q.
And are the statements that you made to the police in
this report correct?
MR. GOELMAN:
THE COURT:
THE WITNESS:
Objection to form.
Overruled.
The statements are correct.
BY MR. PRATHER:
Q.
They are, correct?
A.
Yes.
10
Q.
That you said there had been no physical abuse or
11
assaults in their history, but stated that Omer doesn't
12
treat her very well?
13
A.
That's correct.
14
Q.
Verbally abuses her?
15
A.
That's correct.
16
Q.
And you thought he was going to kill you?
17
A.
That's correct.
18
Q.
And he's never made a threat to you to kill you?
19
A.
He has made it.
20
Q.
And he asked you what --
21
A.
He has made threats to hurt me.
22
Q.
The officer asked you why she felt that way, what gave
23
her the feeling that Omer would do such a thing; that he
24
was angry and he was trying to get back, go to Israel.
25
he's never made any threats that he would harm you, has he?
But
Pg ID 1022
88
A.
Yes, he has.
Q.
And in Israel, you made no complaints to any
protective service agency, or anyone else, that he would
harm you or the children, did you?
A.
We made complaints to everyone that I, that I knew.

THE COURT:
You know, Counsel, I want to give you
a lot of latitude on asking about credibility, but I just,
I just have this sense that I'm watching the transformation
of a Hague case into a divorce proceeding.
10
11
And I don't
really want to sit as a divorce court.

I want to concentrate on the acclimatization of
12
the children in December of 2009.
13
the important question, frankly, of whether it is
14
reasonable for a court to conclude that three months of
15
residence in a near Third World foreign country, or so it
16
has been occasionally described, is sufficient to
17
reacclimatize an American born and raised children.
18
MR. PRATHER:
19
THE COURT:
20
MR. PRATHER:
21
THE COURT:
22
MR. PRATHER:
Focus on the question,
I agree with --
So let's focus on that.

I agree with your analysis.
Okay.
I do want to go into the issue of
23
her credibility, though.
Because I think that determines
24
whether her testimony as to what happened in Israel should
25
be believed.
Pg ID 1023
THE COURT:
Okay.
89
Well, it's just we're getting,
in my view, the line of questioning, purportedly aimed at
the credibility question, is just too deeply immeshed in
domestic relations questions.
did not get along, and it's pretty clear they are going to
get divorced.
going to be a pleasant experience for anybody.
take that as a given.
It is clear to me these two
And it's also pretty clear that that's not

So let's
And if you have some very particularly targeted
10
questions that might reveal issues, specifically related to
11
credibility, I think you can proceed on those, even if they
12
are immeshed in a relationship of the parties.
13
BY MR. PRATHER:
14
Q.
15
and ask you if you did, in fact, file a complaint for
16
divorce on December the 19th, 2009?
I'm going to show you Plaintiff's Exhibit 109, Doctor,
17
THE COURT:
18
question answered.
19
answer is yes.
20
21
I'm offering her complaint for
divorce into evidence.

MR. GOELMAN:
Object on relevance grounds.
It's
from after they came back to the United States.
24
25
That was about two hours ago, and the
MR. PRATHER:
22
23
You know, you've already gotten that
THE COURT:
Yes.
Why should I receive that as an
exhibit?
Pg ID 1024
MR. PRATHER:
Okay.
90
She says in paragraph 1, the
plaintiff is a resident of Bloomfield Hills, Oakland
County, and has resided in the state continuously for
upwards of 180 days, and in said county at least ten days
prior to the filing of the divorce.
was in Israel.
It's impossible.
She
She did not reside in Oakland County.
THE COURT:
You can confront her about that.
If
she's got a theory, I don't know.
I'm not sure if that's a
lawyer's theory or a client's theory, but you can ask her
10
what she thinks about that, certainly, and why she signed
11
that statement.
12
that a lawyer's signature in there or is that a client
13
signature?
Or what did she sign, the document?
14
MR. PRATHER:
15
THE COURT:
16
MR. PRATHER:
17
THE COURT:
18
MR. PRATHER:
19
THE COURT:
20
MR. PRATHER:
21
THE COURT:
Is
It's her signature.
It's hers?
Yes.
It's a verified complaint then?

It's a verified complaint.
Okay.
You can ask her about that.
Your signature --
No, not about the signature.
You can
22
ask her about the point you just made.
23
BY MR. PRATHER:
24
Q.
25
resident of Bloomfield Hills, Oakland County, Michigan, and
You did state in paragraph 1, the plaintiff is a
Pg ID 1025
91
has resided in said state continuously for upward of 180
days, and in said county for at least 10 days prior to the
filing of the action.
You were residing in Israel from October of 2009
until December the 14th.
County 10 days, or 180 days before you file your complaint;
isn't that a fact?
A.
It says has -- have I been continuously residing in the
That is incorrect, because that's not what it says.
10
U.S. for 180 days.
11
is a correct statement.
12
So you did not reside in Oakland
And I've been here since 1996.
And the next statement about being in the Oakland
13
County for ten days, that is incorrect.
14
there is anything incorrect about it.
15
Q.
THE COURT:
17
MR. PRATHER:
18
THE COURT:
have an answer.
You have your answer.
21
THE COURT:
You
I offer this as an exhibit.
No.
I'm not going to receive it as
You nonetheless have your answer.
23
MR. PRATHER:
24
THE COURT:
25
You asked the question.
What's next?
MR. PRATHER:
an exhibit.
Yes, I do.
Okay.
20
22
I did not say that
It says prior to the filing of this action --
16
19
So that
Okay.
That has nothing -- I mean, there's
too much else I think in the documentation of that kind
Pg ID 1026
92
that just is unnecessary to clutter the record.
BY MR. PRATHER:
Q.
interview on February 25th, 2000 (sic)?
A.
for the Court for exactly this purpose, so you won't say
it's biased.
hired our -- we hired the person that would do it.
Q.
Did you take your children to see Dr. Erard for an
That's right.
I, I wanted an appointed psychologist
But you argued against it and, therefore, we
Did you ask your husband if he would consent to going
10
to see Dr. Erard before you went there on February 25th,
11
2000 (sic)?
12
A.
13
I think he was -MR. GOELMAN:
Objection.
This is -- he was
14
asked, but it was a lawyer's conversation, your Honor.
15
to ask a witness if she personally asked the other party in
16
the case is improper.
17
18
19
20
21
22
THE COURT:
And
Is that what you're talking about,
personal conversations?
MR. PRATHER:
With Dr. Erard, yes.
Did she talk
to Dr. Erard?
THE COURT:
I didn't understand your question.
Why don't you rephrase it.
23
MR. PRATHER:
24
THE COURT:
25
MR. PRATHER:
I didn't understand it.
I'll rephrase it.
I did not understand the question -Okay.
Pg ID 1027
THE COURT:
-- to have asked that.
93
Go ahead.
BY MR. PRATHER:
Q.
Dr. Erard to make a report to the Court, did you?
You didn't ask your husband about the appointment of
MR. GOELMAN:
THE COURT:
Same objection.
That's a different question.
What --
I thought you were asking about her conversation with Dr.
Erard.
9
10
MR. PRATHER:
I'm going to lead up to that.
I am
going to do that.
11
THE COURT:
Okay.
12
MR. PRATHER:
Go ahead.
Okay.
13
BY MR. PRATHER:
14
Q.
You didn't talk to Omer about going?
15
A.
I am not allowed to talk directly to Omer.
16
conversations are for attorneys.
17
asked him for if he would like to participate, and he
18
answered no, through his attorney.
19
Q.
So you didn't talk to your husband about --
20
A.
I did not talk to him at all during this case.
21
Q.
And did you go with the children to see Dr. Erard?
22
A.
I brought them there.
23
Q.
And did you assist your son, Liam, in preparing a
24
statement for Dr. Erard?
25
A.
And all
And the attorneys had
No, I did not.
Pg ID 1028
Q.
And you're saying that he did this on his own?
A.
I did not --
3
4
MR. GOELMAN:
Did what?
94
I object to the form.
He did what on his own?
THE COURT:
Be more specific, please.
BY MR. PRATHER:
Q.
prepare a statement for Dr. Erard?
A.
Okay.
Did he prepare a statement?
No, he did not.
Did your son
But he -- the only thing I told him
10
is you need to tell the truth.
You are going to, you -- he
11
wanted to speak to the judge himself.
12
not possible to speak to the judge.
13
the judge is appointing that would talk to you and tell him
14
the truth and tell -- and he would want -- the judge needs
15
to decide where is your home.
16
him.
17
Q.
18
Court?
19
A.
20
and, therefore, there is someone that would speak in his
21
behalf to the Court.
22
Q.
23
Erard?
24
A.
Of course not.
25
Q.
And did the other children talk to Dr. Erard?
I said, look, it's
There is a person that
That's all that was said to
So you told him that Dr. Erard was appointed by the
I told him that the judge cannot speak to him directly
And did you tell the child what he should state to Dr.
Pg ID 1029
95
A.
Yes, they did.
Q.
And how long were the children in conversation with
Dr. Erard?
A.
-- how long -- I was waiting outside.
long he actually talked to them.
I was not in the room, so I don't know how much they
MR. PRATHER:
THE COURT:
9
10
I have no further questions.
Do you want to follow-up on these
MR. GOELMAN:
12
THE COURT:
I guess I'll wait.
All right.
anything by doing that.
14
Counsel for the plaintiff then, what else?

have no other questions?
16
witness.
18
You are not waiving
All right?
15
17
What would you like to
Your choice.
11
13
I assume the whole time.
questions now, or wait until later?

do, Mr. Goelman?
And I don't know how
I have no questions of the
You can step down.
You might come back to the
stand later.
19
(Witness excused at 12:07 p.m.)
20
THE COURT:
21
MS. MCMILLAN:
22
23
You
What else?
Your Honor, I have Omer Tsimhoni
as my next witness, please.

THE COURT:
All right.
24
25
OMER TSIMHONI
Pg ID 1030
96
was called as a witness, at 12:08 p.m., and after being
sworn to testify to the truth, was examined and testified:
THE COURT:
MS. MCMILLAN:
Have a seat.
Your Honor, could I have a point
of clarification, please, before I get launch off into
directions that you don't want to go?
8
9
10
11
Are we taking testimony exclusively on the issue

of habitual residence at this time?
Or can we also nip
into the defenses?

THE COURT:
I think it would be more time
12
efficient to concentrate on habitual residence.
13
one reason, we really don't know what, if any particular
14
affirmative defenses are going to be presented.
15
them previewed, but that's different from actually pressing
16
them at a hearing, it seems to me.
17
We, for
We've seen
So if we, if we -- on the other hand, if you, if
18
you ask a few questions here and there, assuming five
19
minutes, ten minutes in the course of an hour's examination
20
on things that are more relevant to fighting off defenses,
21
that's not particularly uneconomical.
22
MS. MCMILLAN:
23
THE COURT:
24
MS. MCMILLAN:
25
So I don't have --
I did plan --
I'm sorry?
I did plan my examination to feed
in rebuttal to the defenses.
Pg ID 1031
OMER TSIMHONI - DIRECT
1
2
THE COURT:
How much in terms of percentage of
your presentation is organized along that line?
MS. MCMILLAN:
It's hard to say, because it does
feed through.
and then you can see if --
Perhaps what I could do is go down the road,
THE COURT:
MS. MCMILLAN:
97
If I think you're getting off -If it's not going to get us
anywhere, then please feel free to stop me.
THE COURT:
Oh, I will do that.
But I will, I'm
10
a little bit less than fully regimented in that regard, in
11
most of these examinations.
12
Go ahead.
13
DIRECT EXAMINATION
14
BY MS. MCMILLAN:
15
Q.
16
background information:
17
A.
18
Israel.
19
Q.
And are you married to the defendant?
20
A.
Yes, I am.
21
Q.
And how long have you been married?
22
A.
Almost 15 years.
23
Q.
And do you have three children?
24
A.
Yes.
25
Q.
Now, where were you born?
Good morning, Mr. Tsimhoni.
Let's start by just
Name, age, your residence?
My name is Omer Tsimhoni.
I reside in Ra'anana in
I'm 44 years old.
Pg ID 1032
A.
In Israel, in Haifa.
Q.
And where were you educated?
A.
In Israel, in Haifa and Tel Aviv.
Q.
How long did you live in Israel before you came to
live in the United States?
A.
I lived there until '96, so that's 31 years.
Q.
And where was your wife born?
A.
In Israel, in Haifa.
Q.
And where was she educated?
10
A.
In Israel.
11
Q.
And where were you married?
12
A.
In Hedera, in Israel.
13
Q.
In what year?
14
A.
1995.
15
16
COURT REPORTER:
Can you say that
again?
17
THE WITNESS:
18
THE COURT:
19
I'm sorry.
98
1995.
Probably three or four inches closer
to the microphone would be good.
20
THE WITNESS:
21
THE COURT:
Sorry.
Go ahead.
22
BY MS. MCMILLAN:
23
Q.
24
after, some time after your marriage or?
25
A.
And did you have occasion to move to the United States
Yes, we did.
We lived, first we lived together in Tel
Pg ID 1033
99
Aviv.
And I returned to the Air Force for, for two years,
at the beginning of which I was sent to the U.S. to learn
how to fly the Black Hawks in the U.S.
Q.
the United States for --
A.
Yes.
Q.
For a permanent stay?
A.
We were here for about three months to Fort Rucker in
Alabama, and then we moved back to Israel.
And that eventually brought you and your wife here to
We were here for about --
10
Q.
All right.
And then when did you move to Ann Arbor
11
from Israel?
12
A.
13
year after I had retired from the army.
14
Q.
15
matter and work with me on that affidavit?
16
A.
Yes, I have.
17
Q.
I'm going to show you what we've marked as Plaintiff's
18
Exhibit 101.
We moved in August of '96.
You've had occasion to prepare an affidavit in this
19
MS. MCMILLAN:
Judge, that is Exhibit 1 to our
20
motion for summary judgment.
21
concerned about the --
22
THE COURT:
23
MS. MCMILLAN:
24
25
And that was after about a
It is revised.
Counsel was
The form.
-- form of the affidavit, your
Honor.
THE COURT:
I understand.
Pg ID 1034
BY MS. MCMILLAN:
Q.
that is the affidavit that you prepared in this case.
Mr. Tsimhoni, would you take a look at that and see if
4
5
MS. MCMILLAN:
I would just say for the record,
that this is a stipulated exhibit for entry, your Honor.
THE WITNESS:
MS. MCMILLAN:
THE COURT:
MR. GOELMAN:
Yes, this is it.

I move for admission.
It's been agreed to, right?

Yes, your Honor.
10
THE COURT:
11
MS. MCMILLAN:
12
(PX #101 received at 12:12 p.m.)
So noted.
Received.
13
BY MS. MCMILLAN:
14
Q.
15
they true at the time you made them?
16
A.
Yes.
17
Q.
And are they still true today?
18
A.
Yes.
19
Q.
Now, we've had a conversation where you said there
20
were a few little areas of inquiry.
21
you look at the document to tell me where the little
22
glitches of fact occur?
23
A.
24
25
100
Were the facts that you made in that affidavit, were
Would it help to have
Or do you recall them?
I would like to look at them.

I don't think anything was substantial.
Q.
So it was nothing substantial?
Pg ID 1035
Nothing was substantial.
101
A.
about the, I remember about the birthday parties, were kind
of out of, out of sequence.
Q.
Otherwise, it's substantially --
A.
Yeah.
Q.
Substantially correct?
A.
Yes.
Q.
All right.
There's a little bit here
Absolutely.
Thank you.
Now, we were talking about your coming to
10
Michigan.
I know that's in the affidavit.
But where did
11
you reside when you first moved to Michigan with your wife?
12
A.
13
couple years, and then we moved to a house in Traver Road.
14
Q.
15
is currently still owned by you?
16
A.
Yes.
17
Q.
And are you renting it to someone who is leasing?
18
A.
Yes, we are.
19
Q.
Occupying the house at present?
20
A.
Yes.
21
Q.
And is it currently occupied?
22
A.
Yes.
23
Q.
And do you maintain a bank account in Michigan to
24
process the income from there?
25
A.
We resided at student housing, family housing for a
And the Traver Road house, is that the house that now
It is currently occupied.
Yes, we do.
Pg ID 1036
102
Q.
When did you have occasion to move from the Traver
Road house?
A.
Liam was about to start kindergarten, we decided to move
closer to his school, Emerson School.
Q.
And what year was Liam born?
A.
Liam was born 2001.
Q.
And so you moved in what year?
A.
I believe it was 2006.
10
Q.
2006.
11
your children in that household?
12
A.
Yes, we did.
13
Q.
And you lived there as a family unit; is that correct?
14
A.
Yes, we did.
15
Q.
And when were the other two children born, Roee and
16
Natalie?
17
A.
18
was born in August of 2004, and Natalie was born December
19
of 2005.
20
that.
21
Q.
22
now let me back up about the what you were doing.
23
occupation were you working when you were living in the
24
Gullane Drive house?
25
A.
I think it was about 2006 that we decided to, when
Okay.
And did you reside with your wife and
Both children were still born before we moved.
Roee
We moved only after that, a few months after
And did there come a time then, that you received a --
So all that time, Maya was an ophthalmologist.
What
You
Pg ID 1037
103
asked about both of us or just me?
Q.
I asked about you, but please answer to both.
A.
I'll start with myself then.
the University of Michigan Transportation Research
Institute.
professor Industrial Operations Engineering Department
that entire time.
Q.
And your wife?
A.
My wife was a pediatric ophthalmologist at Kellogg's
I was a researcher at
And I was also a professor, an adjunct
10
Eye Center at the University of Michigan.
11
Q.
12
opportunity to work in Israel?
13
A.
14
to consider a job in GM Israel, to build up a group of
15
researchers in the field that I had been studying all those
16
years.
17
Q.
All right.
18
A.
Yes, I did.
19
Q.
Was there a process that developed?
20
A.
Yes.
21
Q.
Over the course of taking the job?
22
A.
Yes.
23
Q.
Can you explain the process, please?
24
A.
Without going into too many details about the
25
situation, I was very surprised to receive that job offer
And did there come a time then, that you had an
Yes.
So I was at about April of 2008, I was offered
And did you eventually take the job?
Pg ID 1038
104
because it had so much promise in it, and it kind of fell
in the right time for both of us, I thought.
told my wife at that time, that I would not pursue that job
offer, I would just not do it if she didn't consider to
move to Israel.
However, I
We had many issues for which we wanted to
consider this, this move to Israel, move outside of Ann
Arbor.
do that.
And I thought that would be a good opportunity to
10
Maya, at that point in time we had those
11
discussions, was very supportive for me to pursue that job
12
opportunity.
13
would not pursue it if she didn't want me to do that.
14
Q.
Let me ask you this:
15
A.
General Motors Israel, yes.
16
Q.
All right.
17
Motors and General Motors Israel?
18
A.
19
any other division in the company, but salary is in Israel,
20
the management is in Israel, and everything else is in
21
Israel.
22
and moving, is sending me for a year to Israel.
23
Q.
24
employee or were you a temporary, finite employee?
25
A.
Yes.
I remember very clearly telling her that I
Was the job with General Motors?
And is there a difference between General
We report, we report to GM U.S. as any other,
It's like an Israeli company.
Tell us briefly about the job.
No.
It's not GM U.S.
Were you an at will
I was just -- I don't know the term.
Pg ID 1039
105
Q.
I'm sorry.
A.
There was no, there was no duration limitation.
is a job I'm building up a group of researchers.
take several years to build them up and start reaping,
collecting the fruits, maybe more.
Q.
job offer, what discussions did you have with your wife
about your taking the offer, and the family's role in your
taking the job offer in Israel?
All right.
10
For the duration.
This will
So there is no limit.
So at the time that you came to accept the
MR. GOELMAN:
11
time frame?
12
for the acceptance.
13
BY MS. MCMILLAN:
14
Q.
15
acceptance yet.
16
frame.
17
This
Your Honor, can I just ask for a
We had the April offer, but not a time frame
Temporarily, I don't think I've talked about the

So, Mr. Tsimhoni, you tell us the time
When did you receive the job offer?

Let me retract that, because your testimony in
18
your affidavit was that it was really more of a response
19
for interest in a job?
20
A.
21
began in April.
22
discussions and a, a meeting and an interview.
23
supposed to be an informal interview.
24
formal interview.
25
Q.
Right.
It was a response for an opportunity.
This
And there were some, a few back-and-forth

It was
It ended up to be a
I believe it was the end of June.
Of 2008?
Pg ID 1040
106
A.
Of 2008.
Q.
Mh-hm.
A.
And I received a job offer in, I want to say end of
July.
Q.
Of 2008?
A.
Of 2008.
Q.
All right.
your wife then, at the time of July 2008?
A.
Yes.
10
Q.
I was going to say we can't talk over each other.
11
let me finish before you speak.
12
Yes.
And did you have some discussions with
So I received that job offer -- I'm sorry.

So
Okay?
Did you have discussions with your wife at the
13
time you received the job offer in July, approximately
14
2008?
15
A.
16
discussions about the possibility of a move.
17
hard for us to make a decision.
18
cons.
19
among ourselves.
20
up with an answer within a certain amount of time.
21
it was about ten days.
Yes.
We had substantial, we had substantial

It was very
Maya had a lot of pros and
I had a lot of pros and cons that we were sharing

And the time was short.
We had to come
I think
22
At the end of that time, we both decided that we
23
would take this opportunity and take this job after which
24
Maya had a discussion with her director of her department,
25
to tell him about that.
I was not present at that
Pg ID 1041
107
discussion, but I was -- I dropped her off and I picked her
up.
Q.
your wife in which she said that the move was unilateral on
your part, and, and that she was not intending to go over;
that this was -- I hope I'm not mischaracterizing it, but I
heard her to say that it was like a separation.
accurate?
A.
Absolutely not.
10
Q.
All right.
11
A.
The plan --
12
Q.
Go ahead.
13
A.
I'm sorry.
14
would both move together to Israel.
15
came back and said that she was requested not -- to stay a
16
little bit more in the U.S., and then she would join me in
17
the winter.
So I know about it.

