Israel & Marriage

This could just be my left wing bias in the information sources I follow out of Israel, but I think there seems to be a significant rise in the public debate in Israel, since Obama's declared support for same sex marriage, on the issue of marriage for all, including same sex marriage in Israel. 

The following article  from Haaretz newspaper is just another example of this, and follows declarations by several Israeli politicians on this issue. As the article states, "Just a handful of Israeli politicians responded to the U.S. President's statement by expressing clear support for same-sex marriage. Almost all such politicians belong to the rapidly shrinking opposition..." However, many progressive Israeli facebook pages, many of which have sprung up since last year's social justice protests which awakened  Israelis into civic action, have been abuzz talking about this issue, both as a result of Obama's statement, as well as in response (so it seems) to the reality of the new coalition agreement between Netanyahu & Shaul Mofaz who now heads up the Kadima party. 

In Israel marriage equality is in an even more dire situation than most democratic nations who have been debating this topic over the last decade or what not. This is due to the fact that not only is same sex marriage not legal (as is the case in many other countries), but since the state's inception, marriage in Israel has been an exclusively religious ceremony, entirely monopolised by the Rabbinate (for those Israelis belonging to the Jewish faith, by choice or merely by birth). This has resulted, at least in my view, in a highly unjust system, where many Israelis, straight or otherwise, have been unable to marry their partner of choice.

Reasons for this include:

• The inability, due to Rabbinate rules, to marry a partner who is not of the Jewish faith (if you are a Jew).
• The inability to marry if you, or your partner, are deemed 'Psulei Chitun', or 'unfit for marriage' according to Jewish law. 'Psulei Chitun' are defined as: 1. A pair who are banned from marriage due to being related, or who are already married to someone else (fair enough..) OR 2. If you are a 'mamzer' (IE, were born out of wedlock, you may only marry another 'mamzer', or alternatively you can marry a slave or a convert (how wonderful) OR if you are a Cohen (IE, descended from the lineage of High Priests from the days of the Two Temples), in which case you have further restrictions on who you can marry (can't marry a divorcee etc.). According to Jewish law, if you belong to the second category of Psulei Chitun ('Mamzer' or Cohen), you can still marry anyone you like, but this marriage is considered a marriage conducted in sin. However, 'fortunately' the Israeli Rabbinate has stepped in to save us all from such sins, by banning altogether marriages of Psulei Chitun who do not comply with Jewish law. They do this by maintaining a register of people who are 'Psulei Chitun', passed down through the generations (so if your great grandparent was deemed 'unfit for marriage', it will pass down through the generations, the Rabbinate keeps tabs on you and will know that as the great grandchild of said person, you too will be 'unfit for marriage' and denied this right).
• The inability to marry if you wish to marry in a non-religious ceremony, since it is not currently legal to have a civil, secular marriage in Israel.
• The inability to marry a fellow Jew, if you, or your partner, have undergone a conversion conducted via anything other than the Orthodox stream of Jewry. That is, if you or your partner converted through a reform/progressive Rabbi for example, you cannot marry a fellow Jew - because the Israeli Rabbinate does not recognise the validity of your conversion!

Of course, it is easy to see that under these rules, GLBT Israelis also cannot marry. However, the issue of marriage rights in Israel is far more wide spread in its discrimination, and SHOULD, if you ask me, be of far greater concern to Israelis than it currently is in public discourse.

In light of this, it is surprising to me, but very much welcome to observe (hopefully not subjectively due to my circles), a heightened interest in discussing this issue, as mentioned, in light of both Obama's statement and the new Israeli coalition. 

As mentioned in the article quoted above, there is a real opportunity currently in the Israeli Knesset, under a broad and largely secular coalition (the likes of which has not been observed in a long time) to legislate some far reaching reforms to (in my opinion) benefit Israeli society as a whole. In his statement on his decision to join the Netanyahu government, newly elected Kadima leader Mofaz said that his condition for joining the coalition was enactment of a law to replace the Tal Law, which legally sanctioned exempting Ultra-Orthodox Torah scholars from military service, whereas all other citizens are compulsorily conscripted into military service under Israeli law, upon reaching 18 years of age. The effect of this would mean for the first time in Israel's 64 year existence, Ultra-Orthodox Jewish young men would be required to share the burden of other Israelis and also serve a mandatory military term. 

As an individual who has shouldered my share of the responsibility of IDF military service, I would certainly welcome such a move, as do a growing majority of Israeli citizens, both secular and religious alike. However, there is certainly a greater opportunity at play here not to stop there and enact other reforms, such as opening up marriage rights in Israel to include civil marriages and same sex marriages. 

The counter argument to allowing such a move is that sanctioning religious-only marriages in Israel is necessary in order to maintain the Jewish (alongside the democratic..) nature of the state of Israel. For the record, I love the Orthodox Jewish marriage tradition, and hope one day to marry, in Israel, according to this tradition. My reason for this is because of my personal commitment to maintaining my Jewish identity, and in keeping with the Orthodox tradition. However, that is my choice. What I don't like, and I would hope others would agree with me, is imposing such practices on others without affording them the freedom to choose their own way. To me it is quite simple really, it is unnecessarily intrusive into people's personal lives, is unnecessarily restrictive of personal freedoms, and undemocratic. 

We Jews have survived and succeeded in maintaining our culture and tradition through many generations over thousands of years. Many of that time has been while in exile, without a state to call our own. We passed down our tradition among our family, our friends and our community, without legislating and forcing these practices on one another. I for one am proud of my Jewish identity and tradition, and proud of our unique story of survival, where many other nations have ceased to continue their existence through time. There have always been those that have converted to other faiths, or assimilated into other cultures, irrespective of the relatively contemporary phenomenon of secularisation. And yet, we're still here, and not solely by means of coercion. And in my personal view, that is what I'd like to see in the Israel of today: Continuation through education and celebration of our tradition, not through coercion. 

That being said, while the Tal law is reportedly on its way into the dustbin of Israeli history, I won't hold my breath on this one. While I'd like to remain optimistic and embrace the positive opportunities that the current Israeli government composition provides, the history of Israeli politician's actions and contemptuous disregard for the Israeli public, I fear, is in fact exemplified by this latest manoeuvre orchestrated by Netanyahu to sustain the full term of his government. As such, I am not really hopeful that the Knesset will actually do something right this time. It almost seems to me (sadly), that there is no precedent for the Knesset actually doing something favourable for the mass public, rather than merely for specific sectors who are effectively represented by self-motivated advocates from within the Knesset itself. How sad indeed.

I'd love to be proven wrong though....How ironic it would be if Israel, with all its complexities around the religious-secular divide, would precede (supposedly) secular Australia in instituting equal marriage rights for all (including same sex marriage rights). Then there might actually be some justification for this gargantuan government Netanyahu is presiding over.

Like I said though, I won't be holding my breath....