Sunday, November 20, 2005

Marriage in Israel under attack

When it comes to preserving Jewish tradition expect Israel's Supreme Court to vote the other way.

Newsweek:

...Five Israeli gay couples who got hitched in Canada under its 2003 gay-marriage law asked judges in Israel last week to order authorities to recognize their unions as binding. Israeli law is strict on matrimony, going so far as to bar unions between Jews and non-Jews. But authorities do recognize mixed couples who tie the knot abroad, a legal custom that the couples' lawyer now wants applied to gay unions.
The stakes are mainly political. Israel already has labor laws and court judgments extending benefits to same-sex partners. But in a country where religious parties usually wield enough power to make or break ruling coalitions, a liberal decision by the bench could trigger a political backlash from ultra-Orthodox members of Parliament.
"We made the decision to marry knowing it would spark a battle in Israel," Yosi BenAri, a petitioner, told NEWSWEEK.
Israel's chief justice, Aharon Barak, has appointed an expanded panel to hear the case. Analysts believe the court, often a trailblazer on liberal issues, will side with the petitioners.
But Avraham Ravitz, a rabbi and member of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's coalition, said Parliament would block gay-marriage advances through legislation. "We have a coalition agreement that says when the court makes decisions against religious principles, Parliament will correct them," he says.
posted by Yeshiva Orthodoxy
at 11:30 AM

1 Comments:

Blogger Robbie said...

Attack?

How telling of you to use such a word about such a place; there are too many instances of actual "attack" for you to attempt to equate the quest for equal rights with the need to blow up a bus.

10:23 PM  

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