Behind Israel’s Gay Marriage Plan

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Inconsistent same-sex marriage laws around the world create problems for couples that marry in one region, yet desire to live in another where same-sex unions or gay immigration isn't recognized. Gay marriage laws in sporadic states and nations create virtual borders for couples who want to maintain the privileges of marriage yet live in the state or nation of their choice. For example, married gay couples in Massachusetts are not afforded tax breaks if they move to, say, Tennessee where gay marriage isn't recognized. The same applies country to country. Same-sex couples married in Canada are not seen as spouses in Honduras and thus do not receive the benefits given to other married Hondurans.

In response to the growing need for gay couple protection from region to region, the Israeli Supreme Court ruled in favor of five couples who sought to have their marriages performed abroad recognized in Israel. Interestingly enough, the decision to register same-sex marriages from abroad came just weeks after ultra-Orthodox Jews violently protested gay pride in Jerusalem. Israeli same-sex couples were already protected under the law with a lesser form of marriage and less tax breaks prior to the Supreme Court ruling.

Under the new ruling, however, gay couples that marry abroad can now reside in Israel as a registered married couple and not just a civil partnership. This move is significant since registration as a married couple gives gays access to the adoption rights afforded to married heterosexual couples.

Despite the recent gay rights victory, full legal gay marriage in Israel seems unlikely given the strong hold the Israeli religious community has over marriage and divorce. The Supreme Court, however, has opened the door to change-- circumventing religious conservatives by welcoming home gay Israelis married abroad.

Update: Israel’s First Married Couple Returns

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