And now, I think we just heard some testimony from
18
Is that
What was the plan?
The plan was, at first, the plan was we

But very quickly, she
I started my work on September 15th in the U.S.
19
for about a month and a half.
In November, I moved to
20
Israel.
21
leaving the kids or I'm leaving the family or anything like
22
that.
23
joining me very soon.
24
Q.
25
did you live?
There was no understanding that this was me
I was -- it was very clear to me that they would be
And when you went to Israel in November of 2008, where
Pg ID 1042
108
A.
I lived with my parents, so that I could send money to
the family in the U.S.
Q.
And did you send money to the family in the U.S.?
A.
Absolutely.
Q.
All right.
You're in Israel and --
A.
those two few weeks, I had phone discussions with Maya and
with the children.
Then what happened after November 2008?
So I was in Israel.
After a few weeks, I had, for
And after a few weeks, I called, there
10
was one day that suddenly things went array.
Maya stopped
11
answering my calls.
12
until one or two a.m. trying calling her.
13
answer.
14
she did not answer the calls.
15
calls, she did not let me to speak to the kids.
16
Q.
17
Were you anticipating this to happen?
18
A.
Absolutely not.
19
Q.
All right.
20
A.
Well, I was, I was very surprised and shocked at that
21
behavior.
I would stay, I would stay at night

She would not
So there was a period of about two or three weeks

And if she did answer the
Was this expected behavior, from your perspective?
What happened next?
I was under a lot of stress because of it.
22
When I did get to speak to Maya, she said that
23
she was going to come to visit in Israel for the winter
24
break, visit, that is.
25
wanted to stay a few more months in the U.S. because she
At that time, it was clear she
Pg ID 1043
109
hadn't even asked to do so.
And I, and I decided at that
point that I would, at that point that I understood she was
not coming to Israel, she was not coming to visit Israel, I
decided that I would come, come back to Ann Arbor and see
them.
Q.
All right.
A.
Okay.
Q.
If I may.
that your wife had said she wanted to stay at work for a
Let me back up.
When you moved in November of 2008, you say
10
little bit?
11
A.
Yes.
12
Q.
And that the family would, it was your testimony, that
13
the family will join you thereafter?
14
A.
Yes.
15
Q.
And when would that have taken place?
16
A.
At first, the talk was about the winter, the winter
17
break.
18
they would join me.
19
Q.
And that would be when, approximately December?
20
A.
December, yeah.
21
Q.
Mid-December?
22
A.
Yeah.
23
until June because she was asked to stay until June, and so
24
that's when she would join me.
25
Q.
So after the kids would finish in the winter break,
Then it became, well, she has to stay there
All right.
Was it your understanding throughout this
Pg ID 1044
110
period of time that this was a separation and that you guys
were leading towards divorce?
A.
Not at all.
MR. GOELMAN:
THE COURT:
Objection to leading, your Honor.
Overruled.
BY MS. MCMILLAN:
Q.
What was your impression at that time?
A.
I was under the, under the --
Q.
Impression?
10
A.
I was -- I'm sorry.
11
they would definitely -- I was not leaving them.
12
trying to, to find a better life for Maya and me and the
13
children, given the circumstances in Ann Arbor at that
14
time, and leading to that time.
15
impression that they would join me.
16
as much as I can, to be back in Ann Arbor to be with the
17
children.
18
Q.
19
went to Israel?
20
A.
21
not have left Ann Arbor if I had known that she was going
22
to prevent me from seeing the children and talking to them.
23
Q.
24
time late November, early December 2008.
25
happened?
I was under the impression that

I was
And I was under the

And that I would try
Was it your intention to abandon the kids when you
Absolutely not.
I would not have done that.
I would
What happened then -- let's go forward then, to the

What, if anything
Pg ID 1045
Well, so I moved -- I'm sorry.
111
A.
come to Michigan and to see what was going on, why was Maya
not answering my calls.
what was going on, but I did not know.
I decided that I would
I had, I had some suspicions of
I informed her that I would be coming to
Michigan.
I remember that I asked her if I could -- if I
should buy tickets because when she was going to come to
Israel for the winter.
notified her I would do that.
I ended up buying the tickets.
And at that point, again,
10
she stopped contacting me.
She did not answer my phone
11
calls for maybe three or four days.
12
Q.
Can I clarify?
13
A.
Yes.
14
Q.
The tickets, was this for the big move then, the
15
family move?
16
A.
No.
17
Q.
All right.
18
A.
So I just asked, this is just in December of 2008?
19
Q.
Yes.
20
A.
That would be tickets for me to come to Ann Arbor to
21
see, to see the kids and family.
22
Q.
Oh, okay.
23
A.
And go back to Israel --
24
Q.
I see.
25
A.
-- after two or three weeks.
What would those tickets have been for?
Yes.
Pg ID 1046
112
Q.
So that's for you to come back home?
A.
Yes.
Q.
And see everybody?
A.
Yes.
Q.
Okay.
next?
A.
call.
asked him if he had heard anything, whether Maya would be
10
there -- whether Maya was there or not, because they used
11
to play with the kids.
That's correct.
What else happened then?
What else happened
So I was very concerned about Maya's not answering my

I called a neighbor, who is a close friend.
12
And I
There had been a suggestion by Maya at one point
13
that if I came to Michigan, if I came to Michigan, it would
14
confuse the kids and, therefore, she wanted us maybe to go
15
to Florida, go to Chicago together, this being the winter
16
break.
17
me to meet the kids in our house.
18
Chicago.
19
days.
20
Q.
21
kind of unusual.
22
A.
Right.
23
Q.
What do you think was happening then?
24
feel things were going as far as your relationship with
25
your wife?
And she suggested even if I came, she did not want

She wanted us to meet in
Therefore, I rented or I reserved a hotel for two
All right.
Now, stop there, because that does sound
How did you
Pg ID 1047
Well, things were not going so well.
113
A.
This has
happened in the past, as well.
Q.
this has happened in the past?
A.
prevented me from seeing the kids for, for a while.
has -- had gone on vacations, she had gone on vacation to
Florida a couple of times without me.
Q.
When, when are we talking about?
10
A.
This is --
11
Q.
What year?
12
A.
January 2008, March 2008.
13
Q.
All right.
14
Florida with the kids?
15
A.
That she did not want me to come over.
16
Q.
Didn't want you to go to Florida, as well?
17
A.
Yes.
18
Q.
She said she wanted to go by herself?
19
A.
I don't know that she was going by herself, but she
20
was there with the kids.
21
Q.
Well, who was she with?
22
A.
She had had an affair, and she was going with somebody
23
else.
24
Q.
And this was at what time then?
25
A.
Yes.
And just briefly, can you tell us what you mean by
Yes.
There have been occasions in which Maya

She
What was unusual about her going to
What year, 2008?
Pg ID 1048
114
Q.
And you weren't invited on that trip?
A.
No, I'm not.
Q.
Someone else might have been invited on that trip,
right?
A.
hotel.
Q.
to see if we can just sort of get into your head.
A.
Sure.
10
Q.
December of 2008.
11
you've seen the -- you've read the materials?
12
A.
Right.
13
Q.
You were volcanic.
14
words.
15
the issues, I think, that have ultimately arisen in this
16
case, is this behavior.
Yes.
18
Or at least bought the tickets and reserved the
Okay.
17
I was not.
Okay.
So let's go back up to December.
Because this has been described,
I don't even recall the other
But this is -- this has been the germ of a lot of
MR. GOELMAN:
a question.
19
I want
Objection, your Honor.
This isn't
It's a speech by Counsel.
THE COURT:
Form it up into a question.
Go
20
ahead.
21
BY MS. MCMILLAN:
22
Q.
What was in your head at that time?
23
A.
Well, I had gone through this type of relationship
24
with Maya many times; there were many ups and downs.
25
Especially, Maya would go kind of either leave me and come
Pg ID 1049
115
back, or be a little bit more remote and then be very
positive.
Q.
you accommodate things?
A.
myself that things are going to be better.
Q.
had -- you weren't sure she's going to be in town?
A.
That's correct.
10
Q.
And you spoke to some neighbors.
11
do?
12
A.
13
tickets and came over to Michigan.
14
I, I called Maya as soon as I got there.
15
not answer.
16
She said that she was in the house, but she preferred that
17
I do not come, because the kids were being tutored.
18
did not come.
19
So I didn't make much out of it.
How did you react to this kind of behavior?
How did
Well, I just tried, I tried to relax and convince
So let's go back to December now.
You said that you
What else did you
Well, I just -- well, at that time, I just booked the

I came to Michigan and
First, she did
When I got close to the house, I called again.
So I
I went to the hotel.
And I waited there.
There was a discussion maybe
20
I would meet them at noon because they were going to meet
21
those friends that I called before.
22
that I did not do that.
23
in the afternoon.
24
25
I got there.
me.
Again, she preferred
And so I ended up meeting the kids
The kids were just ecstatic to see
They jumped over me.
I remember that picture of the
Pg ID 1050
116
kids, you know, kind of looking at me through the window in
the door and jumping on me and hugging me.
as pleasant as usual, I should say.
Q.
you book the rooms in the hotel?
A.
would not meet at home, because that would confuse the
kids, and we would go to meet them somewhere else.
Q.
And Maya seemed
Now, you said you were staying in a hotel.
Why did
I booked it because she had asked me that maybe we
What did you understand "it might confuse the kids" to
10
mean?
11
A.
12
to -- didn't want me to come back home and then it would be
13
hard for them to see me leave again, because you know, she
14
knew I was attached to them and they were attached to me.
15
I did not read into it much further than that.
16
commit on getting that hotel.
17
option.
18
Q.
19
said things to neighbors, friends, school teachers, and
20
others that were unflattering, what your wife has described
21
as lies.
22
specifically did you say to these people about the
23
situation?
24
A.
25
called and I asked if he knew where the kids were and
At one point, I thought that she, she didn't want
All right.
I did not
I just reserved it as an
So there's been an allegation that you
And I wonder if you could address that.
What
Well, I mentioned the neighbor, the neighbor whom I
Pg ID 1051
117
whether the family has been in the house or not, if they
have seen them.
Q.
voice?
A.
from the cell -- from the car phone, my voice was probably
relatively high for the noise.
there was in any way negative towards Maya herself.
Q.
May I interrupt and just ask, how was your tone of

How was your demeanor?
I think I was calling from the phone.
I was probably
I don't think there was,
Were you agitated at the time you made the call to the
10
neighbor?
11
A.
I was surprised that she was not answering.
12
Q.
But I mean, were you angry, upset?
13
A.
No.
14
Q.
-- blow your top, kind of?
15
A.
No.
16
Q.
All right.
17
you've been accused of spreading lies with?
18
A.
So we're talking about when I was in Michigan already?
19
Q.
In the December of '08, yes.
20
A.
Okay.
21
police report issue.
22
Q.
23
issue then.
24
A.
25
our taxes at the computer.
Yes.
Did you --
I don't recall that I --
I don't think I was.
No.
And what about the other people that
So when I was in Michigan, there was this whole
All right.
And after that, it was very --
Let's talk about the whole police report
What was that about?
I was at home.
I was taking care of, taking care of

I recall Maya came to me and
Pg ID 1052
118
asked me to sign some, some legal papers.
Q.
And what date was this, please?
A.
This was December 23rd, I believe.
look over it later.
She banged on the, banged on the table with her hand and
left.
Q.
Do you know what this paper was?
A.
Yes.
attorney that she wanted so that she could sell our
I said I would
I remember she got very aggravated.
She told me this was a power, a full power of
10
belongings.
11
Q.
Okay.
Continue.
12
A.
Yeah.
And then we continued, we continued with our
13
regular kind of being with the children.
14
she took the kids up.
15
kids because it might confuse them if I put them to bed.
16
So I stayed down.
17
In the evening,
I was not allowed to go up with the
And then after she came down, there was, there
18
was, there was a heated discussion where she went into a
19
real vent or real, very angry mode.
20
sentences, again and again.
21
Q.
Were you able to discern what the anger was about?
22
A.
The anger, I think, was about everything that had that
23
happened.
24
other issues.
25
together in the U.S. almost, that there was also another
She was repeating
She was kind of in my face.
She felt maybe deserted, perhaps there were

I always had in mind, ever since we've been
Pg ID 1053
119
man in her, in the story.
And some of her reactions were
had to do with what he had said to her, what he had
threatened to do.
Q.
what the problem was, for that particular --
A.
No.
Q.
-- argument?
A.
Yeah.
why didn't I sign it, that kind of stuff.
Did she make it clear, though at that time, exactly
Well, she just --
She kind of referred to that power of attorney,
10
Q.
Okay.
11
A.
Well, things got really heated up.
12
was going to, I was going to leave.
13
with that.
14
was snowing outside.
15
again, repeating these sentences back and back and back and
16
forth.
17
Then what happened?

And I said that I
She kind of agreed
And I walked out to get my boots, because it

She was kind of running after me,
I did not feel threatened, but I felt insulted.

I went out of -- went into the garage.
I closed the door behind me.
She was
18
running after me.
She pushed
19
it back to kind of open it very forcefully, and I pushed it
20
back, back to close it.
21
Her hand got caught in the door.
22
caught.
23
of jumped after me and started hitting me on my chest and
24
on my face.
25
from hurting me.
She was leaning against the door.
And I released the door.
She said my finger got

And then she just kind
I, I put my hands like so to, to protect her

I did not do anything to threaten her,
Pg ID 1054
but I asked her to stop, please stop.
hit, bang me and hit me.
120
She continued to
I walked, I took my shoes -- I already had the
shoes.
at me and hit me.
Maya, stop it.
this.
She continued to do this.
Q.
And you called the police?
10
A.
I called the police.
11
Q.
And did the police come?
12
A.
Yes.
13
Q.
And who was that, do you recall?
14
A.
I know now of the name.
15
Q.
All right.
16
A.
Did not remember who it was.
17
Q.
And did he interview you and your wife?
18
A.
Yes.
19
what happened.
20
And then he went in and interviewed Maya.
21
out.
22
I walked back in.
She was continuing to, to shout
I said I would call the police.
I'll call the police.
And I said, Maya, stop it.
I said,
She continued to do
I'll call the police.
The police came.
I did not know, I mean.
And --
I was outside.
He interviewed me.
He asked me
I told him the story I just told you now.

Then he came
He brought me in so that I could take the rest of
23
my belongings.
I saw Maya sitting there and crying and
24
looking very -- looking like she was a victim, which
25
totally, was totally different from the way she was, her
Pg ID 1055
demeanor before I left.
asked me a few more questions.
and left.
121
I walked with him outside.
He
And then I got in the car
I later called, called Maya.
I wanted to hear
how she was doing.
As I recall, I, I left her a voice
message.
Q.
with Maya before the police had come, say that you wanted
to cut Maya's fingers off or make her fingers --
And did you, during the course of that altercation
10
A.
No, I did not.
11
Q.
Damage her fingers?
12
A.
No, I did not do that.
13
she said, you caught my finger in the door.
14
purpose.
15
to stick it in the door and I'm going to hurt you.
16
that?
17
Q.
18
leave the house as you did and the closing of the door and
19
so forth, to hurt your wife?
20
A.
21
She --
She said, she was in this -You did it on
Now I'm going to take your finger and I'm going

How is
How would that feel?
Was it your intention in leaving, in attempting to
Absolutely not.
I would never do that.
MS. MCMILLAN:
All right.
I don't know where we
22
were with the introduction of this exhibit.
23
actually get in?
24
MR. PRATHER:
25
MS. MCMILLAN:
Did this
Yes.
Plaintiff's 113?
And you've
Pg ID 1056
122
stipulated to this, haven't you?
MR. GOELMAN:
Which exhibit is that?
MS. MCMILLAN:
113, the affidavit of Deputy
Marcus Kirby and his report?
last night.
MR. GOELMAN:
BY MS. MCMILLAN:
Q.
marked as --
Okay.
That was one we agreed to
Yeah.
Mr. Tsimhoni, I'm going to show you what's been
10
A.
Okay, 113.
11
Q.
-- Exhibit 113.
12
report before?
13
A.
Yes.
14
Q.
All right.
15
A.
I took that report as soon as I could, out of the -- a
16
copy of it from the police.
17
Q.
18
report?
19
A.
Yes, it does.
20
Q.
All right.
21
has said a few things.
23
And does that appear to be the same
Now, in the report, it mentions that Maya

Let's see.
Oh, that Maya, Maya was upset and stated she felt
that Omer was going to kill her.
24
25
I have seen that report.
All right.
22
And is that, have you seen that
Did you threaten to kill -A.
No.
Pg ID 1057
Q.
-- Maya at that time?
A.
No.
That's just a lie.
Q.
accident?
A.
Right.
Q.
Is that correct?
A.
Yes.
123
I've never done that, and I would never do that.
Now, she did say at that time, the incident was an
MR. GOELMAN:
Objection to asking this witness
10
what Maya said based on a police report when he didn't hear
11
what she said.
12
THE COURT:
Overruled.
The substance of the
13
question is whether he agrees with the concept, and he said
14
he does not.
15
BY MS. MCMILLAN:
16
Q.
17
assaults in your history.
18
A.
Of course.
19
Q.
Have you ever assaulted your wife?
20
A.
No, I have not.
21
Q.
Physically?
22
A.
No.
23
mentally.
24
of arguments that we've had.
25
there was no physical or mental, psychological abuse.
Go ahead.
Maya also said there had been no physical abuse or

Is that correct?
I haven't, I haven't done it, not physically, not

All of this is, you know, maybe interpretations
But there's no, there's no --
No.
Pg ID 1058
124
Q.
She also said that you had never threatened to hurt
your children.
A.
do anything to them.
with our children.
about whether or not we should put them in "time out"
because we thought that was excessive.
agreed, agreed at least when we had two kids, that we
wouldn't do that.
And so is that a true statement?
That's true.
I have never threatened to kill them, to

Both of us were very, relatively soft
We had -- I remember we had discussions
And both Maya and I
When we got the third kid, we did start
10
with having time-outs occasionally.
11
probably the most that we had done as far as disciplining
12
our children.
13
Q.
14
the police?
15
A.
Yes.
16
Q.
And then I interrupted you with another question.
17
did you take the initiative to call the police?
18
A.
19
was trying to provoke me into doing something that I
20
wouldn't, that I did not want to do.
21
and it was hurting.
22
way to stop her, actually, from doing that when I said I
23
will call the police.
24
Q.
25
police report.
Okay.
But that's, that's the
In this situation, you were the one who called
Why
Well, I did feel threatened, and I did feel that she
She was hitting me
And I, I thought that this would be a
Now, she does say that you treat her like crap in the
And she did kind of embellish upon that
Pg ID 1059
quite a bit --
A.
Right.
Q.
-- this morning --
A.
Right.
Q.
-- in her testimony.
6
7
MR. GOELMAN:
Objection to "embellish," your
Honor.
8
9
125
THE COURT:
Let it go.
Overruled.
BY MS. MCMILLAN:
10
Q.
What's your response to that?
11
A.
First of all, these are not her words.
12
use -- she doesn't talk like that.
13
treats me like that crap.
14
Q.
15
on the stand.
16
A.
17
have treated her very respectfully.
18
had arguments.
19
We seldom shout at each other.
20
accepting of the situation into which she has put us with
21
this affair that has been ongoing.
22
this is coming from, except she's trying -- maybe she has a
23
purpose in saying that.
24
Q.
25
left?
She doesn't
She doesn't say he
That's not her language.
Let's respond to the words that she did say to today
I think those are all lies.
They are incorrect.
I do not -- we have
We have never gone to physical arguments.

I have been very, very
And I don't see where
I have not done that.
What, if anything, happened next after the police

And I should say, for the record, that was Washtenaw
Pg ID 1060
126
County Sheriff Deputy Marcus Kirby.
A.
Right.
Q.
What happened then?
A.
So I went, I went to sleep at a hotel.
hotel for my entire stay.
this would have finished that interaction.
the next day.
before I came.
She was not answering my call.
about ten a.m.
Maya was exactly leaving with the kids.
Where did you go?

I booked a
And I was hoping this would,

I did come back
The next morning, Maya was -- I called
10
The kids were waving at me from the window.
11
for maybe a few seconds and then just took off.
12
I came over
Maya stopped
I entered the house and the alarm went off,
13
because she had changed the code on the alarm.
14
deal with another policeman who came over and asked me what
15
was going on.
16
I explained what happened.
17
think exists, understood that.
18
I had to
And I said this was -- this is our house and

And no record of that, I don't
After that, Maya returned and things kind of went
19
back to not normal, but it went to where she let me see the
20
children.
21
would go, would leave.
22
Q.
23
hotel that night.
24
think, I'm understanding her testimony correctly, but I
25
know there is a proposed witness that is going to come and
I was with the children, and at the evenings, I
Let me just back up for one minute.
You went to the
And it was your wife's testimony, I
Pg ID 1061
127
testify today.
And she is the neighbor of the house on
Gullane Drive.
A.
Right.
Q.
There's a suggestion that Maya went there and stayed
the night.
A.
Okay.
Q.
Do you have any information about that or knowledge
why that was done, personally?
A.
No, I do not.
I did not know that they, that they had
10
done that.
I did not know that they had gone to sleep
11
somewhere else.
12
Q.
13
she and the children were not going to be at home --
14
A.
No.
15
Q.
-- that evening?
16
A.
No.
17
to wake them up and do some -- and move them to a different
18
place.
19
Q.
20
schools thereafter?
21
A.
22
Israel and was not let to speak to the kids was very
23
difficult for me, personally.
24
Q.
And how long of a period of time was that?
25
A.
It was probably about two or three weeks.
When you left the house, did you have any sense that
The children were sleeping.
There was no reason
And then did you have occasion then to go to the kids'
Yes, I did.
The period of time in which I was in
Pg ID 1062
128
Q.
Okay.
Go ahead.
A.
With occasional contact with Maya, but not with the
kids.
And I felt, personally I felt very bad.
that the kids should have an opportunity to speak to their
dad and to, and to know more, to keep the connection going.
She intentionally did not let me speak to the kids.
I also thought
I was very concerned that Maya did not share any
of this information with the teachers.
The teachers should
know the situation that the children were under.
They were
10
under some pressure.
They saw that Maya and I were not
11
eye-to-eye together.
And I thought it would make sense to
12
talk to them and to find out whether she had told them
13
anything.
14
to the U.S., or that she had told them, for any reason, she
15
was not letting them speak to me.
16
Q.
And so where did you go?
17
A.
I went to Liam -- to Emerson school.
18
Liam's teacher, Ruth.
19
Q.
And what did you tell her?
20
A.
I described the situation under which Liam was having
21
to --
22
Q.
How did you describe it to her?
23
A.
Well, I said that Liam was being torn between his mom
24
and his dad.
25
him treating his brother and sister as if he were the dad,
Whether she had told them that I would be coming
He was put in the middle.
I went, met with
That I observed
Pg ID 1063
129
and I was concerned about that.
He was kind of trying to
protect his mom verbally, by saying that you know, by
whenever the kids didn't do something or misbehaved, he
would kind of react to them as if he was replacing.
Q.
You mean his younger siblings?
A.
His younger siblings, yeah.
And I asked how he was doing in school.
there were any issues with friends or anything.
said that I wanted to keep in contact with them.
So I talked about that.

I asked whether
I just
10
Q.
Okay.
And who else did you talk to?
11
A.
I went to a principal of the other two children's
12
schools.
13
Q.
14
same as with Liam's?
15
A.
16
school much better for a longer time.
17
her.
18
that I was about to be in Ann Arbor.
19
about anything that had happened.
20
with her about this.
21
Q.
22
two?
23
A.
Just the two, as far as I recall.
24
Q.
And when did this happen?
25
A.
This was January 9th, just the Friday before I was
And was the substance of your discussion with them the
Yes, it was.
But I knew Ramelle, the principal of

I sat and talked to
She was very surprised to see me.
She did not know
She was not told
So I had a discussion
And then was there a third teacher or just, just the
Pg ID 1064
130
going to leave.
Q.
All right.
A.
Well, I was trying to get in contact with the
children, Maya and the children.
that day.
lawyers.
was not.
8
9
What happened January 9th?
She was avoiding me all
Later, I learned she was in discussions with

She said she was at friend's, but apparently she
I said could I, could I see the kids before I

leave, because I was about to leave the next day.
We
10
determined we would go to a restaurant and meet there.
11
met there, and Maya handed me divorce papers next to the
12
table.
13
want to talk to you on the side here.
14
And I was very surprised.
15
She stood -- we stood up.
We
And she said, Omer, I

I went with her.
I was shocked to see the papers.
We had talked during that week about the
16
possibility of mediation and someone solving our issues.
17
And I asked her, Maya, are you sure, this is something
18
that's retractable?
19
going to lead to mediation?
20
what exactly the differences were of litigation, mediation.
21
And she said yes, I talked to the lawyer.
22
this is not going to do anything.
23
Then I looked at the papers and I saw that there was some
24
false allegations in there.
25
Q.
Okay.
Is this something that -- is this

I did not know at that point
There's nothing,
There's no problem.
Let me show you what we've marked as
Pg ID 1065
Plaintiff's Exhibit 103.
131
This is stipulated.
Are those the divorce papers that she gave you?
A.
Yes.
Q.
And I've circled a couple of paragraphs there.
you tell us, if you look on page 3 I believe, of the
packet?
A.
Sure.
Q.
Can you find those circled paragraphs and tell me
which numbers they are that --
10
A.
Yes, number 12 --
11
12
MR. GOELMAN:
Excuse me.
Can I just get a cross
reference so I can find the exhibit?
13
14
Can
MS. MCMILLAN:
It's the Washtenaw County divorce
exhibit.
15
THE WITNESS:
16
MR. MCMILLAN:
17
THE WITNESS:
103.
To the original complaint.
Yes.
It said here that January --
18
BY MS. MCMILLAN:
19
Q.
20
15?
21
A.
Yes, you did.
22
Q.
All right.
23
A.
So on number 12, it says that on or around January 7,
24
I advised that I intended to return to Israel with the
25
minor children, without her consent.
Excuse me.
Excuse me.
Thank you.
Did I circle 12, 13, 14 and
Go ahead.
Pg ID 1066
132
Q.
All right.
A.
Yeah.
Q.
Is that a true statement?
A.
No.
Q.
Did you talk about taking the kids, stealing the kids
from Israel?
A.
something I would do.
Q.
No.
Let's stop there.
I never talked about that.
And that's not
I do not do illegal things.
Did you talk about anything related to having the kids
10
go with you?
Maybe even visit with you when you were
11
returning on January 10th?
12
A.
13
dates.
14
of all of us moving to Israel, because that was the plan,
15
that had been the plan, and we had talked about that.
16
Q.
Okay.
17
A.
That my behavior has been erratic, irrational,
18
threatening, and that she is fearful for her safety, as
19
well as the safety of the minor children.
20
Q.
Do you have any idea what that refers to?
21
A.
No, I don't.
22
-- could be described this way.
23
cooperating with Maya when we were at home.
24
with the kids.
25
her.
I did not talk about, about anything in specific

I may have talked to the kids about the possibility
Next, No. 13, please.
I don't think that my behavior was, was

I think that I was not
I was solely
I wanted to be as much as I could away from
And she was very upset that I did not help her.
And
Pg ID 1067
133
I think that, that was what she was talking about.
Q.
Number 14?
A.
That I advised that I would be awarded custody of the
minor children and I had every right to take them to live
in Israel, with or without her permission.
incorrect.
Q.
All right.
A.
That I intended to kidnap the kids.
Q.
Read it verbatim.
10
A.
Upon my information and belief, Defendant intends to
11
return to Israel with the minor children on January 10th.
12
I never said that.

