The Reluctant Acceptance of Same-Sex Unions and Parents in Israel

Israeli marriage law is religious in nature, and makes no provision for civil marriages. It is thus remarkable that same-sex unions have been recognized, albeit to a limited extent, by Israeli courts, and that same-sex marriages performed abroad have been registered and recognized by Israeli authorities. This article explores the growing acceptance of both same-sex partners and parents in a country where personal law is based on religion. I argue that there are two main reasons for this acquiescence: (1) Israeli-Jewish culture places great emphasis on the family and on procreation, and has been characterized in the literature as pronatalist. Therefore, LGBTQ people who choose to live in long-term, monogamous relationships and have children are accepted, as they can be seen as living within Jewish culture and its familial orientation; (2) The so-called demographic problem, which is used to encourage Israeli Jews to have more children in order to continue to outnumber Israeli Palestinians, allows Jewish LGBTQ individuals to join this national effort, thus gaining legitimacy for their families. As the article shows, none of the rights that same-sex partners and parents have under Israeli law were voluntarily awarded by the legislature. All of these entitlements were recognized by Israeli courts only after lengthy and costly litigation, oftentimes against fierce resistance on the part of Israel's Attorney General. Hence, while Jewish Israeli same-sex partners enjoy a relatively high degree of sociolegal recognition, it should nevertheless be considered a "reluctant acceptance."