Israeli court recognizes online civil marriages as valid

The Central District Court ruled on Sunday that Israel’s Interior Ministry is obliged to recognize hundreds of online marriages registered through zoom in the US state of Utah. 

The decision made by Judge Efrat Fink means that Israeli couples can now wed in a civil ceremony without leaving the country, according to The Times of Israel.

Hundreds of couples who registered their marriage online about a year and a half ago at the peak of the pandemic were waiting for the ruling as the country’s former Interior Minister Aryeh Deri previously instructed to freeze the procedure after only three marriages were recognized by the Population Authority.

The couples who were waiting for their marriages to be validated by the Jewish state included Israel’s Deputy Foreign Minister Idan Roll and his husband Harel Skaat. Orthodox political parties have been opposing civil marriages in the Jewish State for decades as Israeli law only allows couples to wed and divorce through religious institutions, like rabbinate or sharia courts. 

With thousands of Israeli citizens being non-religious or having problems gaining permission to register their marriage from religious institutions, they have been fighting for validating civil procedures. Israel have seen a decline in marriages through recognized ceremonies in recent years.

An online marriage can become a cheaper and more convenient alternative to marrying abroad, which was a common practice for Israeli couples for the last six decades.