Pod Save America Hosts Call on Democrats to Cut All Israel Military Aid, No Longer Accept AIPAC Funding
Jews, Israelis Targeted in Austria Amid Surge in Antisemitic Incidents; Local Jewish Community Calls for Action
‘All of Our Strength’: Over 1,000 Pro-Israel Activists Gather in DC for Solidarity Conference
‘Devastated’: Wesley LePatner, Killed in Manhattan Mass Shooting, Was a Jewish Communal, Philanthropic Leader
Sen. Angus King Vows to No Longer Vote for Israel Military Aid Until Gaza Conditions Improve
Europe Won’t Pressure Israel to ‘Commit Suicide’ Amid Gaza Backlash, Palestinian State Push, Says Israeli FM
Israel’s National Soccer Coach Attacked in Athens Before Soccer Fans Chant ‘F–K Israel, Free Palestine’ at Match
New York Judge Sentences Neo-Nazi to 5 Years for Livestreaming Bomb Threats Against Jewish Hospitals
US Pressures Lebanon to Issue Cabinet Decision to Disarm Hezbollah Before Talks Continue
UK Plans to Recognize Palestinian State in September Unless Israel Meets Conditions, Starmer Says
Report: 660,000 Israelis Cannot Legally Marry in Jewish State
Error: Contact form not found.
by JNS.org
Wedding bands. Israeli law prohibits civil marriage or marriages not conducted by the Chief Rabbinate. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.
JNS.org – A new report by the Israeli NGO Hiddush-For Religious Freedom and Equality says that 660,000 Israelis — among them 364,000 immigrants from the former Soviet Union, 284,000 in the LGBT community, 13,000 non-Orthodox converts to Judaism and others — cannot legally marry in Israel due to laws prohibiting civil and non-Orthodox weddings in the Jewish state.
The Hiddush report, released Monday, is based on findings from opinion polls and data from the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics.
While marriage in Israel is administered by the country’s Orthodox-geared Chief Rabbinate, the Jewish state does recognize civil marriages conducted abroad, and as a result, 20 percent of weddings that are registered in Israel take place overseas. Seventy percent of secular Israelis express the desire to marry in a civil ceremony in Israel if the law would allow it, the report said.
“The [Israeli Chief] Rabbinate’s monopoly not only fails to contribute to preserving Judaism; it is a cause for the public’s hatred of Judaism, identifying [the religion] with dark zealotry,” said the head of Hiddush, Rabbi Uri Regev.