Number 15?
That is incorrect.
13
Q.
Was that your intention?
14
A.
No.
15
Q.
All right.
16
17
That is
That was not my intention.

Thank you.
MS. MCMILLAN:
I'm going to slip this one into
evidence, please.
18
THE COURT:
19
MS. MCMILLAN:
20
MR. GOELMAN:
21
THE COURT:
22
MS. MCMILLAN:
23
24
BY MS. MCMILLAN:
25
Q.
Number?
This is -- it's Plaintiff's 103.
No objection.
It's agreed and received.

So you were then involved in a divorce case; is that
Pg ID 1068
134
correct?
A.
Yes.
Q.
And you sought legal counsel, did you?
A.
Yes.
management to get another week of vacation.
an attorney.
Yes.
I changed my visit.
I had to talk to my
I went to see
I had been talking to a mediator before that, had
been consulting with a mediator before that.
to contact her.
And I tried
She suggested that she would not take care
10
of this because this was litigation, and she does not do
11
litigation.
12
different attorney.
13
Q.
14
you were seeking information from attorneys in order to
15
best situate yourself in a custody case.
16
first time that you had sought any legal counsel in
17
Michigan?
18
A.
No.
19
Q.
When did you first seek legal counsel in Michigan?
20
A.
I sought legal counsel first on or about 2005.
21
Natalie was born, Maya had left the house with the children
22
to some other person's house.
23
Q.
24
affair with?
25
She only does mediation.
All right.
So I switched to a
There was an allegation in this case, that
Was this the
After
And --
You mean, this was the fellow that she was having the
MR. GOELMAN:
Objection.
Pg ID 1069
1
2
THE WITNESS:
I can give you the name of the
person she left, she left with the house.
3
4
135
THE COURT:
is overruled.
The objection, just for the record,
Go ahead.
THE WITNESS:
She had left to the house of Dr.
Thomas Gravelyn.
BY MS. MCMILLAN:
Q.
All right.
A.
And I don't know if she --
10
Q.
What issues did you discuss with --
11
A.
With the attorney?
12
options, her having done that.
13
marriage or should we -- what if, what if we went into a
14
divorce, I wanted to be prepared and do whatever was going
15
to happen.
16
Q.
17
getting my years right?
18
A.
No.
19
Q.
2002?
20
A.
No.
21
Q.
Oh, 2005.
22
A.
I'm sorry.
23
Q.
Okay.
24
talked to legal counsel about custody, or any other issue?
25
A.
And --
I wanted to check what were my

How could we preserve the
So this was a consultation.
So this was seven years before; is that correct?
Am I
This is 2005, I believe.
2005.
All right.
So that was the only time you had
I talked to this guy.
He sent me over to somebody in
Pg ID 1070
136
Ann Arbor.
I talked to her immediately afterwards, but she
said she could not represent me because her, her office had
represented this doctor in his various divorce cases.
so she gave me another name.
this third person that I was talking to in December.
Q.
until just this time then, in 2009; is that correct?
A.
That is correct.
Q.
All right.
10
A.
We were -- I was in Israel.
11
going back and forth with these -- with the attorneys.
12
at some point in mid-March, Maya called me and she said she
13
wanted to stop this.
14
wanted to try to reconcile.
15
Q.
16
When did you return to Israel?
17
A.
18
I do not know the dates.
19
Q.
Go ahead.
20
A.
And so we were in Israel.
21
discussion.
22
had suggested that it was a mistake to have done all of
23
this; that we should try to get together.
24
sense.
25
more sense that we be together and we figure things out
All right.
And
And that was the -- that was
And then you didn't see an attorney again
And what happened next?
May I interrupt?
We were talking.
We were
She said it didn't make sense.
And
She
Where were you then at that time?
I returned to Israel about a week after January 9th.

I can find it out.
It's close enough.

She called.
We had this
She was very, she was very soft spoken.
She
It doesn't make
That for the kids's purpose, it would make much
Pg ID 1071
137
ourselves.
Q.
some communication back and forth from the attorneys about
working on issues relating to a divorce.
same time?
A.
something that happened to us many times, is that we would
have these two threads of thoughts going on at the same
time.
It appears as though, from the record, that we've got
Yes.
Is this at the
So what happened was, and I think this is
So on the one hand, we were reconciling,
10
reconciling, and then on the other hand, she still had the
11
divorce case going on.
12
my attorney messages.
13
her, do you want me to answer these, whatever, 250
14
questions that were sent to me.
15
Q.
16
You don't know what they were?
17
A.
Yeah.
18
Q.
Okay.
19
A.
Do you still want me to do that?
20
attorney is asking us to do this.
21
you're saying that we are reconciling.
22
which way to go.
23
these two processes going on at the same time.
24
hand, she was still on this divorce case, she had not
25
retracted it.
All right.
And her attorney would still send

And I had to -- I remember I asked
These were some interrogatories, perhaps?
They were lots of questions of details.
Because your
But on the other hand,

And I didn't know
And so essentially, what we had were

On the one
On the other hand, we were trying to
Pg ID 1072
138
reconcile between ourselves.
Q.
Washtenaw County then didn't proceed any farther?
A.
attorney went to and the other attorney decided not to show
up; they sent the assistant.
contact with Maya, Maya did not respond to their contacts.
And the judge at that point kind of said, well, you need to
dismiss it by a certain date.
And did there come a time that the case, the case in
Yes.
I believe there was a meeting between my
And because they had no
That's my --
10
Q.
And where are we on the calendar?
11
A.
This is about the end of April.
12
Q.
All right.
13
dismissed?
14
A.
Yes.
15
Q.
All right.
16
as Plaintiff's Exhibit 114 and see if you can take a look
17
at that and identify that.
18
A.
19
by the attorneys, and by Maya and myself.
20
Q.
21
Can you flip to the last page?
22
A.
(Complied.)
23
Q.
What does it say in the handwriting there?
24
A.
Parties to submit stipulated order to dismiss by May 6
25
of 2009, fax to judge office, and some number.
Yes.
And did it come to pass that the case was
I'm going to show you what's been marked
This is the stipulated order of dismissal signed
All right.
And then the last page is something else.
Pg ID 1073
Q.
And above that?
A.
Plaintiff not prepared to proceed.
Q.
Okay.
4
5
That's it.
MS. MCMILLAN:
this as well.
139
Thank you.
Judge, I think we've stipulated to
May I have this in evidence?
THE COURT:
The number?
MS. MCMILLAN:
MR. GOELMAN:
THE COURT:
114, Plaintiff.
Sure, your Honor.
Right?
10
MR. GOELMAN:
11
THE COURT:
Yes, your Honor.
That will be received.
12
until two p.m.
13
Counsel, ready to proceed.
We'll recess
We'll see you back here at that time,
14
15
THE CLERK:
16
(Recess taken from 1:00 p.m. to 2:06 p.m.)
17
THE CLERK:
All rise.
18
THE COURT:
Actually, Counsel, come up to the
19
All rise.
side of the bench.
20
(Sidebar conference off the record.)
21
THE COURT:
22
MS. MCMILLAN:
23
BY MS. MCMILLAN:
24
Q.
25
chronology.
Proceed.
Mr. Tsimhoni, we were going through sequentially

I would like to stop now and start with some
Pg ID 1074
140
issues that the judge thought were important this morning.
And that was the issue of language, your children's
language development.
Tell me, tell the Court about the circumstances
in the home before the children left for Israel and they
were still in Michigan with you and your wife in the
household.
A.
exclusively in Hebrew.
Okay.
We, Maya and I, talked to each other

I don't recall ever talking to Maya
10
in English more than here and there inside the house.
11
However, with the children, we, we tended to speak Hebrew
12
to them and they tended to respond in English.
13
the discussions became more difficult for the children to
14
understand, we would, we would usually switch the language.
15
I think that I was speaking Hebrew to the kids much more
16
than Maya was.
17
them exposed to both languages.
18
And when
And we felt that it was a good idea to have
Liam's proficiency in Hebrew was the highest of
19
the three.
20
before they moved, perhaps a word here and there.
21
would tell them, say a word to them and they would respond
22
in Hebrew.
23
Roee and Natalie did not speak Hebrew at all

Or I
When we had visitors, and we had many visitors
24
along the years from Israel, they would usually speak some
25
Hebrew, some English to the children.
So they were exposed
Pg ID 1075
141
to that.
Q.
When was this?
A.
And this was when he was in kindergarten at the, at
the, so Sunday school at the, I'm sorry, at the synagogue,
for a year.
Q.
And what year was that?
A.
So this is 2006, 2007.
were in the Gullane house.
Liam went to Sunday school.
And that's where he learned some Hebrew.

If you remember.
So this was already when we
As far as reading and writing, Liam knew his
10
alphabet in English when he was, I don't know, about a year
11
old.
12
used to sing the three, the four of us, used to sing the
13
alphabet song in Hebrew together, which is the alphabet,
14
the Hebrew alphabet.
15
And he did learn the Hebrew alphabet as well.
And we
We had a lot of fun doing that.
I think we read to them in Hebrew.
We had a lot
16
of Hebrew books at home, so we would read to them at night.
17
Q.
Were they children's books?
18
A.
Children's books, yup.
19
were exposed to Hebrew and the extent they knew Hebrew.
20
Q.
21
to Israel.
22
and English?
23
A.
24
everywhere around them, all the people speak, not all the
25
people, but many people speaking Hebrew.
All right.
That's the extent I think they
And then contrast that with after the move
What was their language experience like, Hebrew
Well, obviously, the kids' exposure to Hebrew
And all the
Pg ID 1076
142
signs, everything in Hebrew, that was a lot of
assimilation.
month, a month and a half until we started to actually
converse in Hebrew.
It took them awhile.
It took them about a
Natalie picked up, her progression was the
greatest, because she started with almost nothing.
was able to speak Hebrew, and even yesterday she spoke
Hebrew to me:
What are we going to eat, things like that.
10
Hi, dad.
How are you.
And she
Simple sentences.
Roee was probably the slowest with that regard.
11
So he understands everything.
12
many years.
13
did not start speaking Hebrew until maybe, you know, a
14
month and a half into the stay.
15
He has understood Hebrew for
He will follow directions in Hebrew, but he
And Liam, on the other hand, picked up very
16
quickly.
17
usually very shy, regardless of the language.
18
of, some of his ability to speak, especially to his own
19
age, kids, was perhaps slowed down by that.
20
did -- I spoke only Hebrew to them and they responded to me
21
in Hebrew, especially when Maya was not there.
22
However, in social, in social settings, he's

And so some
But he did, he
I think that there was this, again, because Maya
23
had been speaking to them in English ever since, there was
24
this kind of, you know, differentiation in their minds.
25
And they are bilingual.
So what that means is that they
Pg ID 1077
143
have, the way their language is set up in their head, as
far as I understand, they will, they will make -- they will
say a sentence that has both Hebrew and English in it.
I could see in math, for example, where I talked
to Liam in math, about math issues, like I don't know,
Fibonacci series or whatever, his apprehension of English
numbers is much better, or I'm sorry, his apprehension of
Hebrew numbers is not so good.
English very quickly.
So he kind of switches to
But he understands very well what's
10
going on.
11
more than 2,000 words.
12
Q.
13
where someone might speak to him in Hebrew and he would
14
respond in English?
15
A.
16
all of the above.
17
him.
18
grown-ups speaking Hebrew with grown-ups, because they kind
19
of can control the way they are speaking, whereas with
20
young kids, it was a little bit perhaps more difficult.
21
You know, I would say his vocabulary is probably

That's my guess.
Would you, would you observe him in social settings
Yes, that happens.
That happened, too.
So I'd say
I'd say it depends who was speaking to
When -- I think he was more comfortable with
But, yeah, and the three of them understands
22
Hebrew very well.
And like I said, the speaking is the
23
part that's more of an issue.
24
Q.
25
about the negative experience that she observed that your
Now, your wife has testified at length this morning
Pg ID 1078
144
children had in dealing with difficulties overcoming
language barrier.
on this point?
A.
conversing in Hebrew.
I saw them conversing among
themselves in Hebrew.
They were conversing in Hebrew with
other kids.
been, the communication was there.
high, high slope, progressing as they were getting more
What observations did you make on this,
I can, I can say very, very clearly that the kids were
However, however limited that Hebrew may have

And it was at a very
10
comfortable.
11
making jokes and things like that.
12
Q.
13
classes in Hebrew, in Israel?
14
A.
15
was -- he had this, he had learned -- he was learning how
16
to read and write in Hebrew.
17
writing was not -- was kind of more copying, but I could
18
see sentences, real long sentences that he wrote.
19
So Roee started speaking, speaking in Hebrew,
Was there a time when, when Liam was taking additional
Yes.
Liam was taking Hebrew classes in school.
He
I thought that some of the
He wrote Maya a birthday, a birthday wish in
20
Hebrew, where he was actually -- where he was very strong
21
at, was kind of taking his knowledge of languages and
22
converting it into Hebrew so he could make the vowels, even
23
though they are different in Hebrew than they are in
24
English, so he could create words as far as writing, even
25
though he had, he had a lot of mistakes, but he was able to
Pg ID 1079
145
do that.
That's it.
Q.
Were Roee and Natalie taking any classes in Hebrew?
A.
No.
standard class that is offered to all kids of people who
make immigration to Israel, and it was offered to them as
well.
help them with their Hebrew in the house.
lot of riddles with them.
riddles in Hebrew in the language and on the rhymes.
There was a class that was offered to them as a
We did not, we did not pursue that.
10
We did try to
I would play a
We like to do that, a lot of
And I guess that their interaction all day at
11
school was in Hebrew.
And it is, I think it is incorrect
12
to say they were not interacting with anybody or they were
13
just speaking English or were being led by other kids and
14
just being put from one place to -- I don't know what that
15
exactly refers to.
16
with the children around them.
17
kids who came to our house that time.
18
Q.
Which time is that?
19
A.
So this is in December, before Hanukah when they were
20
home.
21
terms of six or seven -- six of us, six kids at the house.
22
They were all speaking to Liam in Hebrew.
23
English.
24
Q.
25
speaking to him in Hebrew?
But they were definitely communicating

I could tell because the
And I joined about an hour into this activity in
Nobody spoke in
What did you observe about Liam's response to their
Pg ID 1080
He is a reserved child.
146
A.
He has been reserved, and
he's even more reserved right now, unfortunately.
responded to them in Hebrew.
Q.
Did you have any experience observing the children in
social settings, or in a school setting where they had the
same kind of negative reaction that your wife has testified
to?
A.
But he
Let's talk about that children's experience otherwise.
No, I have not.
And I am very surprised by that.
10
am very surprised to hear that.
11
Q.
Why is that?
12
A.
Because this is -- first of all, because it's not
13
true.
14
maybe twice or three times, about twice a week, not more
15
than that, with Maya.
16
at their preschool and kindergarten for a little bit.
17
I helped them kind of with the interaction.
18
any of that they don't want to go to school.
19
said that.
20
school.
21
very surprised by that, by those statements.
22
Q.
23
where he became upset or voiced to you any concerns?
24
A.
No.
25
Q.
About the language?
I, I escorted or brought, dropped off the kids only
And I stayed with Roee and Natalie

And
I never saw
They never
They only said very positive things about the
So I don't know where that's coming from.
What about Liam?
I'm
Did you observe Liam in the settings
I did talk to him, and I have --
Pg ID 1081
Sorry.
147
A.
I did talk to him about the situation, about
his situation, how he was doing in school.
discussions with him about this.
anything like that to me.
Q.
Did you ever observe anything like that?
A.
I never observed anything like that.
Q.
What were your work hours in Israel when the family
was located there?
A.
I had
And he never said
Well, before the family moved, I used to open the
10
office about seven a.m. and I would leave about seven,
11
eight p.m., sometimes ten p.m.
12
After the family moved, I made my hours much more
13
flexible.
I would start, depending on th`e day, about
14
nine, sometimes at ten even.
15
it would split my hours so that I could be with the kids
16
when they are returning.
17
Q.
And what time would that be?
18
A.
So if I would split, sometimes I came back at four.
19
The latest that I came back was usually seven, seven p.m.
20
I didn't have a car, because I left the car with Maya most
21
of the time.
22
there were days where I arrived at 8:30, nine.
23
Q.
24
the period of time that they were in Israel and you were
25
living there as a family?
And sometimes I would have --
So the bus ride back took, took long.
So
Did you have time to interact with the children during
Pg ID 1082
A.
that.
to have, has been a very important thing to be with the
children.
with them.
Absolutely, yes.
148
I cherish every moment of doing
And this was, to me, this is a very important thing
And I've put all the efforts that I could to be
On Fridays, they would be going for a shorter day
at school, whereas I had -- I was on a day off.
So
weekends for grown-ups are two days, and for kids, they are
only one day.
10
Q.
And those two days are?
11
A.
So Friday, Saturday.
12
Q.
Saturday?
13
A.
So Friday, when they would go to school, I would
14
always come with them, drop them, with Maya, drop them in
15
the morning and pick them up in the afternoon around noon,
16
and then have the opportunity to observe their
17
interactions.
18
The weekends was the time where we could do stuff together.
19
And then we would go and do stuff together.
I probably put them, put them to sleep, went up
20
with them to their bedrooms about two or three times, two
21
or three times a week.
22
time where we were buying a lot of stuff to get, to get the
23
house settled in.
24
to the grocery or stuff like that immediately after.
25
Q.
There were -- there was a period of
And I would somehow finding myself going
Did they ever seem fearful of you?
Pg ID 1083
No.
That's, that's ridiculous.
149
A.
That's just a
ridiculous claim that was -- that, I don't know why it was
made here.
Q.
of establish the relationship of all of you.
A.
Sure.
Q.
Before, and leading up to that move in September.
you were back in time, around about the time that the
Washtenaw County case had been dismissed, about May of
Let's just go back in time again.
I want to just kind
So
10
2009.
11
dismissed?
12
A.
Okay.
13
Q.
How was the relationship between the family?
14
A.
Well, this, I think this is hard, hard to understand
15
looking backwards.
16
visit, we were behaving as if none of this divorce has
17
happened.
18
the kids, you could see the smiles on the kids' faces.
19
told them about that.
20
They saw a lot of affection between us.
21
And so what happened at that time after the case was
But we were especially in my April
We were, we were together.
You could see it on

We
We told them that we are together.
And I guess when I went back to Israel in April,
22
we were -- I was elated because, you know, because Maya had
23
kind of, to me, she had returned to herself.
24
back to, oh, you know, we're loving each other.
25
started to, to arrange for their coming to Israel.
She had been
I, I
Pg ID 1084
150
Although, I was always skeptic about the possibility, I
started to prepare for that.
Q.
What plans were made, both by you and she?
A.
We made a plan for the moving company to come and pick
up -- come and give us an evaluation for selling the cars,
for --
Q.
What time frame are we talking about here?
A.
Between April and June, I guess.
Q.
Okay.
10
A.
For selling cars, for selling the house.
11
Q.
When was the house listed for sale?
12
A.
I don't know the date it was listed for sale.
13
Q.
Was it listed incident to the divorce?
14
A.
It was listed, I believe it was listed in about April.
15
But I don't know when it was listed exactly.
16
Q.
All right.
17
A.
I don't know the answer.
18
Q.
All right.
19
then.
20
A.
Yeah, and --
21
Q.
Some time in that time frame?
22
A.
Yes.
23
putting it in boxes, cleaning the house for the, for the
24
sale, for the house sale.
25
ask people about where can we live, what's a good place to
Okay.
Fair enough.
I, I --
Go ahead and continue
The house was listed for sale?
And then Maya was preparing all of the stuff,
And in Israel, I was starting to
Pg ID 1085
151
live that kids could have a good education, because
education has always been our first most concern.
And I started to look at houses in Ra'anana.
So
I went with some realtors and looked for rentals in
Ra'anana, looking for the right schools and for the right
neighborhoods with people that we could play with, et
cetera.
Q.
going forward with the move, and whether or not the move
Did you have any conversations with your wife about
10
was going to be temporary, permanent, conditional, a trial,
11
or any of the above?
12
A.
13
when Maya called me and said we're ready to come.
14
want to stay here anymore.
15
Let's, let's go.
16
Yes, absolutely.
So at first, it was some time in May

I don't
I'm finishing my job in June.
I was a little -- a little surprised by that, by
17
this quick response.
18
Q.
And when did that come?
19
A.
This is probably beginning of May.
20
Q.
Okay.
21
A.
And in fact, I remember that my parents were surprised
22
by that, too.
23
to get everything organized and get the move going.
24
start, I started talking to Maya about when will we do
25
this, when will be the dates.
So suddenly you have -- you have three weeks
And we
Pg ID 1086
152
And then, kind of almost last moment, maybe a
week and a half before I was about to come, she asked that
I, that I give her some, some agreement that, that would --
will allow her to feel comfortable in Israel, et cetera.
Q.
this?
the process?
A.
phone.
All right.
And so what, what came to pass with all of
How was it finally resolved?
Okay.
And what was said in
So there were a lot of discussions over the
Unfortunately, we have no record of that because we
10
did not think that a court should have to go.
11
Q.
Right.
12
A.
And we did have some e-mail exchanges.
13
specifically wanted me to write her an e-mail that would
14
say this and this.
15
wrote -- I did not go to a lawyer or anything like that.
16
tried to write something that would reflect my
17
understanding of what we had discussed.
18
Q.
What was your understanding of what you had discussed?
19
A.
Well, my understanding was that Maya was not sure
20
about the move.
21
things, as well.
22
want to give it a try, and to make this move and to go
23
leave Ann Arbor.
24
25
And Maya, Maya
And that's what I tried to write.
She has not been sure about many other

And my understanding was that she did
And we had talked about the amount of time that

she would be in, in Israel.
And I had suggested she came
Pg ID 1087
153
for at least a one-year trial.
We had lots of discussions
over the phone, what does this mean?
come, you know, if after three years, I decide I want to
leave, if after five years, I decide the kids don't, I
don't want the kids to go to the army, what will happen
then?
She said, well, if I
So we had these, these discussions.
And I thought it was simplest to say, well, why
don't you just not come for a full year.
kids in school.
Let's put the
Let's have them stay there for the entire
10
year.
Let's see how they are doing, let's see how we're
11
doing, and then we can continue the discussion.
12
Q.
And were there e-mail communications related to this?
13
A.
Yes, there were.
14
Q.
All right.
15
as Exhibit 118.
16
A.
17
sent to her and she had responded.
18
has not responded to my -- she usually called me back and
19
did not respond by e-mail.
20
she did respond.
21
Q.
22
time, is that correct, in the e-mail?
23
A.
Yes.
24
Q.
All right.
25
A.
Well, the commitment was that I would -- well, first
Yes.

