In A Blow to Religious Establishment, Israeli Court Rules Online Marriages Must Be Honored

An Israeli district court in the city of Lod ruled in July that Israel’s Interior Ministry is required to recognize the marriages of couples who use a virtual wedding service provided by the U.S. city of Provo, Utah.

“If the decision stands,” reports the Jewish Telegraphic Agency (July 11, 2022), “it would mean that couples who do not want to or cannot have an Orthodox Jewish wedding could get the benefits of marriage without leaving Israel, as they are currently required to do. Those include LGBT couples, interfaith couples and couples in which one partner is not recognized by one of the established religious authorities and couples who are committed to non-Orthodox Judaism.”

Israel has no civil marriage and Jewish marriages have been controlled by the Orthodox establishment, which has frustrated non-Orthodox Israelis and those who convert to Judaism outside of Orthodoxy. Non-Orthodox rabbis cannot perform weddings in Israel and their conversions are not recognized.

Until now, marriages not recognized by the Orthodox establishment had to occur abroad in order to be registered by the Interior Ministry. When the Covid pandemic began in early 2020, some couples turned to an online wedding service launched in Utah. Officials in Utah did not realize the convenience the service could provide to those in countries with restrictive marriage laws, but were pleased to offer it. After the Israeli Interior Ministry froze registration of the Utah marriages, a number of couples, backed by Israeli civil liberties groups, filed a lawsuit. Now, conservative politicians pledge to advance legislation that would negate the court’s ruling. **