Professor Aharon Barak: Israel's marriage laws are a clear violation of basic human rights

The former Israeli Supreme Court Chief Justice emphasizes that the country’s marriage laws constitute an infringement of basic constitutional rights, as published by Hiddush.

29/10/2013 13:32

Tags: freedom of marriage · supreme court · Aharon Barak · civil marriage

Former Supreme Court Chief Justice Aharon Barak at a conference in Jerusalem Picture: Yosi Zamir/ Flash90

Hiddush- Freedom of Religion for Israel has published selected highlights from Professor Aharon Barak's forthcoming book, "Human Dignity: The Constitutional Right and its Derivatives" on its Freedom of Marriage World Map website. In these excerpts, Barak addresses Israel's marriage policies, which are governed by religious law and deny Israelis the right to marry. He stresses that the laws infringe on the constitutional derived rights to human dignity, religious freedom, and equality.

Click here to read the essay

In the book's analysis of the right to family life and marriage in Israel, Barak writes, "Anyone who is unable to marry according to religious law, and anyone who does not want to marry according to religious law for their own reasons, cannot marry in Israel. Civil marriage is not recognized in Israel. This state of affairs violates the constitutional right to marry…The present law does not only violate the constitutional derived right to marriage, but it also often violates the derived right to freedom of conscience and freedom from religion."

Barak also explicitly relates to same-sex marriages, saying: “A law that prevents two members of the same gender from entering a relationship of couplehood is a violation of the human dignity of each partner.”

The majority of the Israeli public and world Jewry are completely opposed to these policies, which deny hundreds of thousands the right to marry and refuse millions more the ability to marry in a ceremony congruent with their beliefs

Barak, an internationally-revered jurist, was described by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Elana Kagan as her "judicial hero." His statements on marriage in this important forthcoming book bolster the international call across denominational and political lines for civil marriage in Israel.

Hiddush President, Rabbi Uri Regev, Esq. expressed his gratification that Hiddush has been permitted to publish Professor Aharon Barak's strong endorsement of marriage freedom. Regev expressed the hope that Barak's statements on marriage will be heard by Israeli policymakers, the public, and among Jewish leadership around the globe to encourage them to raise their voices in support of freedom of marriage for all of Israel’s citizens.

Regev noted that "Hiddush's unique Freedom of Marriage World Map boldly illustrates that Israel is the only western democracy in the world that denies its citizens freedom of marriage and unfortunately is in the unenvious company of many of the world's Islamic fundamentalist countries. The majority of the Israeli public and world Jewry are completely opposed to these policies, which deny hundreds of thousands the right to marry and refuse millions more the ability to marry in a ceremony congruent with their beliefs. Professor Barak clearly demonstrates the constitutional illegitimacy of religious monopoly on all marriages in Israel and its clear violation of human dignity and basic human rights. Israeli policymakers and world Jewry must take heed to Barak's clear message and work towards allowing freedom of marriage in Israel, in keeping with Israel's founding promise for 'freedom of religion and conscience.'"