A ruling by a district court in Israel has notched a victory for advocates of civil marriage in Israel. Israel currently does not have an option for a civil marriage, but it does recognize such marriages performed abroad. Israelis must be married through recognized religious institutions – such as Israel’s chief rabbinate, or Muslim Sharia courts. Practically, this means that Jewish Israelis wishing to marry non-Jews, or same-sex couples who wish to get married must travel to another country, often Cyprus since it is close, in order to marry. When Israel was locked down due to the coronavirus pandemic, several Israeli couples got married through an online civil marriage service through the state of Utah in the United States. Israel’s Interior Ministry Population and Immigration Authority refused to register the marriage. But in a decision published on Friday, the Lod District Court ruled that the authority must register the couples married through the Utah’s marriage service. This could open the door to more Israeli couples getting married through such services without going through the expense and inconvenience of leaving the country.
This holiday season, give to:
Truth and understanding
The Media Line's intrepid correspondents are in Israel, Gaza, Lebanon, Syria and Pakistan providing first-person reporting.
They all said they cover it.
We see it.
We report with just one agenda: the truth.
