According to recent data released by the Ministry of Religious Services and Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), there is a 7.5% drop in the number of couples marring in a civil ceremony. The CBS estimates that 982 couples were wed in a civil ceremony last year, far less than most believe.

On the other hand, there is also a drop in the number of couples being married via the Chief Rabbinate of Israel. Whereas in 2016 the official state marriage registry recorded 36,675 marriages and in 2017, that number dropped to 35,163, which amounts to a 6.2% decline.

This shows for the most part, Israelis are marrying in accordance with Halacha and fewer are seeking the civil option, the report concludes.

While the chareidim have been more than slightly critical of Tzohar Rabbonim, which reports an increase in the number of weddings performed annually, the organization boasts success based on the data released, indicating while people are unwilling to go to the Chief Rabbinate, they are not opposed to being married in line with Halacha; and Tzohar fills the growing void.

Rabbi Boaz Ganot, who oversees the marriages for Tzohar, reports the organization cooperates with local rabbinates and the people married by Tzohar are registered with the official state marriage registry via on of the local rabbinates which cooperate with the organization.

Rav Ganot praises the work of the organization, explaining over the years, tens of thousands of couples have been married and legally registered as such by Tzohar, and the other alternative for these couples, who refuse to go to the Chief Rabbinate, is to wed via Conservative or Reform or possibly a civil marriage abroad. He credits Tzohar Rabbonim for preserving marriage in line with Halacha for a growing number of couples. Rav Ganot explains that for many non-religious couples, an encounter with the Chief Rabbinate and its representatives is nothing less than an encounter with the judicial system and it is a most unwanted experience for many.

Tzohar Rabbonim began performing weddings 22 years ago, along with Kallah classes before a wedding. Eight years ago, Tzohar received cooperation from local rabbinates and the marriages were registered. 4,500 couple were married via Tzohar in the past year, almost 10% of all the weddings conducted according to the CBS.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)