Supreme court expedites Jewish to non-Jewish marriage registering

An appeal made to the court claims that it is against people's rights to put their marriage status in a "pending" state.

By OMRI RON
Illustrative photo of marriage rings (photo credit: TNS)
Illustrative photo of marriage rings
(photo credit: TNS)
After a procedure that took four and a half years, the Supreme Court accepted an appeal against the Interior Ministry and will instruct the country to approve marriage between Israeli and foreign citizens more swiftly, provided that they present a marriage certificate.
In the past, after such a certificate was provided, the ministry would place people in a "pending" status for six months, which has now been shortened to three months, even though the general procedure has not changed.
The decision was taken after an appeal made by the "Gisha" (access) organization.
Gisha claimed that placing people in a "pending" status was against the law if they had provided a public certificate.
This waiting period, as stated in the appeal, did not respect a person's right for equality, as in the case when two Israeli citizens marry and are registered immediately.
At the conclusion of the verdict, judge Hanan Meltzer wrote: "What this means is, after the confirmation of the certificate by the person making the request, and according to the office's procedures – and given that there are no flaws or error... to create the need for further investigation – the clerk must register the change in the Israeli's status, regardless of whether or not their partner is Israeli, and has no authority to change their status to "pending."  
In Israel, marriage must be approved by the rabbinate in order for a couple to be considered legally and religiously married. This means that only couples where both sides are Jewish are allowed to marry in the Jewish state. Different religious systems are in place for people who belong to other faiths.
A popular alternative for those wishing to marry non-Jews, or those whose status is questioned by the rabbinate, is to marry in another country such as Cyprus and bring back a marriage certificate from there, which Israel still accepts.


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