A compromise deal to allow civil marriage in Israel is being mulled by the government, Channel 12 News reported on Monday.
The deal, which was proposed by New Hope MK Sharren Haskel, would allow Israelis to marry in civil ceremonies in foreign embassies and consulates. Religious Affairs Minister Matan Kahana first vetoed the suggestion but then agreed to support it in exchange for repealing the grandchild amendment to the Law of Return, which grants Israeli citizenship to people with one Jewish grandparent or any person married to a Jew.
Kahana believes that the compromise would be supported by right-wing politicians as they believe that the repeal of the grandchild clause is critical for the Jewish identity of the State.
However, although the report said that the Yisrael Beiteinu party was open to the option, a statement issued by Finance Minister Avigdor Lieberman seems to disprove that – which is not surprising considering that Lieberman’s voter base are mainly immigrants from the former Soviet Union, many of whom entered Israel due to the grandchild amendment.
“There is no deal – there are lies,” Lieberman said. “I hear the reports tonight of a so-called deal that people will be able to marry in consulates in exchange for repealing the grandchild section of the Law of Return. I’m not aware of any such proposal and Yisrael Beiteinu will never sit in a government that agrees to such nonsense. Civil marriage is an important initiative that must be unconditional.”
Intelligence Minister Elazar Stern (Yesh Atid) is also opposed to a deal: “The grandchild clause in the Law of Return is of strategic importance to Diaspora Jewry and Israel. It was not and will not subject to negotiations in this government.”
Oren Henig, the head of the Liba organization, stated: “It’s horrifying to discover how far Minister Kahana is willing to go for a position and power. He’s harming giyur, marriage, the Rabbanut, kashrus, and the kedusha of the Kosel. Am Yisrael will not be silent. It’s time to take to the streets – secular, religious, and Chareidim, and protect the Jewish tradition and character.”
Marriage governed by halacha is not the only religious issue the government is planning to infringe on, with initiatives such as approving work permits on Shabbos for males over age 16 and the abolition of the committee for the approval of abortions expected to be brought for a vote in the coming months.
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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10 Responses
Bennett is a dog.
Yidden were somehow able to marry for thousands of year without a Rabbanut and I suspect will continue to do so even if the Rabbanut was abolished tomorrow.
I can hear the flushing sound as Judaism goes down the toilet. The Jewish state will cease to be Jewish…
All the bad things the Israeli government does would not happen if many of the frum yidden in חו”ל would ascend to ארץ ישראל
This Kahana guy is a real nutcase and a danger to Jews in Israel and around the world.
Prohibiting civil marriage is meaningless UNLESS one also prohibits extramarital relations, which probably would be impossible. As long as non-frum Israels are able to establish de facto marriages without penalty, the concept of “civil marriage” is irrelevant. A few centuries ago, the European Christians had real criminal sanctions (rarely enforced) for ignoring the marriage laws (though by halacha, as long as the woman was unmarried there were never any criminal sanctions), but these have largely vanished.
The frum community in Eretz Yisrael should worry about things that do matter to our survival, such as hinukh, conscription, kashrus, job discrimination, etc. What the secular Jews and goyim do in private isn’t our problem.
What the secular Jews and goyim do in private isn’t our problem….
Umein, V’Umein. Politicians and religious leaders have been trying to regulate bedroom behavior for at least 2,000 years w/o much success. Time to move on to stuff that matters, like how the average Israeli, frum or secular, will be able to afford a bedroom (and the house that goes with it).
@ChaimTovim – I have bad news for you. Israel has never been a Jewish State. It is a self-governing independent nation where the majority of residents are Jewish. As such it adopts what can be described as broadly “progressive” Jewish ideas, in the same way that a number of European states have adopted broad Catholic ideas. However with the advent of left wing progressivism, those States, such as Italy, Spain and Ireland are now moving away from Catholicism. Lehavdil that is exactly what is happening in Israel.
@ChaimTovim – I have bad news for you. Israel has never been a Jewish State. It is a self-governing independent nation where the majority of residents are Jewish. As such it adopts what can be described as broadly “progressive” Jewish ideas, in the same way that a number of European states have adopted broad Catholic ideas. However with the advent of left wing progressivism, those States, such as Italy, Spain and Ireland are now moving away from Catholicism. Lehavdil that is exactly what is happening in Israel, it is slowly but surely moving away from and semblance of Judaism.
gadolhadorah: you decry “religious leaders” who try to regulate bedroom behavior. My religion, in fact, regulates bedroom behavior and I would expect my religious leaders to promote my religion. Pray tell, are you a religious man – and if so, what religion?