Marriage and Divorce

  There are over 300,000 members of mixed families in Israel that are not considered Jews according to halakha (Jewish orthodox law). Even though they arrived under the Law of Return, which grants citizenship to spouses and up to the third generation of children of Jewish male, and even though they were classified as Jews in the former Soviet Union - after arriving to Israel they are registered in the Ministry of Interior as "lacking any religious classification", and experience severe institutional discrimination. This problem applies to one third of the immigrant population from the FSU, and their numbers are growing.
  Israeli law grants the religious court of each religion the exclusive authority to decide over matrimonial issues of members of that religion. Being registered as "lacking any religious classification", over 300,000 Israeli citizens cannot marry in Israel, no matter what the religious identity of their partner is. Due to the prohibition to perform civil marriage in Israel, an option available in every modern country, the only option of those citizens to marry their beloved ones is to travel to another country and perform a civil marriage ceremony over there, which is afterwards recognized by the Ministry of Interior.
  Many immigrants - especially young couples - lack the financial means necessary to afford this kind of travel, and all of them do not want to accept the reality that they must marry away from their friends and families. Subsequent recognition by the Ministry of Interior does not appease their feelings of humiliation and deprivation.

  According to results of an AMF survey and government research, the number of mixed marriages in Israel has dropped significantly, from 10,442 in 2003 to 4,500 in 2005, meaning that economic hard times combined with government intransigence have forced couples to live as they were married, but without being recognized as such by the Chief Rabbinate or by the Ministry of Interior, causing hardships for couples and their progeny for coming generations.

  Furthermore, the reputation of the chief Rabbinate in processing divorces, even for fully Jewish Israelis is notorious, and much worse for these Mixed Couples. Since it is unclear whether the divorce is to be handled by a religious or a civil court, cases can drag on for years, wasting public resources and ruining the lives of the spouses and children who need the state to allow them to settle their differences with dignity. Since its foundation in 1999, The Association for the Rights of Mixed Families has promoted legislation allowing for civil marriages and divorces for all citizens, according to their own beliefs and lifestyles. AMF emphasizes that new legislation is essential to end this institutionalized discrimination and cause for alienation that has plagued these immigrants for decades, thereby promoting their integration into society.