And is that one stream of e-mails?
So this is the one stream of e-mails that I had
All right.
I should say that Maya
These are the two exceptions
And you did make a commitment at that
And what was the commitment?
Pg ID 1088
154
of all, my commitment was to try to reconcile our
relationship, and to say that I love her, and that is the
reason that we're doing all of this.
Q.
Yes.
A.
The commitment that I made was not to go to courts in
Israel.
stuff and go to courts.
have my word on that.
because I did not want this to be abused.
So not -- she was very afraid that I might do some

I said I will not go to court, you
But I did put some conditions,
10
Q.
Now, you did not go to court.
11
the issue of your going to court?
12
A.
13
to some lawyers, she had talked to her family.
14
concerned that I could go to court and that would be
15
disadvantaging her.
16
Q.
17
be?
18
A.
Not that I recall.
19
Q.
Okay.
20
A.
I --
21
Q.
You can read from the --
22
A.
Yes.
23
Q.
You can read from your e-mail.
24
A.
So what I said was that if she came for a year in
25
July, I see it here, that I would not go to the Court.
She, she proposed that.
How did that come up,
She said that she had talked

And she was
Did she say specifically what the disadvantages would
What other conditions did you have?
Pg ID 1089
155
would not stop, stop her in that regard, at the end of that
year, from leaving the country and we could discuss then
what we could do.
we decide who sees the kids when, et cetera, what do we do
with our lives, et cetera.
Would we go to some, some -- how would
I conditioned it by the movements in July.
wanted her to let me know in advance because we have the
lease going on.
does not initiate any legal actions herself, and that she
I asked for 60 days.
And I ask that she
10
did not come with any false alarms, such as that of
11
stealing the passports that she had done before, or
12
threatening to kill her or whatever else that was happening
13
in the divorce case, that she had done before.
14
Q.
Okay.
15
May I borrow that back?
And did the move take place in July?
16
A.
No.
17
Q.
Or, I'm sorry, did the move, did the move take place
18
as planned?
19
A.
20
reaching an agreement, because Maya did not agree with
21
these e-mails.
No.
22
It did not take place as planned.
We were not
When I arrived in Michigan for the move, Maya,
23
after I arrived, Maya sent me these e-mails.
24
Q.
Are you speaking to Exhibit 118?
25
A.
Yes.
These response, these e-mails in response to
Pg ID 1090
156
what I was proposing.
one point that maybe I could sign another agreement that
she kind of waved at me, which she never handed it to me.
And she -- and I, and she said at
And I said I'm not going to sign anything like
this at the latest moment, at the last moment.
me to sign something, you know, give it, send it to me.
I'll have an attorney look at it, and then we can figure
things out.
And so there was, there was a disagreement
10
between us on that.
11
and I don't think she agreed.
12
13
Your Honor, I'd move to admit
Exhibit 118.
THE COURT:
I'm really having a hard time hearing
you.
16
17
And I never agreed to those e-mails,
MS. MCMILLAN:
14
15
If you want
MS. MCMILLAN:
I move to admit Exhibit 118, your
Honor.
18
MR. GOELMAN:
No objection.
19
THE COURT:
20
All right.
That's received.
21
BY MS. MCMILLAN:
22
Q.
23
seen in this case that you didn't have on your computer?
24
A.
Right.
25
Q.
All right.
By this writing, were there other e-mails that we've
Pg ID 1091
Yeah.
157
A.
I had to say that, to put things in
perspective, at this time, we were both very conciliatory.
So we were both trying to concile what was going on.
very, very happy that things, that things were working,
working the way they were at that point.
to accommodate Maya's fears, I should say, as much as I, as
I could, because I knew those fears existed.
Q.
her fears were?
What did you articulate, though?
I was
And I was trying
I think --
What did you think
How do we put a handle on those?
10
A.
11
was that I would somehow prevent her from, from, from, from
12
doing, from, from maybe, maybe having the choice that she
13
wanted, I guess is how I would say that would.
14
Q.
15
a trial move, and that it was never -- it was just a trip.
16
It was not intended to be a full-fledged move and it just
17
came to pass because of things, actions that you took.
18
I think the fears were very general.
Yeah.
One of the fears
She stated that she had wanted this to be just
Was there any discussion in the time of
19
semi-permanency, permanency?
20
discussions, that would be after April 2009?
21
MR. GOELMAN:
Where we are now in these
I'm just going to object to
22
mischaracterizing the testimony.
23
MS. MCMILLAN:
24
BY MS. MCMILLAN:
25
Q.
I'll rephrase the question.
Did Maya, did Mrs. Dr. Tsimhoni, ever express to you
Pg ID 1092
158
that she was concerned that the move to Israel would
somehow require her to be restrained in the event of a
subsequent divorce case there?
A.
were not talking about divorce at that time.
talking about the fact that she had been advised by lots of
attorneys, in her language, not to make the move.
Q.
restrained if you go to court, and maybe that was the
We did not talk about the divorce case in Israel.
We
We're just
So she didn't say if I move there, I'm going to be
10
reason why she was concerned, you're going to court, that
11
she might be restrained?
12
A.
13
advantage that she didn't want to give me.
14
concerned that I was not genuine.
15
genuine.
16
intention.
17
together, put it back together, to take you away from Ann
18
Arbor, where you have some limitation, some, some history
19
of not being able to keep our family together.
20
been exposing the kids to --
21
Q.
Okay.
22
A.
-- what they were not be supposed to.
23
Q.
Okay.
24
A.
Well, we continued to have these discussions,
25
primarily phone discussions with a little bit of, you can
Right.
I think so.
She thought of it as giving me an

And she was
And I told her no, I am
I am not going to go to court.
That's not my
My intention is to build our family back
And you've
So then what happened?
Pg ID 1093
159
see on those e-mails.
And Maya kind of just dropped it.
And she said you know what, let's not do all of this.
We're not reaching any agreement.
that you won't go to court; and that I did.
Q.
court in Israel?
A.
Israel and she stays here as we've discussed, she stays
there, I'm sorry, I would not go to court.
Just give me your word
And you gave her your word that you wouldn't go to
So what I said is, yeah, if she, if she comes to
I would not go
10
with the legal system.
11
Q.
All right.
12
A.
No, I did not.
13
Q.
All right.
14
September?
15
A.
Yes.
16
Q.
And a few things happened beforehand?
17
A.
Yeah.
18
houses again.
19
July they did not come, I prepared myself.
20
a realtor.
21
sign any contract.
22
that time, pictures and movies of the houses, the
23
neighborhood.
24
interested in seeing where they were going to go.
25
that.
And did you go to court?
So then eventually, the move happened in
Well, first of all, I went and looked for

This time around, as I was concerned, in
I talked to, to
I had her show me several houses, but I did not

I did send Maya, at that time, before
The kids looked at it.
They were all

So I did
I prepared the flight tickets, all that stuff.
Pg ID 1094
160
took care of all the stuff that I needed to take care of.
Q.
mentioned the returning residents status.
lead on making these arrangements then?
A.
the website of the immigration, Ministry of Immigration.
And I got the approval to get discounted tickets.
to the moving company again, and that's about it.
Q.
Were the cars sold?
10
A.
So the car was sold by Maya.
11
first car, Maya's car in July, when I was there.
12
second car, the Highlander, the family car, Maya was taking
13
care of selling.
14
Q.
15
to Michigan then, from Israel in July of 2009.
16
happened then, if any?
17
A.
When I came back in July?
18
Q.
Yes.
19
A.
Not that I can think of.
20
those e-mails and everything that went after July, after I
21
returned in July to Israel, yes.
22
Q.
23
that time?
24
A.
25
was putting us in a lot of monetary pressure.
The returning -- the flight tickets, your wife
Yes, I did.
All right.
I contacted -- I register on
I talked
Maya was -- I sold the

And the
Now, you mentioned that you had come back

What events
I'm sorry.
Anything significant happen then?
All right.
Yeah.
I, I did.
Did you take the
I think we just discussed
And the house was still on the market at
When did the house sell?

The house was still on the market.
And that
I think on
Pg ID 1095
161
or about August is when buyers were actually found.
Q.
All right.
A.
Yes.
the deal on our part in September and we had everything
ready, but they wanted to get in only October for 15th.
that was the date which they would move in.
Q.
September.
Exhibit 118 (sic).
And did the house actually sell?
The house actually sold.
All right.
And it sold, we made
So
So the Gullane house sold some time in
I'm going to show you what's been marked as
10
A.
All right.
11
Q.
And are those the, the house sale papers?
12
A.
Yes, they are.
13
Q.
All right.
14
attorney take care of the closing documents for you at that
15
time?
16
A.
Yes, we did.
17
Q.
All right.
18
time the house sold?
19
A.
So I was in Israel.
20
Q.
At the time of the closing.
21
A.
At the time of closing, I was in Ann Arbor.
22
timing was perfect.
23
Arbor.
24
stuff there.
25
All those months she was showing the house, she was
And did you have an agent, a power of
Because you, you -- where were you at the
At?
So this was September.
We both went to the realtor.
The
I was in Ann
We dealt with all the
Maya had taken the lead on selling the house.
Pg ID 1096
162
preparing, you know, putting flowers and making it look
lovely and everything.
of it.
Q.
October 16th, 2009; is that correct?
A.
Yes.
Q.
And was that because you folks were already moved in
Israel at the time of the actual closing?
A.
I don't understand.
10
Q.
Well, you moved to Israel in September --
11
A.
That's correct.
12
Q.
-- 2009.
13
A.
That's correct.
14
Q.
So you weren't present in Michigan at the time?
15
A.
That's correct.
16
signatures so she could make the sale.
17
18
And she had orchestrated this part
And it says here that the bill of sale is dated
What's your --
The closing took place in October of 2009.
We gave, we gave the realtor our
MS. MCMILLAN:
Very good.
I move to admit
Plaintiff's Exhibit 115, your Honor.
19
MR. GOELMAN:
No objection.
20
THE COURT:
21
Received.
22
BY MS. MCMILLAN:
23
Q.
24
the household goods were shipped up in a sea crate?
25
A.
Now, it came to pass in the course of this move, that
That's correct.
Pg ID 1097
163
Q.
We've established that through some of the exhibits
we've already had.
shipping things work?
wanted to store them places.
A.
significant one.
she had talked, she and I had talked about.
Your wife has testified that she

Can you address that, please?
I don't recall that, that discussion being a
8
9
How did the move and packing and
I think that was one of many options that
We had, we had a house to populate in Israel.
It
did not make sense to make the move to Israel and leave
10
some of the stuff in U.S.
Although shipping costs are
11
pretty high, it's still more expensive than, than, you
12
know, buying everything new.
13
new.
14
option.
15
stuff.
16
feel at home when they were there, when everything would
17
arrive in Israel.
18
Q.
19
given away, was that crated and shipped?
20
A.
21
any stuff that remains.
22
the house is in Israel.
23
Q.
24
Plaintiff's Exhibit 116, please?
25
A.
We did consider buying things
And we did look at, you know, the Ikea store as an

We decided to make the move and move all our
And one of the reasons is it would make the kids
And everything that wasn't sold in the garage sale, or
That is, that is my understanding.
All right.
I don't know of
Definitely most of what we had in
May I show you what's been marked as
Yes.
Pg ID 1098
164
Q.
And what is that?
A.
Well, this is the list, the descriptive inventory, the
list of what was in each one of the boxes that was crated
and shipped to Israel.
Q.
And how many boxes?
A.
Two hundred and twenty something, I think.
Q.
I think it's on the front page, Mr. Tsimhoni.
A.
Two hundred twenty-eight pieces.
Q.
All right.
10
A.
At one point, we considered to take the car with us as
11
well, to move the car to Israel as well.
12
Q.
All right.
13
A.
Yes.
14
15
But did you eventually sell both cars?
MS. MCMILLAN:
Your Honor, I move to admit
Exhibit 116.
16
MR. GOELMAN:
No objection.
17
THE COURT:
18
PX #116 received at 2:24 p.m.)
Received.
19
BY MS. MCMILLAN:
20
Q.
21
correct?
22
A.
Yes.
23
Q.
And that was a one-way ticket?
24
A.
Yes.
25
Q.
And again, I don't want to spend too much time talking
All right.
So then the family flew to Israel; is that
That's correct.
Pg ID 1099
165
about this.
But you did take the initiative to take
advantage of some discounts that would be available for --
A.
Yes.
Q.
-- returning residents?
A.
Yes.
Q.
Before, in November of '08, when you had gone ahead
and started the job in Israel, did you apply for returning
residency status?
A.
Yes, I did.
So the process was there was this special
10
deal I guess with the government, where you would, you
11
would register a name and get a number, and then go with
12
that number to the El Al Israeli Airlines and get a
13
substantially discounted ticket, especially for a one-way
14
ticket, this is a substantial discount.
15
Q.
16
special generally in society there, or is it more or less
17
an incentive to just give it a try?
18
A.
19
especially what's been called the "mind drain" from Israel.
20
Israel has been growing substantially in the last few
21
years, and a lot of scientists have come back to Israel,
22
using this, based on this program.
23
scientists.
24
Q.
25
that was taken on September 9th, 2009, this ticket was
Does the returning residency status mean anything
Well, it's an incentive to repatriate.
A lot of --
But it's not limited to
It's for everybody who wanted to come.
All right.
And so in connection then with the flight
Pg ID 1100
166
purchased by you?
A.
Yes.
Q.
And then in the names of your wife and children as
returning residents; is that correct?
A.
is I, like I said, I actually did not need to register
because it was already the family was moving back.
Maya was registered, and the kids were on her name.
Yes.
That's correct.
So what I did for this return
I bought the tickets.
So only
I also had to buy tickets
10
from Detroit to New York, as El Al only provided the
11
discount on that part.
12
tickets in preparation.
13
Q.
14
many suitcases were packed on that flight?
15
A.
Twelve.
16
Q.
And what was in the suitcases?
17
A.
Yeah.
18
we thought we would need right away, or there was a lot of
19
-- Maya went and bought a lot of, a lot of clothes, new
20
clothes that we could ship to Israel and use them.
21
didn't want to send them in a crate.
22
Q.
23
24
are?
25
A.
All right.
I bought those
So you flew together as a family.
How
Clothes and kids' --
Clothes, toys, a lot of stuff that we, either
All right.
Yes.
So I did all that.
We
Showing you what's been marked as

Can you tell us what those sheets
This is a receipt from El Al for the flight
Pg ID 1101
167
tickets.
Q.
And what are the other pages?
A.
Yes.
go through in order to set the returning resident status as
far as the tickets.
6
7
There's several pages.
They talk about the process that El Al needs to
MS. MCMILLAN:
Your Honor, I move for admission
of Exhibit 106.
MR. GOELMAN:
THE COURT:
10
No objection.
Received.
11
BY MS. MCMILLAN:
12
Q.
13
she objected to your classification of her in getting the
14
tickets in the name of returning residents.
15
voice those objections to you?
16
A.
No, she did not.
17
Q.
Did she participate in any way?
18
A.
No.
19
much more stuff to do on my head than worry about this.
20
And this is, to me, it was administrative action, nothing
21
more than that.
22
Q.
23
the place to move?
24
A.
25
the beach.
Now, your wife had testified earlier this morning that
Did she ever
I just, I registered and got the tickets.
All right.
I had
Why did the two of you choose Ra'anana as
Well, my work is in Herzliya.
That's a city that's by
It has a lot of high tech, all the companies
Pg ID 1102
168
Microsoft, Google, HP have headquarters there.
of the high tech area in Israel.
minutes away from Herzliya.
It's kind
Ra'anana is about 20
And I have some people at work who live in
Ra'anana.
greenery, a lot of restaurants.
standard, high values.
be one of the best in the area, or in the country.
know who counts and how, but it's considered to be a good
10
It's a, it's a nice city.
education system.
11
It has a lot of
People of relatively high
The school system is considered to

I don't
So those were the pros.
We also considered Haifa as a possibility,
12
because that's where Maya's parents live.
But that would
13
have meant about an hour and 15 commute at least for me,
14
everyday, each direction.
15
be closer so that we could try to establish more of a
16
family picture to the kids, so they would see both parents
17
and not just see Maya and have me, you know, see me only on
18
the weekends.
19
Q.
20
of any other city?
21
A.
22
Tel Aviv, of the Tel Aviv metropolitan.
23
don't know, maybe a million people or more than that.
24
a lot of cities, smaller cities around it.
25
big stretch of suburban area.
And we decided that we wanted to
And is Ra'anana a stand-alone city or is it a suburb
Well, it is a city, but it practically is a suburb of

So Tel Aviv has, I
And
It's kind of a
And Ra'anana is one of
Pg ID 1103
169
the -- the houses there are more, on one hand more
expensive, on the other hand, there's still a lot of green
and a lot of open --
Q.
For example --
A.
-- space.
Q.
-- do you know what the value of the house that you
lived in would be?
A.
million shekels, which would translate to about a million
Yeah.
So they are asking for about 5 or 5 and a half
10
and a quarter, a million.
11
Q.
Is that for both parts of the duplex --
12
A.
No.
13
Q.
-- or just for your side?
14
A.
That's for the part that we are living in.
15
Q.
All right.
16
That's for --
MS. MCMILLAN:
Your Honor, I just presented the
17
witness with Exhibit 119.
18
BY MS. MCMILLAN:
19
Q.
Could you take a look at that?
20
A.
Yes.
21
Q.
And this is just information that I got off the
22
internet on Ra'anana.
23
accurate representation of what you know?
24
A.
Yes.
25
Q.
Yeah.
But does it seem to be a fair and
It's, granted this is from the internet.

But you have personal experience in Ra'anana?
Pg ID 1104
Yeah.
A.
picture here is a little bit, that's not the part -- we
lived in western Ra'anana, which is more like one private
entrance houses, more affluent.
little bit more of the, the center of the city.
not as nice.
7
8
Absolutely.
170
MS. MCMILLAN:
And I think maybe the picture, the
And the picture here is a
All right.
So it's
Your Honor, I move to
admit Exhibit 119.
THE COURT:
Did you show Counsel?
10
MS. MCMILLAN:
11
MR. GOELMAN:
Yes.
He's aware of it.
We have no objection to its
12
admission.
13
objecting, concede that it's authoritative or any --
14
It's a Wikipedia article.
MS. MCMILLAN:
No.
15
that reason either, Judge.
16
little bit background.
17
THE COURT:
18
MS. MCMILLAN:
19
THE COURT:
20
And we don't, by not
And I don't present it for

It just kind of gives it a
Illustrative.
Exactly.
It's my first time receiving a
Wikipedia article.
21
MS. MCMILLAN:
You know, there's a first time for
22
everything, Judge.
23
giving him a photocopy of the Encyclopedia Britannica
24
Malta.
25
THE COURT:
I did have a judge once thank me for
On what?
Pg ID 1105
MS. MCMILLAN:
Malta.
that.
area in my cases, your Honor.
171
And I always remembered
And I always try to get a little something on the
BY MS. MCMILLAN:
Q.
that's what your testimony was.
A.
Yes.
Q.
I don't mean to mischaracterize or put words in your
All right.
So you two discussed the location then;
10
mouth.
11
described some difficulties that she felt in those
12
temporary settings.
13
There were some temporary locations.
Your wife had
How long a period are we talking about, from the
14
time you landed in Israel and moved into the house on
15
Hegalim Street?
16
A.
Three weeks.
17
Q.
And where did you stay at that time?
18
summarize what those --
19
A.
During those three weeks?
20
Q.
Yeah, what those places were like.
21
elaboration.
22
A.
23
was a -- it's called luxury apartments or something like
24
that.
25
or four rooms, I'm sorry, three bedrooms in a --
Okay.
And just quickly
No great
So this is -- I found it on the internet.
This
The first week, we were at one apartment, had three
Pg ID 1106
172
Q.
Would it be like, if I may interrupt, would it be like
an apartment hotel?
A.
apartment in an apartment building, and that apartment is
being rented out.
Q.
Oh, I see.
A.
But everything in that apartment is very high end.
somebody took a lot of care to make it seem like a real
hotel.
It was like somebody's, somebody's house, somebody's
Oh, okay.
So
10
Q.
Were they furnished?
11
A.
Yes.
12
Q.
And how many of those did you stay in?
13
A.
So we stayed in --
14
Q.
During those three weeks?
15
A.
So we stayed at one.
16
another one, because there was not -- this one was already
17
booked for the rest of the time.
18
days, we were -- our signing our contract for the house was
19
delayed for the, for the reasons mentioned earlier.
And so
20
we had, so we had to move out of that second house.
And
21
then we stayed at a hotel for one night.
22
parents' house for two or three nights and then we moved.
23
Q.
24
Street?
25
A.
They were fully furnished.
All right.
And then we had to move to
Then there were a few
We stayed at my
And that was to the house on Hegalim
Yes.
Pg ID 1107
173
Q.
And I think your wife discussed that lease, if I
recall correctly.
Exhibit 107.
A.
Okay.
Q.
And can you tell me what that is?
A.
This is the lease that we signed with the landlords on
the house.
Q.
the signature of your wife?
All right.
Yes.
I'm going to show you Plaintiff's
And does it bear both your signature and
10
A.
It has four signatures, the two of us and the
11
two of them.
12
Q.
All right.
13
A.
We would pay 8,500 shekels, we would pay the
14
additional, additional expenses on the house.
15
Q.
16
dollars?
17
A.
$2,200 right now.
18
Q.
Okay.
19
A.
And we would, we would lease it for until the end of
20
the year, 11 months, with an option to extend for another
21
year.
22
Q.
We don't need to know about those --
23
A.
You don't need to know about those.
24
Q.
-- necessarily.
25
A.
No.
And the terms, just generally, were what?
What does that convert to, approximately in U.S.
There was -- there were a lot of clauses.
Pg ID 1108
And when did you move in?
174
Q.
Good.
What day?
A.
Well, we got the house, we got the keys on the first
of October.
Q.
Thank you.
A.
And we kind of moved, I think the 3rd of October was
our first night there, but I'm not sure.
Q.
everybody together?
A.
Yes.
10
Q.
All right.
And did the entire family move in at one time,
11
MS. MCMILLAN:
Your Honor, I move to admit
12
Plaintiff's Exhibit 107, please.
13
MR. GOELMAN:
No objection, your Honor.
14
THE COURT:
15
Received.
16
BY MS. MCMILLAN:
17
Q.
18
rooms arranged?
19
was that space shared among the family members, please?
20
A.
21
lots of flowers on it.
22
trees.
23
The family --
24
Q.
How many bedrooms inside?
25
A.
The bedrooms inside, so first of all, the first floor,
Just briefly describe the house, too.
How were the
How many rooms, how many bathrooms?
How
So it has a private entrance with a gate, gate with

You enter the gate, there's lots of
It's very green.
There's a large, very large door.
Pg ID 1109
175
there's a family room with, with an opening to, to a very
large, well, not very large, but to a large garden.
are stairs that go up to the kitchen to the dining room.
And then upstairs, there's the bedrooms.
bedrooms on the, on the kind of second floor.
large bed, master bedroom with closets and an additional
bathroom.
window facing only, only inside with lots of trees and
things.
There
They were three

