High Court petitioned to allow civil marriage

The Jerusalem Institute of Justice petitioned the High Court to cancel the Civil Union Bill for Israelis with no religious affiliation

02/03/2011 12:38

Tags: marriage; civil rights ·  Israel

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The Civil Union Bill for so-called non-denomination Israelis violates the constitutional right to family life and equality, and therefore must be stricken from the law book, the Jerusalem Institute of Justice argues in a petition it submitted to the High Court of Justice on Thursday, February 10, 2011. Alternatively, the petitioners demand that the bill be expanded to apply to every citizen who wishes to get married in a civil ceremony, the website Ynet reported. “This bill violates numerous basic rights. It discriminates against, demeans, and withholds freedom of choice from citizens who lack any religious affiliation,” the petition maintains. “The thrust of the bill’s violation lies in its sheer determination, as a rule, that civil union will apply only to non-denominationalists who want to enter into a civil union with other non-denominationalists, who are Israeli residents.” The petitioners explain that the bill is aimed at numerous citizens from the former

This bill violates numerous basic rights.

Soviet Union who have no religious affiliation. “These citizens see themselves as part of the Jewish people, serve in the army and pay taxes but are now being perpetuated by the state, under the auspices of the bill, as ‘others’ and as ‘lepers,’” the petitioners write. The bill not only contravenes Israel’s basic laws, but also fails to resolve the marriage problem for non-denominationalists. The majority of these live with a Jewish partner, not necessarily with a partner who likewise has no religious affiliation. Attorney Calev Myers, the institute’s legal counsel, told Ynet: “A broad segment of the ‘non-denominationalists’ have a direct and strong connection to Judaism, immigrated to Israel under the Law of Return, and were required to prove that they are part of the Jewish people. Now the bill is demanding that they prove that they are not Jews in order to exercise their right to get married.”