Marriage

Marriage

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We Have Never Been So Close to Civil Marriage

We Have Never Been So Close to Civil Marriage

23/04/2023 12:07

At the beginning of March 2023, the Supreme Court accepted Hiddush’s arguments and dismissed the State's appeal against the ruling of the Jerusalem Administrative Court on the issue of "Utah marriages". The Jerusalem Administrative court ruled in favor of the petition filed by Hiddush and ordered that the Population Authority and the Ministry of the Interior are obligated to register as married any couple who marry through the “Utah online marriage". The ruling of the Supreme Court concludes the legal part of Hiddush’s two-year battle against the Minister of the Interior and the Population Authority and enables thousands of couples to marry in a civil marriage without having to leave Israel. Unfortunately (and shamefully) civil marriage and divorce in Israel are still a distant reality, but the ruling of the Supreme Court constitutes a breakthrough in the struggle for freedom of marriage. You can read more about the ruling of the Supreme Court here.

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Mazal Tov from the Consul General of Israel in New York

Mazal Tov from the Consul General of Israel in New York

Uri Regev 14/12/2017 00:50

The New York Times reports that Consul General Dayan wrote: "it is no secret many members of the American Jewish community disagree with existing Israeli legislation on civil status issues... Ultimately the Israeli Knesset — elected democratically by the Israeli citizens — legislates.

Three weddings and a protest

Three weddings and a protest

Uri Regev 03/12/2017 10:58

Today, at Temple Emanu-El in New York, New York three young couples from Israel got married, making the statement that the basic right of marriage freedom should be denied to no one.

FAKE NEWS? LIBA declares 71% Israelis prefer to marry via Rabbinate!

FAKE NEWS? LIBA declares 71% Israelis prefer to marry via Rabbinate!

Uri Regev 17/08/2017 13:09

The LIBA Center, which proclaims to be "dedicated to strengthening the Jewish Character of the State of Israel" once again demonstrated how to mislead the public by means of statistics.

67% of Jewish Israelis support freedom of choice in marriage

67% of Jewish Israelis support freedom of choice in marriage

07/08/2017 01:32

50% of the Jewish Israeli public prefers non-Orthodox marriage. A growing majority of the Jewish public is fed up with and rejects the Israeli government's position and wants Israel to join all other Western democracies in establishing marriage freedom.

55% Jewish Israelis interested in weddings outside the Chief Rabbinate

55% Jewish Israelis interested in weddings outside the Chief Rabbinate

11/05/2017 12:10

55% of the Jewish Israeli public and 81% of the secular Jewish Israeli public are interested in alternative marriages outside the auspices of Israel's Chief Rabbinate. This is the first time that a majority of the Jewish Israeli public has expressed a personal preference for marriages outside the Chief Rabbinate.

For first time, Orthodox NGO campaigns for civil marriage in Israel

For first time, Orthodox NGO campaigns for civil marriage in Israel

28/03/2017 00:44

Civil marriage is one of the most encumbered issues in the Jewish state, but the Modern Orthodox organization Ne’emenei Torah Va’Avodah began a campaign Sunday advocating for the introduction of such a possibility in Israel.

Hiddush's 2016 findings and data on marriage

Hiddush's 2016 findings and data on marriage

25/12/2016 13:20

In the past year, Hiddush focused on the battle for marriage freedom in Israel as our leading cause, conducting a comprehensive series of surveys and studies that highlighted a clear trend: the Israeli Jewish public supports marriage freedom.

Sukkot 2016: Batya Kahana Dror, Esq.

Sukkot 2016: Batya Kahana Dror, Esq.

21/10/2016 15:57

Batya Kahana Dror, Esq. writes, "Getting married via the Rabbinate is not fitting for all couples. Sometimes this clashes with their worldviews, and sometimes it creates bureaucratic difficulties in simply obtaining the Rabbinate's permission to marry at all. Divorcing through the Rabbinate is also more difficult."

Sukkot 2016: Smadar Dekel Naim, Esq.

Sukkot 2016: Smadar Dekel Naim, Esq.

21/10/2016 15:27

Smadar Dekel Naim, Esq. writes, "There is no reason whatsoever to be party to this religious coercion, especially at this most precious, family-oriented moment, and in the most personal of matters. Why should we hold non-egalitarian ceremonies, with rabbis who don't identify with our ways of life? Many of whom actually despise us?"

2016 Religion & State Index: freedom of marriage

2016 Religion & State Index: freedom of marriage

09/10/2016 15:45

A revolution: About half of the Jewish public would prefer not to get married via the monopolistic, state empowered Chief Rabbinate

The number of unmarried couples living together up by 29%

The number of unmarried couples living together up by 29%

28/08/2016 12:33

Over the course of two years, the number of unmarried couples living together in Israel increased dramatically by 28%, or nearly 20,000 couples. During this same period, the number of Jewish couples who got married in Israel fell by 6.5%. These are the findings of Hiddush's analysis of Central Bureau of Statistics data.

74% of Israeli Jews would prefer egalitarian Jewish wedding ceremonies

74% of Israeli Jews would prefer egalitarian Jewish wedding ceremonies

18/08/2016 12:57

Israeli Jews are tired of having this anti-egalitarian, irrelevant ritual forced upon them. The public wants a modernized Jewish ceremony.

A Missed Opportunity to Support Secular Life in Israel

A Missed Opportunity to Support Secular Life in Israel

06/05/2016 13:44

The rabbinate sees itself as waging a culture war, and it has been winning. Since the state’s founding rabbinic power thwarts the development of a secular conception of citizenship. Hiddush polled Israeli Jews and found that 71% support the freedom to marry and divorce independent of the Orthodox rabbinate.

71% Israeli Jews attach importance to marriage & divorce freedom

71% Israeli Jews attach importance to marriage & divorce freedom

12/04/2016 15:14

60% of the Jewish Israeli public supports the involvement of American Jewish organizations in advancing marriage freedom in Israel. There is no doubt that for Israelis – breaking the yoke of the fundamentalist Orthodox Rabbinate in marriage and divorce is a top priority among the religion/state battles. Israelis welcome American Jewish partnership in advancing this cause, both for the sake of Israel and for the sake of world Jewry!

Will the Pew Israel Report Open our Eyes?

Will the Pew Israel Report Open our Eyes?

Uri Regev 10/03/2016 14:41

Rabbi Uri Regev presents his first impressions of the 2016 Pew report on Israel's Religiously Divided Society. His intimate familiarity with the subject matter and the population surveyed provide him a unique prism, which served him in assessing the report.

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