And another
Oh, inside the house, there's this kind of a
10
Q.
I think we call that an atrium.
11
A.
An atrium.
12
Q.
Does that sound right?
13
A.
Okay.
14
Q.
Did the children have their own rooms?
15
rooms assigned to the children?
16
A.
17
room.
18
another, another room.
19
Q.
And who negotiated the lease?
20
A.
We, at first, Maya and I talked to the, to the
21
landlords.
22
them, they were, they were kind of very rigid with a lot of
23
their requirements.
Yeah.
How were the
The children, the two children, Liam and Roee shared a
24
25
Okay.
Natalie had her own room, and Maya and I had
While we -- when we received the contracts from
Maya asked her aunt Nava, who is an attorney, to

help.
She, she did not agree to many of the terms in
Pg ID 1110
176
there.
And she suggested that she provide a, a contract
instead.
all of her tenants, because she owns some houses and she
rents them to them.
standard contracts.
Q.
October?
A.
Yes.
Q.
What were the children doing?
Okay.
This is a standard contract that she uses with
So she would give us this, this
Now, you moved in around the beginning of
What are their lives
10
like in the three weeks before you moved in?
11
activities did they do?
12
actually, at the time?
13
A.
14
-- we visited with the families a lot.
15
baby about that time.
16
Haifa, from Ra'anana to Haifa.
17
renewed some connections with family in the area.
18
still at work that time.
19
would take the car and she would either be with her aunt or
20
uncle, or go to the beach.
21
flexible or variable.
22
Q.
23
long did the holiday season last?
24
A.
25
10th, about the 9th.
Yeah.
What was going on in town,
So this was a holiday season.
All right.
What
And so we were
Maya's sister had a
So we were back and forth to the

Her family visited us.
We
I was
So that's when, you know, Maya
This was I think very, very
And then once the children came in, how
So the holiday season was just about until October

I don't remember the dates off, where
Pg ID 1111
177
Sukkoth finishes.
But until that time, it was just on and
off holidays, Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur, Sukkoth, so.
Q.
One after the other?
A.
Yeah.
Q.
Were schools closed during that particular time?
A.
So schools are closed during that particular time, but
work places are not, especially not the high tech industry.
Q.
furnished?
When you moved into the house, was the house already
10
A.
No.
11
Q.
All right.
12
furnished in the interim before the sea crate arrived?
13
A.
14
tables and chairs in there that we used.
15
and bought some -- I went to Ikea and bought some stuff for
16
the kitchen.
17
with some of the blankets and things like that.
18
inflatable mattresses, and we had our luggage that we
19
brought with us.
20
Q.
When did the crate arrive?
21
A.
I don't recall the date.
22
Q.
Can you remember approximately when?
23
A.
Yes, about mid-October.
24
Q.
Did you have to take any steps to get the container
25
released?
How did you occupy the house and have it
We just had -- well, there was, there were a couple of

We went to Ikea
We brought some stuff, Maya's family helped

We had
I'm sorry.
Pg ID 1112
178
A.
Yes, we did.
Q.
What were those?
A.
We had to, first of all, we had to pay.
the, the moving company quite a bit of money, somewhere on
the order of $10,000.
to release it from Customs.
from Customs, was what we did is, actually, all of us went
to the Customs building, and we had our passports signed
that would allow us to get a discount or exemptions, sorry,
We had to pay
And we had to, in order to -- we had

And in order to release it
10
from the Customs.
11
Q.
12
this?
13
A.
14
house is.
15
away, I photocopied the passports.
16
exemptions, and I sent it out to the company.
17
next, the day after next, they arrived.
18
the boxes.
19
Q.
20
container?
21
A.
22
stuff.
23
to see the piano.
24
boxes and see their books, see their toys.
25
amazed at seeing kind of their house being replicated in
All right.
Yeah.
And you said as a family, you went and did
We all went to Holong is where the Customs

And that's where we got it stamped.
And right
I photocopied our, the

And the
They brought all
How did the children react to the arrival of the
The children were very, very happy to see all their

They were happy to see the boxes.
They were happy
They were happy to, to open some of the

They were
Pg ID 1113
179
Israel with all the tables they knew, all the, you know,
everything that they had known before.
they were very happy.
Q.
enrolled in school?
A.
one.
registered him and we sent him to school.
two schools.
And I would say
And did there come a time when the children got
Yes.
The children were enrolled, kind of went one by
We enrolled Liam first immediately after Sukkoth.
We
We considered
One was kind of the obvious one, and that's
10
the one we went to, which is an arts, arts and music
11
school.
12
registered for that entire time.
That's the school of which he, which he was
13
After that, we started looking for kindergartens.
14
For Roee, we went and looked for, together, to about three
15
or four, I believe Maya may have looked at even a few more
16
than that.
17
however, that was fully booked.
18
coordinator that -- all these took a few days each.
19
went to the coordinator and we asked her if she could
20
perhaps let us put both of the kids in that school that we
21
really wanted for the kids.
22
she said oh, we can -- one place actually cleared up.
23
we can put one of them in there.
24
25
And we decided on one that we really wanted;

And so we went to the
We
It was, it was surprising that

So
We talked about the other with her about what we

would do with the other child.
She suggested that we go to
Pg ID 1114
180
another school for that other child.
that child becomes -- so when Natalie becomes of
kindergarten age, she could move to the school Roee was at.
Q.
in?
A.
All right.
And so what school did Liam get enrolled
Liam was at Yahdav.
COURT REPORTER:
THE WITNESS:
She said that when
Can you spell that, please?
Y-A-H-D-A-V is the translation.
BY MS. MCMILLAN:
10
Q.
And do you know the date in which he was enrolled?
11
A.
About October 13th.
12
Q.
Okay.
13
A.
So this, what I was describing right now happened from
14
about October 15th until October 25th or so.
15
Q.
All right.
16
A.
And that's when Roee was enrolled.
17
Q.
And in what school?
18
A.
He was first enrolled in Hardoof, H-A-R-D-O-O-F, for a
19
few days.
20
Q.
And at what time was she enrolled?
21
A.
The same time.
22
Q.
All right.
23
as Plaintiff's Exhibit 8.
24
what that is?
25
A.
And what about Roee?
Natalie was enrolled at Sayfan, S-A-Y-F-A-N.

Can you take a look and tell us
So this is a confirmation that I received after Maya
Pg ID 1115
181
took the kids from these, from the schools, from the
Ministry of, I'm sorry, from the municipality that the kids
had been registered for school for that entire year.
Q.
Is there one document per child?
A.
Yes.
Q.
And which comes first?
A.
Liam is first, and Roee is second, and Natalie is
third.
9
10
MS. MCMILLAN:
Your Honor, I move Exhibit 108 for
admission.
11
MR. GOELMAN:
I'm sorry, what number is that?
12
THE COURT:
13
MS. MCMILLAN:
14
MR. GOELMAN:
15
THE COURT:
16
108.
108, the school registrations.
No objection.
Received.
17
BY MS. MCMILLAN:
18
Q.
19
had discussions with the kids, and the kids weren't really
20
keen on going to school and that, you know, she convinced
21
them it would be a fun adventure for the kids to do.
22
that your understanding of the school enrollments?
23
A.
24
schools.
25
were coming in the afternoon.
Now, your wife has testified earlier today that she
Absolutely not.
Absolutely not.
Is
The kids were in
They were going to school in the morning.
They
It was like, like regular
Pg ID 1116
182
school that they had known in other places.
There was no, there was no -- there were no
discounts or anything like that that, as far as how they
went there.
leave in the morning, usually a little bit frantically to
get there on time, usually together.
any such behavior that was described before.
Q.
that they were dissatisfied with school or didn't want to
They did not object going there.
We would
I never saw any such,
So they never, the children never mentioned to you
10
go to school or hated school or any of that?
11
A.
12
was there to see -- I've seen these kids in the past object
13
to going to school.
14
objected to go to school in Michigan, at one point or
15
another.
16
think that if they had objected to go to school in Israel,
17
that would have been abnormal.
18
was actually surprised by that, but they never objected.
19
Q.
And what was Liam's school curriculum; if you know?
20
A.
Kind of a standard Ministry of Education curriculum.
21
He had math, he had English, he had sports, he had arts, he
22
had free selection, a few items.
23
English classes, he would leave and go to the English for
24
developed, for advanced English class.
25
classes in which he would go and take the Hebrew tutoring,
They did not mention it and I did not observe that.
Each one of these three kids have
That's, that's absolutely normal.
And I don't
But they did not object.
He had English.
During
And then he had
Pg ID 1117
183
as was mentioned before.
Q.
Exhibit 122.
A.
curriculums that the teacher would hand out at the
beginning of each week.
but what page numbers on the books they would be going
over, whether there would be homework, whether they would
be exams and such.
I'm going to show you what I've marked as Plaintiff's
Yes.
Can you tell us what that is, please?
This is a translation of some of the weekly
And it lists not only the topics
10
Q.
Is that just applicable to Liam?
11
A.
Yes, Liam and classmates.
12
13
MS. MCMILLAN:
Your Honor, I move for admission
of Exhibit 122.
14
MR. GOELMAN:
No objection, your Honor.
15
THE COURT:
16
Received.
17
BY MS. MCMILLAN:
18
Q.
19
school days and their school curriculum?
20
A.
21
with Liam.
22
a week, I would drop them with Maya.
23
with one of the children, and then we would be with them.
24
They had a lot of activities that had to do with
25
And what do you know about the younger children's
So I stayed more time with the younger children than

Usually I, I -- well, like I said, a few times
We would each walk
nature, a lot of activities had to do with the holidays,
Pg ID 1118
184
the upcoming Hanukah holiday.
And they had recycling, they
had toys, and with which they played.
that Roee liked to play.
built a dreidel together from Lego he was very proud of,
and probably is still standing there somewhere because the
teacher thought it was very cute.
They had stations.
then, you know, work on that station specific thing you
wanted to work on.
They had a computer
They had Lego.
We built, we
They had a lot of art.
So you would come to the station and
10
Q.
And they were, again, six days a week in their program
11
as well?
12
A.
Yes.
13
Q.
And we're speaking of Roee and?
14
A.
Six days a week both for Roee and Natalie.
15
Q.
And what are your observations and what personal
16
knowledge do you have about how the children progressed?
17
Let's start with Liam, how he progressed in the few months
18
that he was in Israel, in school.
19
A.
20
up.
21
opened up to friends.
They were six --
Well, I think that the main thing is that he opened

He opened up to everybody.
He opened up to family, he
22
We used to joke that he has a little bit of hot
23
pepper inside, and that it's coming out, but it's coming
24
out.
25
Q.
It wasn't there before.

Who made that joke?
Pg ID 1119
185
A.
Liam and I.
Q.
Okay.
A.
And he was much more energetic.
think that's the main thing that I saw, that he had his
parents with him, his family with him.
support in Haifa, the cousins, the friends, the warmth.
thought he was just flourishing.
not only myself, but also our neighbors, also Maya talked
about that, talk about that to people.
He was -- well, I
to my mother, I heard that saying that.
11
main thing.
She said that to,

And so that's the
In addition to that, he was very curious.
13
was a very curious child.
14
learn.
15
about the linguistics of Hebrew.
16
all that stuff.
17
And I've heard actually
10
12
He had the family
He opened books.
He wanted to learn about Hebrew.
Liam
He wanted to
He asked question
He wanted to understand
And I have always, both Maya and I have always
18
given him, answered whatever questions he asked at the
19
level at which, at which we thought is appropriate, perhaps
20
higher than what, what a child of third year old kid would
21
need.
22
improved, his social skills improved.
23
Q.
24
or remarks, reports?
25
A.
But we've talked about that.
What about school grades?
Yeah.
So his language skills
Did he receive any grades
I recall he had, I seen -- I've seen primarily
Pg ID 1120
186
math exams, where one of them he received a grade of 1,000,
which I recall, out of 100.
math.
of himself.
about that as well.
THE COURT:
Yeah.
He was very good at
He did make some mistakes and he kind very critical

And so I remember that, him talking to me
I'm not quite as good as math.
How
do you get a score of 1,000 out of 100?
THE WITNESS:
THE COURT:
Impossible, huh?
Did you misstate that?
10
THE WITNESS:
11
THE COURT:
12
THE WITNESS:
No.
This was, this was --
Extra credit or something like that?

Yeah.
This was, it just meant a
13
hundred and it was, yeah, it was a hundred out of a
14
hundred.
15
MS. MCMILLAN:
16
THE WITNESS:
17
THE COURT:
With an "A" plus plus?

"A" plus I think.
Okay.
18
BY MS. MCMILLAN:
19
Q.
20
Okay.
I'm going to show you what's been marked as
21
MS. MCMILLAN:
22
MR. GOELMAN:
23
MS. MCMILLAN:
Do you have that one, Mr. Goelman?

No.
Let me show it to you.
24
one I think we just printed out this morning.
25
missing, 134.
It's the
It's a page
This one we have not stipulated to.
Pg ID 1121
MR. GOELMAN:
187
Yeah.
BY MS. MCMILLAN:
Q.
Okay.
A.
Yes.
the, by the school, by Liam's school after we asked for
their assessment of Liam's stay at the school.
Mr. Tsimhoni, can you tell us what that is?

So this is a, a letter that was sent to us by
And this was handed to both -- well, this was
sent to both Maya and me, as far as I understand, by his
school.
They were -- Maya's -- I was told -- I don't know
10
if I'm -- if this is okay to say.
11
Q.
Go ahead.
12
A.
I was told by the principal that Maya's aunt was there
13
asking for -- asking questions.
14
was the grandmother.
15
she asked for some information.
16
Say it.
She said first that she
Then she said she was the aunt.
And
And the principal checked with her legal, and
17
they said that it's okay, but they would send a letter to
18
both sides.
19
Q.
20
was the nature of the questions, please?
21
A.
22
school, what they thought about their -- about his status
23
as far how well was he doing, did he communicate at all,
24
did he know Hebrew, what language did he study at, things
25
like that.
Okay.
And this is the letter we received.

And what is the content of the letter?
What
Well, we asked, we asked about Liam's status in
Pg ID 1122
188
Q.
And what were the responses?
A.
Well, the teacher, he started in October.
day there was December 11th before the Hanukah.
His last
She mentioned that he missed a week, five days
for, for a possible flu, and another day where the mother
didn't feel so well and could not bring them; that he
didn't attend Hanukah party.
8
9
10
MR. GOELMAN:
reads an entire document that not admitted into evidence,

may I be heard?
11
12
Your Honor, before the witness
THE COURT:
Do you intend to admit this as an
exhibit?
13
MS. MCMILLAN:
14
THE COURT:
15
THE WITNESS:
16
MS. MCMILLAN:
17
THE COURT:
18
MR. GOELMAN:
Yes, I do, your Honor.
What's the number?

134.
134.
Mr. Goelman?
We made repeated approaches to the
19
municipality in Ra'anana Ministry of Education.
20
were repeated, by a lawyer representing the defendant in
21
Israel, we were told we would not get anything from them
22
without a court order, did not receive this.
23
they refused to talk to us and referred us to the legal
24
advisor to the Ministry of Education.
25
And we
Everyone,
So it's -- I don't necessarily care that much if
Pg ID 1123
189
the Court sees this, but it's a letter.
notarized.
them to have access to one universe of evidence, and for us
not to have it.
It's hearsay.
THE COURT:
It's not
And it's completely unfair for
Well, I think your argument is the
Court should not accord much weight to it, under the
circumstances?
8
9
MR. GOELMAN:
That's better put.
I actually
don't necessarily object to the Court seeing it.
But I
10
want the Court to know the circumstances under which one
11
side has access to evidence, the other side doesn't.
12
THE COURT:
So I think that Mr. Goelman has said
13
he does not object to the admission of the Exhibit 134 for
14
the plaintiff, right?
15
16
MS. MCMILLAN:
I won't even go further with my,
my side of it.
17
THE COURT:
Do you want it?
18
MS. MCMILLAN:
I was going to say under 11605,
19
authentication is not required, your Honor.
20
going to admit it, I will go forward.
21
THE COURT:
22
MS. MCMILLAN:
23
24
BY MS. MCMILLAN:
25
Q.
But if you're
I just did.
Move, yes, with the admission.
Let's see if we can just finish up with, I'm curious
Pg ID 1124
190
to know what, say in paragraphs 9 through 11, for example,
dealing with his social life in class and his academic
progress.
A.
Could you please read that, Mr. Tsimhoni, aloud?
Yeah.
MS. MCMILLAN:
And, your Honor, just for the
record, it is in translation, both in Hebrew and English
translation.
8
9
THE WITNESS:
Well, it says he was registered and
accepted as a regular student not for a limited period of
10
time; that he studied in class C2 which has 35 children in
11
it.
12
BY MS. MCMILLAN:
13
Q.
Nine through 11?
14
A.
Oh, I'm sorry.
15
Q.
Mh-hm.
16
A.
He acclimatized well in class, acquired many friends,
17
was social and communicative -- communicative.
18
excellent achievements in English and math.
19
Hebrew with a teacher in Ra'anana in studio.
20
without spoken or written English, and acquired reading and
21
writing with amazing speed.
22
It talks about whether or not he was absent.
MR. GOELMAN:
He made
He learned
Arrived
I'm sorry, your Honor.
I believe
23
he misread, "arrived without spoken English."
24
arrived without spoken or written language under Hebrew.
25
THE COURT:
Is that right?
It says,
Pg ID 1125
191
THE WITNESS:
Arrived without spoken and written
MR. GOELMAN:
Thank you.
THE WITNESS:
I'm sorry.
THE COURT:
THE WITNESS:
language.
Okay.
Go ahead.
Acquired reading and writing with
amazing speed.
Liam's very high learning ability --
BY MS. MCMILLAN:
Q.
Can you slow down a little bit?
10
A.
I'm sorry.
11
Q.
Read it a little slower.
12
A.
Liam is a sociable child, was invited and went over to
13
friends and had class friends over.
14
Hebrew, but managed to communicate with the children in an
15
awe-inspiring way.
16
preliminary level and reading, writing and speech.
17
Q.
18
the letter?
19
A.
It says he had a week, five days of absence.
20
Q.
We did that already.
21
A.
We did that?
22
Q.
Yeah.
23
A.
I do want to mention here about this, that I recall
24
that Liam had these, at first he had these very tough
25
reading tasks.
Yes.
Liam did not speak
He wrote Hebrew at the studio level,
And what did it say about absences, towards the top of

I think they address that.
And the teacher gave him a special reading
Pg ID 1126
task that he would practice on.
being able to read that.
before.
192
And he was very proud of
I think Maya mentioned that
My understanding from Liam, what Liam told me was
that after he read that, made that assignment in class,
everybody clapped, clapped as he was succeeding to make --
to read this.
secret girl admirers saying that he did so well in class
when he read that day.
He also received a letter from two of his
So I do not think the children were
10
ridiculing him for the amazing success at which he was
11
reading.
12
Q.
All right.
13
Thank you.
Did it come to pass that you obtained a similar
14
letter for Roee and Natalie?
15
A.
16
need a court order.
17
requirement, according to the legal system, because these
18
are two separate systems.
19
other one is the Ministry of Education.
20
we applied, we sent -- we applied for a court order that
21
required them to answer.
22
Q.
And what court did that order come from?
23
A.
The court in Kfar Saba.
24
Q.
Kfar Saba.
25
Yes.
For this, for this letter, we did need, we did

For the other one, that was not the
One is the municipality and the

So for this one,
Let me show you what's been marked as
Pg ID 1127
1
2
MS. MCMILLAN:
MR. GOELMAN:
MS. MCMILLAN:
MR. GOELMAN:
The English translation, exactly,
Okay.
Your Honor, may I be heard
on this exhibit?
THE COURT:
MR. GOELMAN:
10
The English translation.
yesterday.
6
7
Mr. Goelman, that was Exhibit 16
in Hebrew to our motion for summary judgment.
193
Yes.
We actually would object to this.
I think this is one step too far.
11
First of all, it's double hearsay.
It is what
12
the principal reports having heard from one of the
13
teachers.
14
Convention case.
15
Eibschitz-Tsimhoni didn't recognize the court in Israel, we
16
were unable to get a court order to get these documents.
17
According to the Convention, you can get them for under
18
Article 13.
19
Second of all, it is an improper use of a Hague

They, because Ms. Eibschitz-Tsimhoni, Dr.
It's improper just to have a case open in Israel
20
for the purpose of conducting discovery into habitual
21
residence.
22
violation of Hague Convention Article 13 grounds.
23
So we object on hearsay grounds and in
THE COURT:
I'll put aside for the moment the
24
hearsay question.
And tell me what you think, Ms.
25
McMillan, about the Convention.
Pg ID 1128
MS. MCMILLAN:
194
Under 42 USC 11605, your Honor,
anything that's related to this action, it has been
submitted as an attachment to this action, is admissible.
The authentication is not required.
5
6
THE COURT:
So there's no basis to what Mr.
Goelman suggests then, according to you?
MS. MCMILLAN:
Well, we know that in forming an
opinion on habitual residence, that school is, in the Sixth
Circuit, one of the primary considerations.
And these
10
children were enrolled in school.
11
testified that the children had a horrible experience in
12
school.
13
And the mother has
And this document, which is authenticated through
14
11605, in other words, not really needing any
15
authentication, is one which we obtained --
16
THE COURT:
A better way of saying that is it is
17
unauthenticated but still, according to you, capable of
18
being received under 11605, right?
19
MS. MCMILLAN:
20
THE COURT:
21
22
23
Yes.
It's an unauthenticated, but not
objectionable document?
MS. MCMILLAN:
Well, it requires no
authentication.
24
THE COURT:
And it remains unauthenticated?
25
MS. MCMILLAN:
Yes, it does actually.
You're
Pg ID 1129
195
right, yes.
THE COURT:
It seems to me some documents that
require no authentication may, however, have authentication
associated with them.
MS. MCMILLAN:
THE COURT:
MS. MCMILLAN:
Yes.
That's correct.
This is not one of those.

That's correct.
That's right,
your Honor.
THE COURT:
Okay.
Then the hearsay question.
10
The document comprises the principal reciting what he was
11
told?
12
MS. MCMILLAN:
13
THE COURT:
14
MS. MCMILLAN:
15
THE COURT:
By the teachers.
By the teachers?
Yes, it does.
According to the answer to this
16
question is yes, according to what I was told by the
17
teacher, the answer to the question is no?
18
MS. MCMILLAN:
19
THE COURT:
20
Of what real value any information
such as that --
21
MS. MCMILLAN:
22
THE COURT:
23
MS. MCMILLAN:
24
THE COURT:
25
Exactly.
To the extent --
-- unexplained yeses and nos.

Oh, I'm sorry?
Of what value is this kind
information consisting of unexplained yeses and nos?
Pg ID 1130
MS. MCMILLAN:
There are explanations involved.
THE COURT:
examine on those.
BY MS. MCMILLAN:
Q.
here then?
A.
We asked her who she is.
10
They are not just yes and nos.
Well, let's see.
All right, Mr. Tsimhoni.
Yeah.
196
Go ahead and
Can you tell what we have
So this, this is the response of Hanita Dror.

She's the manager of the
kindergarten department at the city of Ra'anana.
11
When did she meet -- when did you first meet the
12
parents of the children, Roee and Natalie?
13
meeting was held on October 26.
14
The first
This is the meeting, okay.
What did the parents tell you during that
15
meeting?
16
together at Hardoof, H-A-R-D-U-F, kindergarten.
17
The parents requested to place Roee and Nathalie
Do you want me to go over all of this or.
18
Q.
I want to know about the children's acclimatization
19
issues, their socialization, how they progressed.
20
they comfortable?
21
Are there any of the things there that would be probative
22
of the children's experience in the schools?
23
A.
24
usually the mother brought the kids in the morning, and it
25
was also she who picked them up.
Were
Did they complain about being in school?
Well, it says that from inquiry with the teacher,
Sometimes they arrived
Pg ID 1131
197
together, meaning the father and mother arrived together.
From inquiry with the teacher, the mother had a
very good relationship with the team, and did not tell of
any problems.
the morning from an inquiry with the teacher.
And there's no problem with separation in
There's some yes/no questions here.
Did the
kindergarten staff believe the children were to be in any
distress, et cetera.
no.
And for all of them, the question is
10
Q.
All right.
11
A.
Asking about any indication -- I'm sorry, that's not
12
on there.
13
14
Did the mother tell of any absorption problems?

