Gay Israeli couples hail Toronto for their wedded bliss, fundies not happy

[Grimmlok]

Ultra-orthodox party derides ruling as 'defilement'
Nov. 21, 2006. 10:13 AM
MITCH POTTER
MIDDLE EAST BUREAU


JERUSALEM – Five Israeli couples are praising Toronto today, crediting the city of their nuptials and Canadian law for sparking a landmark Israeli high court ruling recognizing gay marriage.

In a vote of 6 to 1, Israel’s High Court of Justice yesterday decreed the Toronto-wed couples are to be registered as married under Israel’s population registry. The precedent-setting decision entitles them to the same status as heterosexual Israel couples who marry abroad, including tax benefits and the legal right to adopt children.

"I have such good feelings today for Toronto and all of Canada for being our light against the darkness," said Sefi Bar-Lev, 40, who married Yaron Lahav, 29, his partner of nine years in Toronto on Gay Pride Day 2003.

"This is a great step forward. But we are still at the beginning. The law in Israel is opening up, but whether you are gay or heterosexual, the rule here is still that unless you want to marry the religious Orthodox way, you must still leave the country to get married," said Bar-Lev.

"So there is more struggle ahead to win the right to have civil ceremonies in Israel. But today we can see there is momentum in the right direction."

Marriage in Israel is no easy task even for straight couples, due to religious laws that deny permission for almost all but the most Orthodox Jewish weddings.

Despite decades of political efforts to accommodate the marital desires of the country's burgeoning secular population, Israeli marriage law remains unchanged. The tense status quo leaves a sizeable portion of the country with no option but to wed outside the country - in nearby Cyprus, as often as not.

Bar-Lev, an Israeli folk dance instructor, and Lahav, a fitness coach, are one of Toronto-wed five couples whose cause was taken up in a year-long legal challenge by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI), which petitioned the high court to recognize their Canadian marriage certificates as valid under Israeli law.

ACRI’s initial petition was directed at the Israeli Population Registrar, which responded in writing, declaring "marriages of this kind are not considered legally valid by the State of Israel and thus cannot be recorded into the registry as requested."

The civil rights association’s legal team then turned to the high court, arguing that the Population Registrar’s refusal conveys "a humiliating message that a relationship comprised of two men or two women is not considered to be normative, and is also considered to be of such a low status as to render it unsuitable for the rules that apply to heterosexual couples."

Yesterday’s high court ruling, coming just two weeks after a series of streets riots in Jerusalem in protest over a controversial gay pride gathering, struck a raw nerve with many senior Israeli religious figures.

"The High Court has sunken in the gates of defilement and has torn out the last mezuzah from its doors," said Yitzhak Cohen, a member of parliament with the ultra-Orthodox Shas party.

"The dam that protected the Jewish state has been burst open under the auspices of the High Court, asking for an anti-Jewish deluge clad in black capes."( Bitch, please. Black capes are so last week.)

Israel gay activist Itay Pinkas, who also married his partner in Canada, called the ruling an "historic day for the community and for democracy. This is our real pride parade. We will keep battling for equality in other areas."

http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/Con...2154&t=TS_Home

To the gay couples, I raise my glass to you

L'Chaim!

[LynnieD]

I saw something on 'The Daily Show' last night (though I believe it was a repeat from last week) about the first Gay Pride Rally in Israel. Sounds like they are trying to make strides over there, but they sure have an uphill battle. Good luck to em!

[Elise]

I do not understand why the fundies care so deeply about what everyone else in the world is up to--why don't they just focus on themselves??

[Grimmlok]

.. because if they did that, they would find a world of problems. It's easier just to blame everyone else around you.

That's why I don't like religion. It's a scapegoat for horrible behavior.