Thursday, November 23, 2006

Israeli Court: Israel Must Recognize Canadian Same-Sex Marriages

Haaretz reports today that on November 21, 2006, the Israeli High Court ruled that the State of Israel must register the marriages of five same-sex couples who were married in Toronto:

In a precedent-setting ruling, the High Court of Justice on Tuesday ruled that five gay couples wedded outside of Israel can be registered as married couples. A sweeping majority of six justices to one ruled that the civil marriages of five gay couples obtained in Toronto, Canada, can appear as married on the population registry. The gay petitioners sought to force the state to give equal recognition to common law marriages of heterosexual couples to those of gay marriages, which can be performed in certain countries.

... The court rejected the position of the State Attorney, that states recognizing single-sex marriages cannot expect Israel to recognize such nuptial agreements drawn in these countries. The state told the High Court that "Israel lacks the appropriate legal framework for such marriages," and therefore it cannot register them. After the ruling was issued, the Civil Rights Association said it is "all the more important in the wake of the [recent] public turmoil stirred by the gay pride parade in Jerusalem."

Haaretz is an independent Israeli daily newspaper published in Tel Aviv.

- Garry J. Wise, Toronto

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