No.
15
Were they absent to an irregular degree?
16
said that they were absent to an irregular extent, probably
17
due to the flu and partly for unknown reasons.
18
When they were sick, were others sick, children
19
sick, too?
20
in the kindergarten were also sick.
21
It was
From when they had the flu, many other children
It was my understanding from talking to, to
22
this -- to Hanita, that the teacher was not allowed to, to
23
give any, any information except through her.
24
the process that she suggested, that the Court, I'm sorry,
25
that the legal advisor suggested that should be taken.
And that was
Pg ID 1132
1
2
MS. MCMILLAN:
THE COURT:
MS. MCMILLAN:
THE COURT:
Number?
Exhibit 133.
Any additional objection other than
what you've already stated?
MR. GOELMAN:
THE COURT:
Your Honor, I'm going to move for
admission.
198
No, just what I stated, your Honor.
I will receive the exhibit and
evaluate its weight accordingly.
10
MS. MCMILLAN:
11
12
BY MS. MCMILLAN:
13
Q.
14
children had become ill.
15
A.
Yeah.
16
Q.
And your wife had mentioned it, as well.
17
medical treatment for them when they were ill, you and your
18
wife?
19
A.
Yes, we did.
20
Q.
All right.
21
children recover?
22
A.
23
days for the first sickness and for, for Natalie, the
24
second one took a few days, several days.
25
Q.
Mr. Tsimhoni, you mentioned the illness that the
Yes.
Did you seek
And was the treatment successful?
The recovery was immediate.
Did the
It was probably two
Do you have health insurance for the children in
Pg ID 1133
199
Israel?
A.
through my work, and but the basic insurance we went -- we
did not have.
We had a -- we went to a private doctor.
Q.
had for the children out of pocket then, when you were in
Israel?
A.
Yes.
10
Q.
All right.
11
your part?
12
A.
13
is kind of complicated.
14
not in Israel for a while, it takes some time to get that.
15
It took me about eight months to get my medical insurance.
16
The same would have probably been the case for Maya, had
17
she stayed.
18
Q.
19
children?
20
A.
21
new site in Israel, we were offered this new, new program
22
for all of the employees for dental insurance.
23
that's something that we got through work.
24
Q.
25
over and see what other aspects the child's -- children's
Right now, we have just the supplemental insurance
All right.
We had the private insurance.
I'm sorry.
So you paid the medical expenses that you
Was there a plan to get any insurance on
Yes, there was a plan.
For returning citizens, this
People who are coming -- who were
And did you have any dental insurance programs for the
Yes.
So somewhere towards November, because we were a
And that's,
I don't want to take too long on this, but let's go
Pg ID 1134
lives in Israel amounted to.
acclimatization and degree of settled purpose.
200
The judge is looking for the
The family, who in the family, in your family and
in your wife's family is present in Israel?
A.
and their children are in Haifa.
and aunts and uncles in Israel.
did saw -- see all over them.
saw a few of them more regularly than others.
10
Maya has parents, two sisters -- two married sisters,

Maya has a lot of cousins
I can't count them.
We
We saw a few of them and she
My parents were not in Israel at the time.
My
11
two brothers, one of them is married and has two kids.
12
my -- I have two, three uncles and aunts with grown-up
13
kids, cousins, that I have.
14
Q.
All right.
15
A.
I, I don't have family in the United States, except
16
temporarily my, my mother and dad are northeast right now.
17
And
That's the family in Israel.
And any family in the United States?
Maya has an uncle who had moved to the U.S. to
18
New Jersey many years ago, and has four grown-up cousins of
19
Maya, who live around the U.S.
20
or four more cousins who are in the U.S.
21
Q.
22
sites, we state, in the affidavit.
23
little bit about the visits to something like the Wailing
24
Wall, that was described so pointedly by Dr.
25
Eibschitz-Tsimhoni?
All right.
And she has probably three
You traveled with the children to several

Can you tell us a
What was your perspective on the trip?
Pg ID 1135
201
A.
We were very enthusiastic to go to Jerusalem.
meant a lot to both of us.
one Saturday morning, let's go.
until we got out of the house, but we did eventually drive
to Jerusalem.
It
We, I think we decided on that

It took us some hours
It's just an hour away.
We parked there.
We went as a group together.
We did see somebody who turned out to be a priest.
not recall saying anything that Maya mentioned that I said.
I did not say anything about not talking to Christians or
10
I do
whatever that was supposed to mean.
11
We continued to go to the Wailing Wall.
And to
12
walk there, we walked through some -- through the markets.
13
When we got to the Wailing Wall, Maya took the children in
14
her hands and walked, walked away from me, towards the,
15
towards the women's section of the Wailing Wall.
16
asked her shouldn't we talk about this, something like
17
that.
18
So I stood there by myself, watching them.
19
segregated, the men's and the women's side.
And I
And she just kept walking, went away with the kids.
Because it's
20
I was insulted by the fact, not by the fact that
21
she went first, so she went with them, but I was insulted
22
by the fact that she chose to do that without asking me, as
23
if the kids were, were parcels that she's taking along with
24
her.
25
that.
She had done that before, and I felt insulted by
Pg ID 1136
All right.
202
Q.
children, and with Dr. Eibschitz-Tsimhoni?
A.
several times.
We went next to Haifa, there's some restaurants, nice
places down to Haifa.
we could have, we could have done more.
on vacation more, more often.
that even more on weekends.
Yeah.
Did you travel to other places with the
We went to, we went to the beach together,

We went to Jaffa, the old city of Jaffa.
So we were out and about.
I think
We could have been
And we were planning to do
10
Q.
What about the relationship between your children and
11
the maternal grandparents?
12
course of the time in Israel?
13
A.
That's Maya's parents?
14
Q.
Maternal, yes.
15
A.
Yes, it did develop.
16
grandfather made a real good connection with Liam.
17
always been connected well to Liam.
18
made a connection with Natalie, and she taught her to draw.
19
She was very close with her.
20
with the cousins more than he did with the grandparents.
21
He played around, especially with his cousin Liav.
22
Q.
23
in some synagogue services with his Grandpa Izy?
24
A.
Yeah.
25
Q.
When did that occur?
Did that develop during the
The, the, I think the

He had
And the grandmother
And Roee kind of connected
Now, you said in your affidavit that Liam participated
Pg ID 1137
203
A.
This was in Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur and Sukkoth,
we have those holidays.
dad.
stayed outside and talked with family members who were not
inside.
neighborhood which both us grew up, we met friends of ours,
especially Yom Kippur, everybody is on the streets.
met lots of friends that we had known before.
there and talked for several hours with them as the kids
We went to synagogue with Maya's
Maya's dad took the kids with him inside.
We all
Both on Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, this is the
We had
And we stood
10
were playing around with these new friends.
11
Q.
And did Liam make any friends?
12
A.
In Israel?
13
Q.
In Israel?
14
A.
Yes, Liam did make some friends.
15
Liam is a relatively reserved child.
16
Michigan, in Ann Arbor, he did not have a lot of friends,
17
but he did have some friends.
18
with several, several kids.
19
beginning relationship that could have lasted longer.
20
Mh-hm.
Like I said before,
And even here in
In Israel, he made friends
And this was a, this was a
Certainly for the few months that he was there,
21
he was making a lot of friends relative, relatively.
He
22
asked me about some of these friends at some of the phone
23
calls I had with him, and specifically at the meeting when
24
I met with them on January 13th -- 30th, he asked about
25
them.
He asked about some, Noam, that I didn't even know
Pg ID 1138
204
about, what, you know, he mentioned his name.
Q.
any contact with these children?
A.
Were you able to provide any information?
Do you have
No, I do not.
MR. GOELMAN:
Your Honor, I'm going to object to
things that postdate Dr. Eibschitz-Tsimhoni's return to the
United States.
well the kids are adapting in school here now.
think there is anything relevant about things that,
We're not going to offer evidence about how

I don't
10
conversations that Mr. Tsimhoni claims to have had with the
11
kids during his visitations.
12
THE COURT:
It's not impossible the things that
13
were said or revealed after the, after the trip back to the
14
U.S. might bear on the acclimatization.
15
there's a bright line there, Counsel.
16
you, at least not at this point, based on this question.
17
Go ahead, Ms. McMillan.
18
MS. MCMILLAN:
19
BY MS. MCMILLAN:
20
Q.
THE COURT:
for ten minutes?
23
24
25
I can't agree with
Thank you.
Mr. Tsimhoni --
21
22
I don't think
When would you like to take a recess,
When?
MS. MCMILLAN:
Oh, right now is good.
Now would
be great.
THE COURT:
Let's take a recess for ten minutes.
Pg ID 1139
THE CLERK:
(Recess taken from 3:34 p.m. to 3:45 p.m.)
THE CLERK:
All rise.
205
All rise.
Court is in recess.
Court is now in session.
Be seated.
THE COURT:
Go ahead.
BY MS. MCMILLAN:
Q.
Your family was in Israel in Hegalim Street.
anything, happened on December 12th, 2009?
Mr. Tsimhoni, let's go back to early December 2009.

What, if
10
A.
December 12th, we were supposed to go to Haifa, to a
11
Bat Mitzvah party to one of my cousin's, and to a birthday
12
party of one of our kids' -- children's cousins.
13
That morning, I remember I suggested to Maya that
14
we had, we would have breakfast outside so we wouldn't be
15
late to that meeting.
16
we were not going.
17
Q.
18
start an argument?
19
A.
20
that the kids would have a chance to see their grandpa,
21
paternal grandpa who was in Israel, who was at that Bat
22
Mitzvah.
23
that.
24
Q.
25
you and your wife?
At that point, Maya notified me that
I asked her why.
She said --
Did this, did this -- may I interrupt you?
Yes, it did start an argument.
Did this
I was, I was hoping
And Maya's objection was going to interfere with
All right.
And what happened?
What was said between
Pg ID 1140
We had a short argument.
206
A.
I asked, I am not entitled
to take the kids to see their grandfather?
that you are entitled but you can't go, you can't take
them.
Mitzvah.
the end of our relationship.
continuing deprivation of the children from seeing their
grandparents.
on her part.
She said yes,
She said she never committed to going to that Bat

And I said, well, if this is the case, this is
I would not accept her
And I thought that was, that was very mean

And for --
10
Q.
What did --
11
A.
For a long time, our relationship in Israel was on the
12
right track, but this specific part of it was, was on the
13
wrong part, track.
14
some way to figure it out.
15
her behavior.
16
Q.
And what did you mean by what you said?
17
A.
That, that she would have to stop controlling me, the
18
way she was controlling me and that she would have to learn
19
to accept my needs as well.
20
Q.
21
and that you were going to get an injunction against her,
22
from her, from removing the children from the country?
23
A.
24
didn't think that that reaction meant I'm going to go to
25
court for any reason.
And I was hoping that we could find

And I was not going to accept
I told her I was not going to do that.
By that, did you mean that you were going into court
No.
That's a double no.
First of all, because I
And secondly, because I had given
Pg ID 1141
207
her my word that I would not do that, regardless of even if
it was.
Q.
All right.
A.
I went to work that day.
car.
seven p.m. I received a phone call from Maya's aunt.
recognized the voice right away.
She told me that Maya had left with the kids and that she
had gone to New York, and that's it.
And then what happened on December 14th?

I was at work without the
I left the car to Maya, as usual.
10
I was at work.
At
She was very hesitant.
I took a bus home right away.
It took me about
11
an hour and a half, I got home.
And -- or I'm sorry, an
12
hour.
13
couldn't find the keys to the car, to the car.
14
at home looked as if they had left in the morning,
15
preparing to come back home and had not returned.
16
Q.
17
the children out of the country?
18
A.
No.
19
Q.
Did you give her any indication that there might have
20
been some permission to take the children out of the
21
country on that day?
22
A.
No, absolutely not.
23
Q.
Do you believe that the statement that you made back
24
in July or June of 2009 bears any relevance to consent to
25
take the children out of the country?
I saw the car was not parked in the right place.
Everything
Did you give Dr. Eibschitz-Tsimhoni permission to take
Pg ID 1142
1
2
MR. GOELMAN:
Calls for a legal
conclusion.
3
4
Objection.
208
THE COURT:
No.
That's not what she means.
Overruled.
THE WITNESS:
No.
BY MS. MCMILLAN:
Q.
And so did this surprise you?
A.
It took me by total surprise.
Q.
Your wife testified about taking the children to the
10
expert that they hired, Dr. Erard.
11
conversation.
12
opinion?
13
A.
14
of the very poor consequences of this whole thing, that
15
Maya treats these kids as if they are objects, not people.
16
And I'm very upset at her doing that.
17
the middle of this.
18
Q.
19
they thought of -- they never thought of Israel as their
20
new home, or a home in any sense of the word.
21
get that impression from your children?
22
A.
No.
23
Q.
Did they ever tell you that?
24
A.
No.
25
Q.
Did they ever tell you that they never felt
Did you want to participate in that expert
No, I did not.
All right.
You may recall her
I think this is, I think this is one
They shouldn't be in
They, the children told Dr. Erard that
Did you ever
Pg ID 1143
209
comfortable in their schools or with other Israeli
children, or in their living environment?
A.
had discussions about specific situations, as we would in
every -- in the U.S. as well, but no.
Q.
sick, bored and uncomfortable in Israel?
A.
No.
Q.
Did they give you an outward appearance to be
No.
We had discussions about specific children.
We
Did the children ever tell you they felt isolated,
10
isolated, sick, bored and uncomfortable?
11
A.
12
looked very happy when they saw Maya and me together.
13
we were hugging, when we were holding hands together, they
14
would always come and join us.
15
together.
16
life, having the family that they had learned they could
17
lose in the past.
18
Q.
19
admission, Exhibit 131, the photographs.
20
No.
They looked very happy to me.
They especially
When
They would have us
They looked like this was the best time of their
I'm going to show you what's, I believe already in
Your wife has testified that those were taken on
21
her camera phone, some of them are taken of her.
22
take the pictures of your wife with her camera phone?
23
A.
24
most of these pictures, but I took several.
25
pictures I took, yeah.
I took, I took several of the pictures.
Did you
Maya took
Many of these
Pg ID 1144
210
Q.
The children appear to be smiling and happy and having
a good time there; is that correct?
A.
they must be happy.
Q.
All right.
A.
Look happy.
Q.
Would that -- what was the approximate date, time
frame of those photos?
A.
Yes.
And it was not because anybody told them that
This is from the arrival to Israel until probably
10
beginning of November.
11
Q.
All right.
12
A.
I believe so.
13
Q.
-- 2009?
14
the children in Israel was?
15
A.
Yes.
16
Q.
Smiling and happy?
17
A.
Yeah, absolutely.
18
Q.
Did the children ever tell you they felt
19
linguistically incompetent to communicate effectively with
20
Israeli adults and children?
21
A.
22
clear differentiation between Hebrew and English.
23
they talked about communication, they were able to
24
communicate with many of their friends, both in Hebrew and
25
in English and they had no problem understanding Hebrew.
No.
So early September to early November --
Is that representative of what your image of
I don't think so.
I think they did not make the
When
Pg ID 1145
211
So I don't, I don't think that that's a -- that's the case.
Q.
you?
A.
No.
Q.
So overall, in assessing your situation and your
relationship with the children, and their mother, how would
you characterize the children's existence between September
and December of '09 while they were in Israel?
A.
And did they show you that they were distrustful of
They have not shown me that.
I would, I would say that all of us, the five of us
10
and our extended families, were very happy to be in Israel
11
for all sorts of reasons, primarily because our marriage
12
was back together and because the children had a stable
13
house to live in.
14
great.
15
They had friends.
The weather was
We had family, we had fun.

For me, it was a fulfillment of what I thought
16
was one of the roles of Jewish people, is to live in
17
Israel.
18
understood that, as well.
19
happy to see Maya happy and relaxed and calm.
20
were very happy to be with Maya, to have -- she would drop
21
them off in the morning, she would pick them up.
22
go with them to the beach.
23
great time.
24
presented between me and Maya.
25
participate in them.
And I made sure that the kids, at least Liam

I think that they were very
And they
She would
All in all, I think they had a
There were some difficulties that were

I think they did not
And I think that relative to the
Pg ID 1146
OMER TSIMHONI - CROSS
212
situation they were before, this was a huge, huge, huge
improvement of their lives.
3
4
MS. MCMILLAN:
Thank you.
I have nothing
further.
THE COURT:
MR. GOELMAN:
All right.
Mr. Goelman?
CROSS-EXAMINATION
BY MR. GOELMAN:
Q.
Good afternoon, Mr. -- Dr. Tsimhoni.
One of the
10
things you just said struck me.
You said that you thought
11
one of the roles of Jewish people was to live in Israel; is
12
that right?
13
A.
I say that's what I think, yes.
14
Q.
It's one of your core beliefs; is that fair to say?
15
A.
Yes.
16
Q.
And you had long wanted to go back to Israel and raise
17
your children in Israel before you left in November 2008,
18
true?
19
A.
Yes.
20
Q.
And you and Maya had talked about that topic over the
21
years; is that fair to say?
22
A.
Not much, yes.
23
Q.
Not much?
24
A.
No.
25
Q.
Did you talk about it enough to know her position on
Pg ID 1147
213
the matter?
A.
Yes.
Q.
And she did not want to go to back to Israel; is that
fair to say?
A.
which she wanted to go to Israel, and she had times which
she did not want to go to Israel.
Q.
have to serve in the army?
I think that she had ups and downs.
She had times at
Did she tell you that she didn't want your boys to
10
A.
Yes, she did.
11
Q.
Did she tell you that she was scared that Israel would
12
be attacked by nuclear missiles from Iran?
13
A.
Yes, she did.
14
Q.
Did she tell you she couldn't practice medicine at the
15
same level in Israel that she was practicing in Michigan?
16
A.
Yes.
17
Q.
And you felt that Israel would be a better place to
18
raise your children, right?
19
A.
Absolutely.
20
Q.
And you felt it would be a better place for you,
21
personally?
22
A.
23
us.
24
Q.
25
you would be a happier person in Israel?
I felt it would be a better place for both, for all of
But focusing on yourself for the moment, did you think
Pg ID 1148
1
2
MS. MCMILLAN:
214
I don't
see how this is relevant.
THE COURT:
I overrule the objection.
It's
reasonably related, especially in the light of examination
of Defendant.
6
7
Go ahead, Mr. Goelman.

that.
8
9
THE WITNESS:
The question suggests that I was
thinking only about myself.
10
family.
11
family.
12
13
You can have an answer to
And I was thinking about the
And I thought it would be a happier place for the
THE COURT:
Actually, the question says, focusing
on yourself for the moment, did you think you'd be happier.
14
THE WITNESS:
But that was not my thinking
15
process.
I did not think about myself.
I thought about
16
the family.
17
together in Israel.
18
BY MR. GOELMAN:
19
Q.
20
talking about going back to Israel?
21
A.
I was thinking about the entire family.
22
Q.
Did you tell Maya that you thought you, personally,
23
would be happier in Israel?
24
A.
I don't remember, but I may have.
25
Q.
Did you tell Maya that you wanted to be somewhere,
And I thought the family would be happier

I was not thinking about myself.
You were never thinking about yourself when you were
Yes.
Pg ID 1149
215
where you understood the jokes?
A.
I understood the jokes in the U.S. and in Israel.
Q.
Did you tell Maya that you wanted to be somewhere,
where people shared your sense of humor?
A.
Yes.
Q.
And that was Israel?
A.
Among other places, yes.
Q.
Do you think that's how Liam felt when he was in
Israel?
10
A.
Can you repeat the question?
11
Q.
Do you think that was how Liam felt when he was in
12
Israel?
13
A.
Possibly.
14
Q.
You lived in the United Kingdom for a year when you
15
were about five or six?
16
A.
Yes.
17
Q.
You attended school there?
18
A.
Yes.
19
Q.
In English?
20
A.
Yes.
21
Q.
Did you feel like you were British at the end of that
22
year?
23
MS. MCMILLAN:
The
24
question suggests that habitual residence is akin to
25
citizenship or nationality.
Pg ID 1150
1
2
THE COURT:
It's a fair question.
216
There's
nothing objectionable about this.
Go ahead, Mr. Goelman.
THE WITNESS:
the end of that year.
from England in many ways, for Jewish people.
parents had not spoken English at home before I left.
BY MR. GOELMAN:
Q.
Israel is different for you, as a Jewish person?
10
A.
Israel is different.
11
Q.
At the end of your 12 years in America, did you feel
12
like you were in an American?
13
A.
No.
14
Q.
I want to turn to the incident where the police were
15
called, in December of 2008.
16
began because Maya wanted you to execute a power of
17
attorney; is that right?
18
A.
19
connection.
20
for a power of attorney.
21
on the table when I said I am not attending to it at that
22
point.
23
Q.
24
your, I think your word was "belongings"; is that right?
25
A.
I did not think I was British at

But I was not -- Israel is different
And my
Now, you said that argument
I said that earlier -- I did not make that, that

I said that earlier that day, Maya asked me
And she was visibly upset, banged
And you said that this was a power of attorney to sell
I, I did not see that power of attorney.
It was a
Pg ID 1151
217
power of attorney to do whatever she wanted on my behalf is
what was my understanding.
Q.
What do you mean, whatever she wanted?
A.
Whatever power of attorney to sign anything that I
would sign.
Q.
it?
A.
No.
Q.
So what was it a power of attorney for?
10
A.
The way she said it, she said I could give her power
11
of attorney to sign anything she needed me to sign.
12
Q.
13
to sell your car, right?
14
A.
When you say your car, what do you mean?
15
Q.
Did you have a Camry?
16
A.
No.
17
car.
18
Q.
19
owned by either you or Dr. Tsimhoni?
20
A.
Yes.
21
Q.
Was one of them a Camry?
22
A.
Yes.
23
Q.
Did you know she wanted to sell the Camry since you
24
had move to Israel?
25
A.
It was a power of attorney to sell your car, wasn't
You knew, did you not, Dr. Tsimhoni, that she wanted
I had a Volvo that was sold.
I'm sorry.
I did not have a
In December of 2008, were there two cars that were
Yes.
Pg ID 1152
218
Q.
And she was short on cash?
A.
We were short of cash.
Q.
And that's the reason she wanted you to sign this
power of attorney; you understood that, right?
A.
No.
Q.
You thought she wanted to sell your boxer shorts?
No.
MS. MCMILLAN:
THE COURT:
I object, your Honor.
Let's get -- you can phrase the same
question differently, Counsel.
10
BY MR. GOELMAN:
11
Q.
What did you think she needed a power of attorney for?
12
A.
I think she wanted, she wanted the power of attorney
13
to sell anything that she wanted in the house without
14
getting my approval.
15
that's what I was going to consider.
16
Q.
17
would have wanted to sell in the house that belonged to you
18
that she would have needed power of attorney to sell?
19
A.
Yes.
20
Q.
What?
21
A.
The house, the Camry.
22
Q.
The house?
23
A.
Anything.
24
she did not say this is a power of -- I want a power of
25
attorney to sell the car.
That was my understanding.
And
I did not say no.
At the time, could you think of one thing that she
You thought she -I knew that she was -- what she told me,
That was not what she said.
Pg ID 1153
219
She said, Donna the neighbor said that you can
sign a power of attorney that will allow me to sell
anything that I want and do it while you're not here.
what I said is I need to think about it because if she is
going to do some stuff like that, I would like to be part
of the decision, and I don't want it to be done
unilaterally.
Q.
though, hadn't you?
And
You had already talked to her about selling the Camry,
10
A.
I might have.
11
Q.
And you had already agreed the Camry should be sold?
12
A.
Yes.
13
Q.
That evening, later that evening, you called 911,
14
right?
15
A.
Yes.
16
Q.
And you realized at the time, that 911 is for
17
emergencies, correct?
18
A.
Yes.
19
Q.
Were you hurt when you called 911?
20
A.
When I called 911, the first thing I said is this was
21
not an emergency.
22
Q.
Were you hurt when you called 911?
23
A.
Yes.
24
Q.
You were hurt?
25
A.
Yeah.
Pg ID 1154
220
Q.
Were you scared?
A.
Yeah.
Q.
So you called because you were hurt and you were
scared?
A.
Yes.
Q.
Didn't you tell Deputy Marcus that you called because
you were worried that your wife would call?
A.
No.
Q.
No?
10
A.
I don't recall that.
Is that the reason you called?
11
MR. GOELMAN:
I believe this report is already in
12
evidence, your Honor.
13
BY MR. GOELMAN:
14
Q.
15
Dr. Tsimhoni?
16
A.
What does "call the police on you" mean?
17
Q.
Had she ever called the police to report on you
18
before?
19
A.
No.
20
Q.
Okay.
21
wanted to report the incident because you believed Maya
22
would somehow try and say he had assaulted her?
23
A.
I may have saw that, yeah.
24
Q.
And was that true?
25
A.
Yes.
Had your wife ever called the police on you before,
She had no reason to do that.

