Rabbis Deny 1 in 10 Jews the Right to Marry in Israel
More than one in 10 Israeli Jews cannot marry legally in their own country, Israeli legislators heard last week, as Israel’s religious authorities face a growing backlash against their wide-ranging powers.
Campaigners for religious freedom in Israel presented data showing that some 660,000 Israeli Jews were denied the right to marry. More than half – 364,000 – are immigrants from the former Soviet Union whose Jewishness is not officially recognised.
According to government figures, Israel’s Jewish population stands at about 6.3 million.
