Meretz to model: Marry whoever you want
In letter to Israeli model Linor Aberjil, who was asked by rightist leader Baruch Marzel to turn down a marriage proposal from her boyfriend, non-Jewish Lithuanian NBA player, Meretz MK Zahava Gal-On says ‘Your life is yours alone, so you should marry whoever you want and in any manner that you desire, be it a religious-Orthodox, reform or civil marriage'
In an open letter Friday to Israeli model and former Miss Universe Linor Aberjil, who was asked by rightist leader Baruch Marzel to turn down a marriage proposal from her boyfriend, non-Jewish Lithuanian NBA player Sarunas Jasikevicius, Meretz MK Zahava Gal-On said “I’m sorry that your personal joy got entangled with the election campaign fanfare… I don’t know you or the man of your choice, but I wish to say one thing to you: Your life is yours alone, so you should marry whoever you want and in any manner that you desire, be it a religious-Orthodox, reform or civil marriage.”
Young lovers Aberjil and Jasikevicius (Photo: Raffi Daloya)
“True, the State of Israel was established as a home for the Jewish nation. It has a solid Jewish majority, so in any case most Israelis fall in love with each other. But you have fallen in love with someone else, and that is entirely your business, and no one has the right to preach national morality to you.”
'They will be happy for you'
Gal-On went on to say in the letter that “This is so obvious in a normal country… but unfortunately in Israel there are those who believe that your private life is State property.
“Linor, you are being threatened that your children will grow up with identity issues, but you should be glad that they will not be raised to absorb the identity of the children in Kiryat Arba and the Jewish settlement in Hebron, where children are taught that their identity is superior to that of their neighbors, and therefore they are entitled to abuse and beat them,” she said.
“This identity is a much greater danger to Israel than assimilation. I hope you raise your kids in Israel, where they will surely absorb Jewish and Israeli culture.”
“In any case, Gal-On concluded, “enlightened Israelis will embrace you and your loved one. They will understand that the world is changing and that love knows no boundaries.
“They will understand that the individual stands above everything else and that the State must support the individual. They will be happy for you, also because they are tired of listening to dazed characters telling us how to run our personal and national lives.”