Did you tell Deputy Marcus Kirby that you
I thought that was a possibility.
But when I
Pg ID 1155
221
made the call, that was not my purpose.
Q.
was supposedly hitting you?
A.
I felt that this was not going the right way.
Q.
Did you feel threatened?
A.
Physically, you mean?
Q.
In any way.
A.
Yes, I did.
Q.
How did you feel threatened?
10
A.
I thought she was getting out of control.
11
hitting and banging and she would not stop.
12
defenseless, because I could not hit her.
13
Q.
14
assaulted?
15
A.
I may have.
16
Q.
Was that true when you told that to Deputy Kirby,
17
December 23rd, 2008?
18
A.
That's what I felt at the time.
19
Q.
So what you just testified to wasn't true?
20
A.
Maybe.
21
Q.
Sorry?
22
A.
Maybe.
23
I remember and this is what I feel right now.
24
me standing like this, being hit by a woman and my wife,
25
and not being able to do anything, and saying to her Maya,
So did you feel threatened when your 115-pound wife
She was
And I was
Did you state that you did not feel threatened or feel
This is, the way I'm looking at, this is what
I remember
Pg ID 1156
222
stop, Maya, stop, Maya, stop.
And then the next thing that
came to mind was I'll call 911.
Q.
papered; isn't that right?
A.
No.
Q.
When you talked to Deputy Kirby, did you have in mind
how it was going to look when it got into a report?
A.
and I did not know what it was going to look like.
Stop, please.
You called 911 because you wanted the incident
No way.
I've never seen any report like that before,
10
Q.
11
shortly thereafter, you got a copy of that report?
12
A.
13
attorney, the attorney asked me to get the report.
14
Q.
And then you read it when you got it?
15
A.
I read it when I got it.
16
Q.
Are you happy with what it said when you read it?
17
A.
No.
18
Q.
Did you think it accurately portrayed the incident?
19
A.
I think it was very -- pretty close.
20
Q.
This is Defense Exhibit 18.
21
them.
22
trial brief.
23
24
25
And after you spoke to Deputy Kirby that night,
A few days afterwards when I, when I had talked to the
I was very sad.
We did not re-number
We just have the same numbers that we had in our
THE COURT:
Post-nup?
The post-nuptial
agreement?
MR. GOELMAN:
Yes, your Honor.
May I approach?
Pg ID 1157
THE COURT:
223
Yes.
BY MR. GOELMAN:
Q.
identification, Defendant's Exhibit 18.
Handing the witness what has been marked for
Dr. Tsimhoni, would you take a look at that,
please?
A.
Yes.
Q.
Is that the post-nuptial agreement that your wife
asked you to sign in or about June of 2008?
10
A.
I have no idea.
11
Q.
Now, you recall her presenting you with an agreement
12
that she wanted you to look at and sign?
13
A.
14
it.
And I said if you want me to sign anything, give it to
15
me.
I'll take it to an attorney and you can sign it and
16
gave it back to her.
17
Q.
Okay.
18
A.
She put it on the table, yes.
19
Q.
And you said you took it?
20
A.
I said, if I said it, I said it, yeah.
21
Q.
Did you look at it?
22
A.
I looked at it.
23
Q.
When you say you glanced at it, did you read it?
24
A.
No.
25
Q.
And when you say she waved it at you, she held it up
She waved an agreement at me, at the table.
I took
So she gave you the agreement?
I glanced at it, yes.
Pg ID 1158
224
in the air?
A.
it.
Q.
your wife wanted you to consider so that she could feel
comfortable to moving and relocating to Israel; is that
right?
A.
Yes.
Q.
And you wanted her to bring the kids to Israel and to
Yes.
She said here's an agreement, maybe we can sign
Mh-hm.
And you understood this was an agreement that
10
live with you as a family, right?
11
A.
Yes.
12
Q.
So it was kind of an important piece of paper, wasn't
13
it?
14
A.
Could have been.
15
Q.
But you didn't read it closely?
16
A.
Again, I'll tell you, I said that I was -- if anything
17
legal was going to go between us, it was going to go
18
between attorneys.
19
against an attorney and say this is good or not good
20
because this is not my language.
21
And I realize that.
22
Q.
23
came to Israel, that she would stay for a year; is that
24
right?
25
A.
I'm not going to stand in front of --
It's not my expertise.
You wanted your wife to sign a guarantee before she
She wanted to have, to have some signed, signed
Pg ID 1159
225
documentation between us.
It was not my request.
Q.
she wanted if it didn't work out, right?
A.
not go to courts.
Q.
the efforts to reconcile didn't work out, right?
A.
Yes.
Q.
And you wanted her to agree to stay for a year before
She wanted you to guarantee that she could leave when
She wanted me -- she wanted an agreement that I would
And she wanted you to agree that she could leave if
10
she left, right?
11
A.
12
understanding what it means.
13
effort to, to make this marriage work, to be in Israel, and
14
not to treat the kids as if they were a yo-yo coming back
15
from one place to another.
16
believe that that was something that could happen, only if
17
she stayed in Israel for at least a year.
18
Q.
19
agree to stay for a year before she left?
20
A.
21
year.
22
Q.
Okay.
23
A.
In writing, no, not in writing.
24
Q.
Not in writing and not orally either, right?
25
A.
We had discussions about this.
I wanted her to agree to come to Israel with a clear

What it means is to make an
And I had all reasons to
So is the answer to my question yes, you wanted her to
No.
The answer is I wanted her to stay for at least a
And she would not make that agreement, right?
We talked about how
Pg ID 1160
226
she would stay in Israel for several years.
We talked
about the possibility that she would want to leave after
three or four years, and what would happen then.
then still she be entitled to just, at the end of the year,
take the kids and move without letting me see them.
concerned about that.
Q.
guarantee that she be there for a year.
writing.
Would
I was
Dr. Tsimhoni, I asked you if she was willing to

You said not in
So my question is, are you saying that she made
10
an oral promise to you that she would stay for a year?
11
A.
12
a permanent time.
13
make sense for the children to be moved out of school in
14
the middle of the year.
15
Q.
So in your --
16
A.
She understands my point.
17
Q.
So in your mind, she promised you that she was going
18
to stay for at least a year?
19
oath today?
20
A.
21
mean when you say "promise."
22
She said to me, several times, that she was coming for
No.
And she understands that it does not
Is that your testimony under
That's not my testimony.
We talked about this.
I don't know what you
We talked about this many
23
times, many different times and we had many different
24
agreements between us.
25
we signed a contract, not this contract, and not an e-mail
And we never got to the point where
Pg ID 1161
227
contract, and not any contract.
And at the end of all of this going back and
forth, where we are disagreeing about what's best for our
family.
my promise that I would not go to court, and our
understanding between us, that we were all, both of us were
making this work.
leaving after three months, without permission, and trying
to find some better place to live without me.
At the end of that, she came to Israel with only
And making this work did not mean
10
what she promised.
11
Q.
12
from you.
13
any promise from her.
14
to answer the question.
That was not
No.
I understand that she came to Israel with a promise
15
I'm trying to figure out if you believed you had

And I haven't been able to get you
Do you believe that she promised you, and I don't
16
think -- and if you don't understand the word "promise,"
17
let me know.
18
A.
Mh-hm.
19
Q.
That she would stay at least for a year before
20
leaving.
21
A.
22
But I believe she promised to stay in Israel, and not to
23
take the kids in the middle of the year.
24
know that there was a 12-month, one-year agreement.
25
believe she promised me to stay in Israel, with the kids,
I don't think that there was a discussion of one year.
Yes.
So I don't
I
Pg ID 1162
228
and make the effort to be in Israel without taking them out
of school.
Q.
So if there was no one-year time period?
A.
Mh-hm.
Q.
Was there -- what was the time period that she
promised to stay in Israel?
A.
This would have been at the end of the school year.
Q.
So she promised to stay in Israel for a school year;
is that your testimony?
10
A.
She said she would stay in Israel at least for a
11
school year.
12
Q.
And when did she supposedly say that?
13
A.
On various discussions that we had on the phone.
14
Q.
When?
15
A.
In August, just before she came.
16
Q.
Now, who is George Mann?
17
A.
Who is?
18
Q.
George Mann?
19
A.
Yes, absolutely.
20
deals with naturalization.
21
Q.
22
own naturalization?
23
A.
We consulted about my naturalization, yes.
24
Q.
And you understand that Maya went to see him in the
25
summer of 2009?
Yes.
Do you know George Mann?

George Mann is an attorney that
And is he an attorney that you consulted about your
Pg ID 1163
229
A.
Yes.
Q.
And you understand that Maya also went to see an
attorney for the University of Michigan in the summer of
2009?
A.
Yes.
Q.
And why did, why did she go see those immigration
attorneys; if you know?
A.
Because she wanted to keep her options open.
Q.
She wanted to be an American citizen, didn't she?
10
A.
She wanted to keep her options open.
11
Let me, let me explain.
12
processes, I think, going on in her mind.
One is she comes
13
to Israel, she falls in love with Israel.
The kids fall in
14
love with Israel.
She stays in
15
Israel.
16
We don't have to go back to the United States.
17
Maya had two, two
Everything is perfect.
She finds a job in Israel, and we live in Israel.
The other one is she wants to be a doctor, an
18
ophthalmologist in the U.S.
19
gets naturalized.
20
happened was she wanted to keep both of those options open.
21
She stays in America.
She becomes a U.S. citizen.
She
And what
So she came to Israel and she kept that other
22
option open.
She wanted to know what does it take?
What
23
do I need to do in case I want to return to the United
24
States?
25
Q.
In case I want to pursue becoming a U.S. citizen.
And you knew that she was worried if she stayed in
Pg ID 1164
230
Israel too long, she would lose her immigration status in
the U.S., right?
A.
Q.
You knew that she was concerned that if she came to
Israel too long, she could lose her immigration status in
the U.S.?
A.
Yes.
Q.
And you and she discussed what requirements she would
have to meet in order to maintain her American immigration
10
status, right?
11
A.
That's correct, yes.
12
Q.
And what requirements she would have to meet in order
13
to position herself to become an American citizen in 2013?
14
A.
If she wanted to do that, yes.
15
Q.
And you knew, did you not, that she could not stay out
16
of the United States for more than six months without
17
jeopardizing her green card?
18
A.
Of course not.
19
Q.
It's incorrect that she had to come back to the United
20
States within six months of leaving it?
21
A.
Yes.
22
Q.
You never heard that that was the advice that she was
23
given by immigration attorneys?
24
A.
25
talked about all sorts of forms.
That's incorrect.
That is incorrect, though.
She could have -- she

I don't remember the
Pg ID 1165
numbers, 131, 147.
231
I don't know what they were.
There was an option in which she would come to
Israel, she would stay for at least two years without
having any repercussions on her ability to, in the future,
return if she so wanted.
Q.
that she could leave the United States for two years, up to
two years, and it would not jeopardize her PRIV?
A.
Yes.
10
Q.
Without coming back to the United States during the
11
interim?
12
A.
Without the need to do that, yes.
13
Q.
And what is that understanding based on?
14
A.
About just my knowledge.
15
Q.
Did Maya ever tell you that she had been advised that
16
she needed to come back to the United States within six
17
months?
18
A.
Yes.
19
Q.
And you believed that that was wrong?
20
A.
Yes.
21
Q.
Did she believe that was true?
22
A.
I don't know.
23
Q.
Did she tell you whether she believed it was true?
24
A.
We never discussed it that way.
25
Q.
She said that the lawyer had told her that she had to
So your testimony is that it was your understanding
Pg ID 1166
232
come back within six months?
A.
I don't recall her saying that to me.
Q.
Where, if you recall, do you understand that she got
this crazy idea that she had to come back within six
months?
A.
there is this requirement for six months, but you can, you
can forego that if you want to.
you can to that.
I don't think it's a crazy idea.
I understand that
If you make that choice,
And all you need to do is the come to the
10
U.S. for six months, and you can -- sorry.
You can come
11
within those six months to the U.S. even for two days and
12
that's enough.
13
That's why we didn't discuss that.
14
Q.
15
to the United States within six months, but it could be
16
kind of a temporary stopover?
17
A.
18
-- I told her that.
19
Q.
20
could just come back for two days and leave again, was no
21
longer being honored by American immigration authorities?
22
A.
23
been in the U.S., and my green card had not been taken at
24
the time.
25
Q.
So I didn't see that to be a big issue.
So your understanding was she would have to come back
It could be a two-day visit.
That's, yeah, that's my
Didn't she tell you that that old system, where you
But that was not true, because I had done that.
I had
Did she tell you that the lawyer she consulted with
Pg ID 1167
233
told her he had other clients who had tried to do the same
thing, come back for two days and leave, and hadn't been
able to get back in the country?
A.
No.
Q.
Did she tell you that she did not believe she could
come back in for a couple days and then leave again?
A.
No.
Q.
Do you remember the trip that you and Maya and Liam
made to Israel in 2002?
She did not tell me that.
10
A.
Yes.
11
Q.
Liam was one?
12
A.
Yes.
13
Q.
And I think you stayed in Israel for a week on that
14
issue?
15
A.
Possibly.
16
Q.
Do you remember Maya spending several days that week
17
in line at the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv trying to figure
18
out how she's going to get back in the country?
19
A.
Yes.
20
Q.
And there was something, that was some kind of mistake
21
with the immigration papers, and she was panicked that she
22
would have to stay in Israel?
23
A.
24
residency.
25
Q.
That she was panicked she would not get back to her
I remember that, yes.
Her residency, which happened to be located in the
Pg ID 1168
234
United States --
A.
Yes.
Q.
-- of America?
A.
Yes.
Q.
So at some point in 2009, there are tickets purchased
for Maya and the children to come to Israel on July 2nd; is
that right?
A.
No.
Q.
No?
When were they supposed to come in the summer of
10
2009?
11
A.
12
were not purchased.
13
Q.
You never purchased those tickets?
14
A.
No.
15
Q.
Did you send Maya an e-mail with an itinerary for
16
leaving on July 2nd?
17
A.
Yes.
18
Q.
And those were just reservations?
19
end up paying for the tickets?
20
A.
Correct.
21
Q.
But the plan at that point was for her to come back on
22
July 2nd?
23
A.
Yes.
24
Q.
She did not come on July 2nd, right?
25
A.
Correct.
They were supposed to come in July, but the tickets
You didn't actually
Pg ID 1169
235
Q.
And the kids did not come on July 2nd, right?
A.
Correct.
Q.
And why not?
A.
Because we could not reach an agreement, and she did
not want to come without some paperwork at that point is
what -- is the way she stated it.
Q.
that you had not given her the guarantee that she could
leave when she wanted, right?
Okay.
The reason that she didn't come on July 2nd, is
10
A.
I don't know.
11
Q.
Did you have conversations with her about why she
12
wasn't coming after the plan was for her to come?
13
A.
14
conversations, and a lot of stuff came up.
15
that's the real reason or not.
16
Q.
Well, was that the reason she said she wouldn't come?
17
A.
She said that we needed to talk some more, and she was
18
not ready to move to Israel at that time.
19
Q.
20
at that time is that you had not given her the assurance
21
that she could leave when she wanted if things didn't work
22
out between you, right?
23
A.
24
It's not only any assurances that I would give her.
25
also an agreement where she would give me some assurances.
Of course we had conversations.
Yes, we had
I don't know if
And the reason that she wasn't ready to move to Israel
The reason is because we did not come to an agreement.
It's a
Pg ID 1170
236
That's, that's exactly the point.
Q.
right?
A.
short period of time, to move all of our stuff to Israel,
to invest all of that money in order for her to move away
from Israel unexpectedly.
Q.
July 2nd?
But you weren't preventing her from coming to Israel,
Yes, I was.
I did not want Maya to come over for a
It was Maya's decision, was it not, not to come on
10
A.
Yes.
11
Q.
And the reason that Maya made the decision is that you
12
had not promised her that she could leave when she wanted
13
if things didn't work out, right?
14
A.
The reason is that we did not come to an agreement.
15
Q.
Now, she did come with the kids in September, right?
16
A.
Yes.
17
Q.
And what changed between July and September, is that
18
you made that promise that she was looking for; isn't that
19
right?
20
A.
No.
21
Q.
So what changed between July and September that
22
convinced Maya to fly on a plane and come to Israel?
23
A.
24
was sold, and she was in a different set of mind.
25
That's not correct.
Her mood changed and the situation changed.
The house
I had given her the same assurances before July
Pg ID 1171
237
that I gave her before September.
And they were that I was
not going to go to court against her, and all that I had
were good intentions to live with my children and my wife
in Israel.
Q.
And --
A.
That did not change.
Q.
I'm sorry.
A.
I'm sorry.
Q.
And assurances that you would not go to court against
Are you finished?
10
her, that there were no, there were no conditions attached
11
to that, right?
12
as long as you promise to stay for a year?
13
A.
14
We'll reach our understandings in other ways that mature
15
adults can reach.
16
a place like this, to come to an agreement whether or not I
17
can see my children.
18
Q.
19
It's the e-mails from your GM account, the e-mail exchanges
20
between you and Dr. Tsimhoni.
It wasn't I won't go to court against you
I said I would not go to court against you, period.
We don't have to sit here to, to sit in
That's my thinking.
Do you still have Plaintiff's Exhibit 7 up there?
21
MS. MCMILLAN:
22
THE WITNESS:
23
No.
No, I don't think so.
I have lots
of pictures of the kids.
24
MS. MCMILLAN:
25
MR. GOELMAN:
Here it is.
May I approach, your Honor?
Pg ID 1172
THE COURT:
238
Yes.
BY MR. GOELMAN:
Q.
point during this litigation, your mother -- your wife's
attorneys asked for e-mails from your GM account, right?
A.
Yes.
Q.
And this is -- these are e-mails from your GM account;
is that right?
A.
Yes.
10
Q.
Now, is it true you that there is a deletion policy of
11
GM, in terms of inbox?
12
A.
13
them.
14
Q.
15
allowed to explain whether GM deletes e-mails?
16
A.
They told me not to talk about it.
17
Q.
Well, can you talk about how you came to have these
18
e-mails in your possession?
19
A.
Yes.
20
Q.
In 2010?
21
A.
Yes.
22
Q.
Okay.
23
A.
When I returned to Israel, I printed them out as a
24
PDF.
25
information, whereas the e-mail was erased.
Mister -- sorry.
Dr. Tsimhoni, you know that at some
I cannot comment on that, unfortunately.
I asked
They told me I cannot comment on that.
You're not -- that's a trade secret?
You're not
I'm sorry.
And that PDF remained because that's the way to keep
Pg ID 1173
239
Q.
So when you returned to Israel after your June trip;
is that right?
A.
Yeah.
Q.
You came back from the United States, you printed them
out as a -- you printed them out or you made, turned them
into PDF, and kept them on your hard drive?
A.
Yes.
Q.
Why did you do that?
A.
Why did I do that?
End of July -- beginning of July, yes.
Because I felt that this was, this
10
was an ongoing discussion that was, that was happening
11
between us.
12
Q.
13
day?
14
A.
I don't recall thinking that, no.
15
Q.
Did you want to have a record?
16
A.
I might have.
17
led to printing it out.
18
Q.
19
out a lot of e-mails, turn them into PDF's at the time?
20
A.
21
e-mail, that's how I'll do it.
22
keep it as a record.
23
Q.
And you regarded this as an important e-mail exchange?
24
A.
Yes.
25
Q.
Is it fair to say that Maya is not the only one you
And I don't recall doing that.
Did you think maybe you would make use of them one
I don't recall.
I don't recall what
I just found it on my computer.
Well, was that a habit of yours?
I do it occasionally.
I mean did you print
When there's an important

I'll print it out and I'll
Pg ID 1174
240
made promises to before the family came to Israel?
A.
I don't recall.
Q.
Do you recall having a conversation with Liam?
A.
I don't recall that conversation.
don't recall that conversation.
Q.
or Aba, will you let us go back when -- will you let us go
back to America?
A.
I don't recall that, sir.
10
Q.
Do you recall having any communication with Liam about
11
his desire to make sure that he could come back to the
12
U.S.?
13
A.
No.
14
Q.
From Israel?
15
A.
No.
16
Q.
You recall that Liam actually wrote you a letter that
17
he wanted you to see, that set forth your commitment to him
18
coming back, to him being able to come back?
19
A.
I don't recall that.
20
Q.
Do you recall Maya telling you about that letter while
21
you were in Israel?
22
A.
No.
23
Q.
Now, you knew that Maya was scared of being trapped in
24
Israel, right?
25
A.
I saw that.
You don't remember him asking you, daddy, will you --
No.
Pg ID 1175
241
Q.
You didn't?
A.
That she was scared of being trapped in Israel?
Q.
Yeah.
A.
No.
Q.
You didn't know she was worried about not being able
to leave Israel?
A.
she was worried about.
And I know she was worried about, about how things would
I know she was worried -- this is not the only thing

She was worried about many things.
10
work out.
But I wouldn't portray that as being trapped in
11
Israel.
12
Q.
13
about, that she expressed to you, the fact that she didn't
14
want to be unable to leave Israel and return to the United
15
States?
16
A.
It was never stated that way.
17
Q.
Was it stated with different words, but the same
18
content?
19
A.
20
whenever she wanted, with the kids with her.
21
that's how it was stated.
22
Q.
23
United States if things didn't work out in Israel with you,
24
right?
25
A.
No.
Was one of the many things that Maya was worried
She wanted the freedom to do whatever she wanted,

That's,
She wanted the freedom to be able to return to the
That's, that's one option.
There were many other
Pg ID 1176
242
options that are included under this freedom that she
wanted.
Q.
fair to say?
A.
I think that they were not substantiated by facts.
Q.
But you nevertheless played on those fears, didn't
you, Dr. Tsimhoni?
A.
No.
Q.
When she got to Israel and you got into arguments with
And you thought her fears were irrational; is that
I did not play on those fears.
10
her, did you tell her, "now you're trapped?"
11
A.
Never, never.
12
Q.
Sorry?
13
A.
Pure lie.
14
Q.
Pure lie.
15
that the family stayed at for before they moved into the
16
house on Hegalim, are they kind of noisy?
17
A.
18
Relative to the house on Traver Road, no.
19
Gullane house, they were a little bit more noisy, yes.
20
Q.
Were they kind of dirty?
21
A.
No.
22
Q.
Now, before Maya and the kids arrived in September of
23
2009, you were staying at your parents' house in Zichron,
24
right?
25
A.
That's a lie.
Pure lie.
The apartments, the temporary apartments
Relative to where Maya and I grew up, not at all.

