Norway to allow civil marriages for Israelis who can't marry in Israel
Currently, hundreds of couples are not able to get married at all, since going abroad is not an option and the Chief Rabbinate will not perform a ceremony and provide legal recognition.
By CODY LEVINEWedding (photo credit: ILLUSTRATIVE PHOTO: REUTERS)
Norway is considering allowing Israelis to get civil marriages at their embassy and consulate as coronavirus restrictions have prevented them from traveling to Cyprus, a common destination for civil marriages, according to a Ynet news report on Thursday.The Foreign Ministry has been trying to also register civil marriages at foreign embassies and consulates in Israel as a solution to the ongoing global coronavirus travel restrictions. Cyprus has thus far refused to consider the idea.The push for allowing Israelis to get married at the Norwegian embassy was initiated by Blue and White MK Miki Haimovich, who called on Interior Minister and Shas MK Arye Deri to confirm this option.Other unnamed countries have also offered their embassies and consulates to perform civil marriages for Israelis wishing to avoid a religious service or unable to get married in Israel due to a host of reasons, ranging from being a mixed couple, where one is not Jewish, Muslim or Christian, to having an unclear religious status in Israel.Currently, hundreds of couples are not able to get married at all, since going abroad is not an option and the Chief Rabbinate will not perform a ceremony and provide legal recognition.On Monday, Deri and Attorney-General Avichai Mandelblit will discuss the proposal to have Norway perform the civil marriages. "Since the outbreak of the corona crisis, I have received countless inquiries from couples who cannot marry in Israel for various reasons – and due to the coronavirus crisis, some of them are in fact unable to marry at all," Haimovich said."Following the announcement by the Norwegian Embassy, I call on the attorney-general and Interior Minister Deri to approve the procedure and allow this basic right for the couples who have suffered so much grief," she said."This fundamental right must not be denied to any citizen in a democracy, especially in a difficult time when many people are experiencing economic, health and mental hardship," Haimovich said. "I thank MKs Yevgeny Soba, Andrei Kozinov, Sharren Haskel and Nitzan Horowitz for raising the issue. This is important to the committee, and many are working to promote it."Uri Keidar, director-general of the Free Israel Movement praised the effort, saying: "We welcome any step that will allow Israeli couples to choose their path to marry."He added, however, that "it is important to mention that a couple registered as married in the Interior Ministry, even if married in a foreign country, are likely to find themselves, if they choose to divorce, to be required to do so in the Rabbinate – even if they did not marry with the Rabbinate."The solution must be a full civil marriage in Israel, which does not require any contact with the rabbinate for those who do not want it. Until then, couples would do well to establish their status as public figures, which is the only way to guarantee not to [be required to] meet the rabbinate," Keidar said.