Relative to the
Yes.
Pg ID 1177
243
Q.
Can you describe that house?
A.
Very similar to the house we were in, in Hegalim,
about the same size, very similar.
Q.
So three bedrooms?
A.
Yes.
Q.
And when Maya and the kids got there, you moved out of
the house and you began to live with Maya and the kids in
these temporary rentals, right?
A.
Yes.
10
Q.
And your parents' house in Zichron stood empty?
11
A.
Yes.
12
Q.
And Maya asked you if she and the kids and you could
13
stay at your parents' house in Zichron while you looked for
14
a place to rent, right?
15
A.
That option came up, yes.
16
Q.
And when you say that option came up, you didn't --
17
Maya did request that?
18
A.
19
would be better to be in Ra'anana so we could go and see
20
houses as opposed to being an hour away and having to
21
schlep ourselves and everybody away so I could kind of jump
22
and see houses for rental and come back and I could stay at
23
work.
24
being comfortably in the home.
25
Q.
No.
We talked about that option.
We thought that it
We had some logistic problems that prevented us from
Now, you said "we."
I'm trying to separate out by
Pg ID 1178
244
person.
A.
Okay.
Q.
Maya wanted to stay at your parents' house in Zichron,
didn't she?
A.
Yes.
Q.
You wouldn't let her, right?
A.
No.
because she did not let them speak to the kids for the last
two years.
My parents did not want her to be in the house
10
Q.
So your parents were willing to have you stay in their
11
empty house, but not your wife and their grandchildren?
12
A.
13
house with my parents.
14
Q.
I thought your parents went on sabbatical.
15
A.
My mom went on sabbatical, and my dad was in the house
16
while I was there, and both of them were there.
17
went on sabbatical and my, my -- I'm sorry, excuse me.
I did not stay in an empty house.
I stayed in the
So they
18
My mother went as a visiting professor to
19
Northeastern the beginning of September, I believe, 2009, a
20
few days before Maya and the kids arrived.
21
Israel when they left.
22
Q.
23
September?
24
A.
Yes.
25
Q.
So the house, when Maya and the kids got there, was
So I was not in
So your parents left for the United States in early
Pg ID 1179
245
empty, right?
A.
Correct.
Q.
And your parents were not willing to have you, their
son, their daughter-in-law, and their grandchildren stay in
the empty house?
A.
the last two years.
Q.
about not staying in your parents' house, right?
Yes.
Because Maya would not let the kids speak to them for
Now, at some point, you really didn't have a choice
10
A.
That's correct.
11
Q.
Because you couldn't find another weekly rental,
12
right?
13
A.
14
our way to Haifa, and I guess, yes, the answer is yes.
15
Q.
16
your parents' house for three days; is that right?
17
nights?
18
A.
Yes.
19
Q.
And your parents have internet access?
20
A.
Yes.
21
Q.
Maya wanted to use your parents' internet?
22
A.
Maya wants to -- wanted to use my parents' computer.
23
Q.
You told her no, right?
24
A.
Correct.
25
Q.
First, you told her they didn't have internet access,
We could find another weekly rental, but we were on
And you stayed, you and Maya and the kids stayed at
Three
I think so.
Pg ID 1180
246
right?
A.
Could be.
Q.
Could be?
A.
I, I don't remember saying that because they do have
internet access.
Q.
Okay.
A.
I may have said that would be difficult for her to
connect with her computer to the internet, which is the
truth.
I don't remember.
I don't know why I would say that.
I don't remember saying that.
10
Q.
But you were free to using your parents' computer to
11
connect to the internet, right?
12
A.
13
once, yes.
14
Q.
15
to connect to the internet?
16
A.
17
because I thought that would violate their, their privacy.
18
Q.
19
your parents, right?
20
A.
21
there's anything on those computers she can really spy on.
22
Q.
So how would it violate your parents' privacy?
23
A.
Because it's a personal computer, is a personal thing.
24
Q.
Did you tell her -- there's an argument between you
25
and Maya while you were staying at Zichron, right?
I used my parents' computer to connect to the internet
But you didn't want Maya to use your parents' computer
I did not want Maya to use my parents' computer
You told Maya that you weren't going to let her spy on
I don't remember saying that, no.
I don't think
Pg ID 1181
247
A.
Yes.
Q.
And in the course of the argument, did you tell her
that she was a spoiled American?
A.
No.
Q.
Did you ever say that to Maya?
A.
That she is a spoiled American?
She's Israeli.
Q.
Did you say she was spoiled?
A.
I don't recall saying that.
10
Q.
Do you recall telling her that she had been spoiled by
11
living in the United States?
12
A.
No.
13
Q.
Do you recall telling her, while you were in Zichron,
14
that you wanted a divorce?
15
A.
No.
16
Q.
No, you didn't say that?
17
A.
I don't recall saying that, no.
18
Q.
So you may have say that -- you may have said it, you
19
just don't recall or you're telling me no, you didn't say
20
that?
21
A.
22
with the kids to Israel.
23
Q.
24
asking you, did you tell her that you wanted a divorce two
25
weeks after she arrived in Israel?
She's not American.
No.
I did not want a divorce two weeks after Maya returned

No.
I didn't exactly ask if you want a divorce.
I'm
Pg ID 1182
248
A.
No.
Q.
Okay.
back to the United States, didn't she?
A.
them ten minutes later.
back to the United States several times.
times that she wanted to go to Israel when she was in the
United States.
dealing with for a long while.
She said, at that point, that she wanted to go
Maya has said many things in the past and regretted

Maya said that she wanted to go
Maya said several
And that's something that I have been
10
Q.
Did she say on, on that occasion in Zichron, when you
11
had an argument --
12
A.
Yeah.
13
Q.
-- I'm going back to the United States?
14
Yes or no?
15
A.
I don't recall her saying that.
16
Q.
Okay.
17
A.
Yes.
18
Q.
And --
19
A.
I remember that.
20
Q.
And did you tell him that Maya was crazy and should be
21
hospitalized?
22
A.
No way.
23
Q.
No?
24
A.
No, absolutely not.
25
Q.
What did you tell him?
Did she say?
When you left, did you call Maya's father?
Pg ID 1183
249
A.
I said that we needed -- we had a discussion.
And I
said that I thought that Maya and I need to go to
counseling and talk to a psychologist.
psychologists, as he has portrayed it to me after Maya
left, was that they are not worth anything and there's
nothing that to be done to go to them.
psychologist, only if you're crazy and need to be
hospitalized.
Q.
And --
10
A.
And what I really felt was that Maya and I needed help
11
from more than just friends or relatives.
12
Q.
13
her father?
14
A.
I talked to her father, yes.
15
Q.
You moved into the house on Hegalim on October 2nd; is
16
that right?
17
A.
18
October 1st, October 2nd or 3rd, I don't know.
19
Q.
20
on before the furniture from the States arrived.
21
A.
Yes.
22
Q.
You said inflated air mattresses basically?
23
what they were?
24
A.
25
for house, for guests, for guests that come in the house.
His view of
And if you go to a
So you have an argument with your wife and you call
I don't recall the exact date.
Okay.
Yeah.
We had the lease since

Yes.
And you were describing before what you slept
They are only for housing.
Is that
They are special
Pg ID 1184
250
They have kind of a motor inside the air mattress and
connects to the wall.
swim pool, swimming pool air mattress.
Q.
Okay.
A.
It's like a bed.
Q.
And where did you get these air mattresses?
A.
We got them in the U.S.
Q.
So you brought them on board on the plane?
A.
Yes.
10
Q.
And how many mattresses were there?
11
A.
Three.
12
Q.
So you and Maya had one?
13
A.
We had a large one, like a queen, king or queen size
14
and two smaller ones.
15
Q.
And you have three kids?
16
A.
Yes.
17
Q.
So where did the kids sleep?
18
A.
One on each mattress, and Maya and I shared the
19
mattress with Natalie.
20
Q.
And there was no TV in the house, was there?
21
A.
No.
22
Q.
And at no point during Maya and the kids' stay on
23
Hegalim did you buy a TV, right?
24
A.
25
bring it over.
That's correct.
And it's not just, you know, like a
I had a TV, but I didn't want to
I wanted to have some, some family time
Pg ID 1185
together.
251
This was the purpose, in my mind, of our stay.

We had gone through several occasions in the past
where, of years, when we did not have a TV at our house.
And we thought it would be a, it would be a distraction.
Q.
TV because you didn't know how long she and the kids were
going to stay for?
A.
my parents' house that we could bring.
Didn't you tell Maya that you weren't going to buy a
No.
I told you that we had a TV.
No.
There was a TV in
My brother had a TV
10
he offered to bring us.
I did not tell that to Maya.
11
Q.
You had a car in Israel before Maya arrived, right?
12
A.
Yes.
13
Q.
Is that the Volvo you're talking about?
14
A.
No.
15
Q.
The car that you had in Israel when Maya got there,
16
you guys did not buy another car, right?
17
A.
Correct.
18
Q.
And the reason that you didn't buy another car, is
19
that you didn't know how long Maya was going to stay in
20
Israel; is that right?
21
A.
22
investment.
23
Q.
24
car, because I don't know how long you're going to be here?
25
A.
The Volvo was in the U.S.
No, that's not correct.
No.
It was just a big
We did not have the cash at the time.
Didn't you tell Maya that I'm not going to buy another
No.
Pg ID 1186
252
Q.
You never said that to her?
A.
No.
Q.
Now, you talked a little bit about your work schedule
on direct examination while you were in Israel.
A.
Yes.
Q.
Is this a fairly demanding job, working for kind of a
start-up, I don't know, division?
A.
Yeah.
Q.
Cell, whatever it is, of GM?
10
A.
Site, yes, it is.
11
Q.
And you would, while Maya and the kids were there,
12
come home for dinner and then often go back to work again;
13
is that right?
14
A.
15
occasions, but no, that's not a good portrayal.
No.
16
No, that's not right.
It happened maybe on a few
I talked with my HR representative and with my
17
boss.
There was full agreement that I would -- that I had
18
spent so many hours at work when the kids were not there.
19
I would work, you know, long 12-hour days or more.
20
that when the kids were there, I would be with the kids as
21
much as I could, and that I would not work that hard.
22
that's what I did.
23
morning to work, and I would return relatively early.
24
Q.
25
Hegalim from October 2nd until they left on December 14th,
I would come in late.
And
And
I would, in the
You, Maya and the kids stayed on Hegalim, the house on
Pg ID 1187
253
right?
A.
Yes.
Q.
During that time, didn't you regularly, like multiple
times a week, leave in the evenings and not return until
the early morning hours?
A.
No.
Q.
That's not true?
A.
That's a lie.
Yes.
I can -- if I can just add to that.
I did leave
10
after dinner, after the kids would go to sleep, I would
11
leave with a list of things that we needed to buy.
12
go to the grocery.
13
next day.
14
stuff.
15
of beer.
16
go get me this, go get me that.
17
probably more likely did on those evenings that you're
18
describing.
19
I would
I would get, get things ready for the
I would buy, I would buy Maya all sorts of
She likes to sit down and read a book with a bottle

I used to bring her that beer and go, you know,
I was -- that's what I
I did go to work until the early hours of the
20
morning at least twice during that stay.
That is correct.
21
Q.
Did you ever tell Maya that you weren't her Philipini?
22
A.
No.
23
Q.
Never said that to her?
24
A.
No.
25
Q.
Fair to say that while Maya and the kids were in
Pg ID 1188
254
Israel, Maya spent a lot more time in the children than you
did?
A.
Yes.
Q.
She generally is the one who picked them up from
school?
A.
She what?
Q.
She is generally the person who picked them up from
school?
A.
Yes.
10
Q.
And you don't know what the children said to her when
11
she picked them up from school?
12
A.
13
was with them.
14
Q.
15
school a couple days a week; is that right?
16
A.
Yes.
17
Q.
Now, when you dropped -- you and Maya together would
18
drop Liam off on those occasions; is that right?
19
A.
Yes.
20
Q.
Maya dropped him off everyday?
21
A.
Yes.
22
Q.
Didn't she?
23
A.
Yes, that's correct.
24
Q.
And your testimony is that you joined in a couple days
25
a week?
Except Fridays, yes.
She doesn't know what the children said to me when I

Yes.
That's correct.
And you talked about dropping off Liam at his, at his
Pg ID 1189
255
A.
Yes.
Q.
And on those occasions, Maya would walk him into the
classroom, right?
A.
occasions, no.
Q.
right?
A.
No.
Q.
So how would you get from Liam's school to your job?
10
A.
On Fridays, I did not need to go to work.
11
Fridays, I would just be there with them.
12
days, I, Maya -- several at least, about once a week, Maya
13
would drop, Maya would drop me after we would drop the
14
kids, we would drive together to, to my work.
15
usually get the rides from, from my home, in which case I
16
did not take Liam to school, or the kids to school for that
17
matter.
18
Q.
19
to school, Maya would take him to his classroom?
20
A.
Yes.
21
Q.
And how many occasions did you actually go with Liam
22
to his classroom?
23
A.
Probably about 20 percent.
24
Q.
Twenty percent of the times that you were there?
25
A.
Twenty percent of the times that he went to school.
On some of those occasions, yes, and some of those

That's correct.
You would get rides from Liam's school to your job,
So on
And on other
I would
Is it your understanding that everyday that Liam went
Pg ID 1190
256
Q.
So once a week, you would actually walk him into his
classroom?
A.
Ten percent.
Q.
On those occasions, did you, there's an expression in
Hebrew called balagan?
A.
Yes.
Q.
Means kind of uproar, mess?
A.
Kids.
Q.
A lot of things going on?
10
A.
Yes.
11
Q.
Kids being wild?
12
A.
It doesn't mean kids being wild, necessarily.
13
means, it means things are not in order.
14
Q.
Okay.
15
A.
Yeah.
16
Q.
Is that a fair characterization of Liam's classrooms
17
on those occasions that you went in?
18
A.
Not the way you've portrayed it, no.
19
Q.
Weren't there kids who were, before the teacher came
20
in, were throwing things?
21
A.
Things?
22
Q.
Items, unspecified items.
23
A.
I've seen that happen.
24
this is a way to characterize the class as being this
25
chaotic place, where, where monkeys are jumping around or
It
Chairs or papers?
But I don't think it was --
Pg ID 1191
257
anything that was portrayed before.
Q.
classrooms in Israel, have you?
A.
Yes.
Q.
Is it fair to say there is a difference in the level
of discipline between a typical American classroom, and a
typical Israeli classroom?
A.
Yes.
Q.
And the typical Israeli classroom is more unruly; is
10
You've been in classrooms in the United States and
Yes, I have.
that a fair characterization?
11
MS. MCMILLAN:
We're
12
comparing and contrasting two different systems.
13
going to go towards best interest, which country, which
14
culture is better for the children.
15
THE COURT:
That's
Well, I think that this is a
16
reflection of things that have already been spread on the
17
record.
18
this witness's view of it.
19
BY MR. GOELMAN:
20
Q.
Is your answer yes, Dr. Tsimhoni?
21
A.
22
Q.
I think it was Israeli classrooms are generally more
23
unruly than American classrooms?
24
A.
25
correct.
I don't think there's anything wrong with having

Go ahead.
The classes I have seen in the U.S., for that, that is

Yes.
Pg ID 1192
258
Q.
And you described Liam, during your direct testimony,
as a reserved child; is that right?
A.
Yes.
Q.
He likes order; is that fair to say?
A.
Yeah.
Q.
He doesn't like being in places that are too loud or
chaotic?
A.
No.
Q.
Do you recall him referring to his classroom as a
I think he likes order.
Yes.
That's not true.
10
"shouting camp"?
11
A.
No.
12
Q.
No?
13
at all, any negative comments at all about the behavior of
14
the other kids in his class?
15
A.
16
Israel to his class in the U.S.
17
him about the positives and the negatives of those
18
differences.
19
Q.
Okay.
20
A.
The positives were that kids were very dependent.
21
Q.
I'm sorry, very?
22
A.
Very independent.
23
Q.
Independent, okay.
24
A.
And mature.
25
more, that kids were friendly is how I described it to him.
Do you recall him making any pejorative comments
I remember him comparing and contrasting his class in

And I remember talking to
And what were the positives?
The positives were that, that there was
Pg ID 1193
259
And I also described that to him as, as something that is
not necessarily so, is not necessarily negative.
Q.
were positives and negatives.
What are the negatives?
A.
educational system, it's harder for the, for the teacher to
get across their, their curriculum, and it requires
self-discipline from the kids who want to learn.
Okay.
And what are the negatives?
You said there
Those are the positives.
The negatives are primarily, I think for the
10
My, my recollection of my kids' days in schools
11
are not much different from this class that was being
12
described here as this chaotic zoo, which it is not.
13
don't think that hurt my ability to excel in what I do.
14
Q.
15
whether it was positive or negative, it was something that,
16
a difference that Liam noticed?
17
A.
Yes.
18
Q.
And that made him uncomfortable?
19
A.
I don't think that that made him uncomfortable.
20
Q.
What made him uncomfortable?
21
A.
I think that this was a new place for him, at the
22
beginning, and it took him time to adjust to it.
23
think that the, the maturity of the other kids, was, was
24
the social maturity of the other kids was apparent to him,
25
and he was trying to adjust to that.
Certainly not.
And I
Do you -- did you understand that,
And I
And I think he did,
Pg ID 1194
did adjust to that.
Q.
class mature more quickly than kids at Emerson?
A.
So you think kids in Israel, or at least kids in his
Yes.
5
6
260
THE COURT:
We're going to have to bring an end
within a few minutes here and continue tomorrow morning.
MR. GOELMAN:
Okay.
BY MR. GOELMAN:
Q.
Did you encourage Liam to act more Israeli?
10
A.
I have told him -- I have talked to him about, about
11
the differences.
And I have encouraged him to, to open up,
12
to talk to kids.
We talked about, about his, what I was,
13
what I was perceiving and stating before as this red pepper
14
inside him, which I saw kind of coming out.
15
Q.
Karif?
16
A.
Pilper.
17
yeah, I did, I did do that, yes.
18
felt that, that that would give him the tools that he
19
needed to -- for growth in that class in that environment.
20
Q.
But he really stayed the same kid, didn't he?
21
A.
No.
22
saying.
23
his time there.
24
even those, you know, those after he came over here, I
25
think it might have done, it might have added to that
I just call it pilper, is just pepper.
Absolutely not.
So
I did talk about that.
That's exactly what I was
I think he substantially changed socially during

And I think it's probably has given him,
Pg ID 1195
261
experience as well.
I saw in Liam, in Israel, a kid that was very
different in my mind, positively, from the kid I had seen
before.
Q.
In the U.S., he had a lot of friends, didn't he?
A.
No.
Q.
He didn't have a lot of friends?
A.
No.
friends, yes, of course.
I'm sorry.
What "is a lot of"?
He had some
10
Q.
Were there neighbors in Ann Arbor that he liked to
11
play over at their house?
12
A.
There were a few neighbors.
13
Q.
Was Jack Lasinsky a good friend of his?
14
A.
No.
15
Q.
No?
16
A.
No.
17
Q.
He didn't spend two afternoons a week over playing
18
with the Lasinsky boys?
19
A.
20
who are your friends, he would not say Jack.
21
Q.
What about Henry?
22
A.
He would say Henry, yes.
23
Q.
In Roee and Natalie's kindergarten?
24
A.
Mh-hm.
25
Q.
Their teachers would sometimes actually physically
He did stay there, but Jack Lasinsky, if you ask him
Henry?
Pg ID 1196
262
restrain the kids; isn't that right?
A.
know.
Q.
I'm not saying that --
A.
Sure.
Q.
-- this was physical abuse.
I mean, there's a different style of discipline in Israeli
nursery schools and American nursery schools, right?
A.
No argument about that.
10
Q.
And one of the differences is that sometimes in
11
Israeli nursery schools, if the kid is acting up, the
12
teacher will just yank him back in his place, right?
13
A.
Yeah, possibly.
14
Q.
And Roee and Natalie noticed that, didn't they?
15
A.
Yes.
16
Q.
And they commented on that?
17
A.
Mh-hm.
18
Q.
And that made them uncomfortable, didn't it?
19
A.
I don't know if it made them uncomfortable as it, as
20
it sounds here.
21
think it was something that would hurt them or --
22
Q.
23
preschool in Ann Arbor, right?
24
A.
Yes.
25
Q.
In all the years they spent there, in the bear class,
They never restrained Natalie or Roee, as far as I
I'm just saying there's,
They commented on that.
They did not
Liam, Roee and Natalie all went to Ann Arbor Hills
Pg ID 1197
263
the giraffe class, the penguin class, whatever class, did
they ever tell you about a time where a teacher had laid a
hand on a student?
A.
No.
MR. GOELMAN:
THE COURT:
We should stop here, your Honor.
All right.
We'll resume tomorrow
morning at 8:30 a.m., and we will continue through 12:30
p.m.
will look forward for another appropriate date to resume.
10
11
And then we, if we're not finished at that point, we
MR. GOELMAN:
Your Honor, would that appropriate
date not be Friday then?
12
THE COURT:
13
MR. GOELMAN:
14
THE COURT:
Okay.
15
THE CLERK:
All rise.
16
(Proceedings adjourned at 4:55 p.m.)
17
It will not be Friday.

Thank you.
We stand in recess.
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
Pg ID 1198
264
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2
3
CERTIFICATE OF REPORTER
As an official court reporter for the United
States District Court, appointed pursuant to provisions
of Title 28, United States Code, Section 753, I do hereby
certify that the foregoing is a correct transcript of
the proceedings in the above-entitled cause on the date
hereinbefore set forth.
9
10
11
12
13
s/ Christin E. Russell
CHRISTIN E. RUSSELL, CSR, FCRR, RPR, CRR
Federal Official Court Reporter
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
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2:10-cv-10308-RHC-DAS Doc # 38 Filed 04/02/10 Pg 1 of 264

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

Case No. 10-10308

EVIDENTIARY HEARING, VOLUME I

BEFORE THE HONORABLE ROBERT H. CLELAND

FOR THE PLAINTIFF:

JAN REWERS MCMILLAN

FOR THE DEFENDANT:

To Obtain a Certified Transcript Contact:

2:10-cv-10308-RHC-DAS Doc # 38 Filed 04/02/10 Pg 2 of 264

Plaintiff's Motion by Ms. McMillan.................

WITNESSES FOR PLAINTIFF:

2:10-cv-10308-RHC-DAS Doc # 38 Filed 04/02/10 Pg 3 of 264

Calling case No. 10-10308, Tsimhoni

Counsel, for the record, please?

Good morning, your Honor.

Rewers McMillan appearing of behalf of Plaintiff, Omer G.

(Call to Order of the Court; all parties present.)

appearing for the plaintiff father.

Good morning, your Honor.

Goelman for the defendant, Maya Eibschitz-Tsimhoni.

me at counsel table is Jonathan Watkins, an attorney from

my firm, and Defendant, Maya Eibschitz-Tsimhoni.

Thank you, Counsel.

Thank you for

your extensive briefing, for your earlier conversations

with me, status checks, scheduling conferences and the

like, both on and off the record.

I'm ready for a hearing at this point, which

will, I would expect, include testimony, at least the

opportunity for testimony.

Counsel have both indicated

TSIMHONI vs. EIBSCHITZ-TSIMHONI - 10-10308

2:10-cv-10308-RHC-DAS Doc # 38 Filed 04/02/10 Pg 4 of 264

that they intend to call some witnesses, certainly present

argument in the wake of presentations.

have already been submitted, likely agreed to, with respect

to the Court's ability to review these things that have

already been submitted.

dispute, I recognize, about the form in which some of these

things have been submitted, and perhaps that's been

corrected and perhaps not.

And some documents

Although there is a residual

I will listen to learn what the parties's view is

with respect to those things.

substance of these matters probably outweighs the

significance of the form.

prepared to go forward in this regard.

And the attorneys are, I trust,

And, Ms. McMillan, you appear to be all lined up.

But it seems to me that the

Goelman is similarly equipped, I think.

No color tabs, your Honor.

Well, I am ready to receive

your presentation, Counsel.

My view is that this is

principally the attorneys' presentation.

questions or direct you as I deem best or necessary in the

And I will ask

TSIMHONI vs. EIBSCHITZ-TSIMHONI - 10-10308

2:10-cv-10308-RHC-DAS Doc # 38 Filed 04/02/10 Pg 5 of 264

course of this, especially if I think that we're veering

off into either repetitive matters or things that are not