Enough of the Orthoquack nonsense. My two sons are very frum. I was raised frum, although I am now what you may call traditional. I cant understand why you force people to marry a certain way. Israel is not the Philipinnes where there is no divorce. You are being very cruel to people in your country who love your country. Allow civil union now. Marriage in Israel must be taken out of the hands of the religious authorities.

If your looking for enlightment; indeed Germany has been enlightened for the past few centuries........just not regarding jews. We came back to Israel to build a JEWISH homeland where we can live and be safe as Jews. If you don't like the idea of a Jewish state, there are 195 other countries for you to choose from.

Sorry to break it to you, but Israel is not meant to be "normal". It is the homeland of the Jews. There is already a country for Germans, it's called Germany. Look into it.

..... see the Rabbis, do the giur (it doesn't hurt) and become an Israeli citizen. Israel does NOT belong to the Christian-Occidental world. It is a Jewish state! My question: Can you go to Jordan and legally marry a Muslim woman there without converting to Islam? It is a great blessing, that Israel is a Jewish state and we need to make a few concessions to retain this status. Nevertheless, if a couple lives in a healthy relationship without being married under the Chuppah, I am wondering where the real problem lies? You want to avoid the legal way of Jewish marriage?! Okay, goto Cyprus and marry there. Please don't tell me, that you don't travel otherwise!

Ynet continues it's assault on Torah values and by stealth, the Jewish people as a whole. To the author of this "opinion" piece, I have no sympathy for you whatsoever. You are marrying out, why do you believe the Jewish state, let alone any responsible Rabbi, should contenance an act that is progressively destroying Jewish identity in the diaspora? Liberal? Modern? Rubbish. Marriage is instituted, defined and enshrined in Jewish law. You yourself admit you do not agree with ceremonies, why so desperate to be seen as married then? After all, it's very institution is archaic to the modern, liberal thinker. I'll tell you why, because you want to have your cake and eat it. In the end, you are being selfish. Your ancestors who died for being Jews would be horrified at the notion. Your children won't be Jewish. Your grandchildren won't be Jewish. The buck stops here. None of the persecutions the Jewish people have faced for millenia could do what you have done. Why doesn't your "partner" convert? After all, it's no more a liberal and modern notion than marriage. Again, you want your cake and to eat it. What a selfish person you really, really are.

I had the same problem, as I'm not Jewish and not Israeli and my ex-wife was Jewish and Israeli. We've married to France and have been recognized in Israel as wife and husband. What is the problem..? Don't say you are never travel to visit your girlfriend's family..? So you can marry there, then be recognized in Israel as a couple! You need to respect the fact that Israel is a secular country but also the LONELY JEWISH COUNTRY in the World… That's like this, and also a good thing that Jewish families can stay Jewish, for the sake of the Jewish people… (and that's a Christian-born man who tell you this!) Love is important, so if you don't have the same religion, you can still marry in Czech Republic, Germany, Cyprus, England, Russia, Italy and so…

and take your whine about your "rights" with you.

Leave

Good luck to the young couple, as you said we live in rascist country where the ultra orhthadox dictate to the entire nation who we can and cannot marry. In the year 2103 and in a country that claims to be the only democracy in the middle east people should have a choice. If couples want to marry via the rabbinute thats their choice, howver those who do not should be allowed to marry in a civil ceremony here in Israel. Quite obviously these brainwashed gulible zombies and followers of the imaganinaly friend in the clouds are that insecure they see it as a threat to their so called life style.

Let me ask you this? Lets say you met a non jewish guy in Germany and Germany declared itself a christian country and you were not alowed to marry how would you feel ? Love comes in many forms not just your little socialy acceptable kosher couples. Love unites religion divides, good luck to the young couple.

The comments focus on inter-religious marriage and Israel being the only Jewish state. What about 2 Jews - who are gay. What about 2 Jews 1 woman 1 man - one was transgendered, what about 2 Isralis, born in Israel, but not Halachically Jewish?, 2 reform Jews etc etc.....come on, this is so stupid. Today you CANNOT force any religion on a marriage - it is a choice.

How simple minded must someone be, to reduce Judaism to religion? Jews first and foremost are a peoples. Judaism first is a social order, a culture, ..... and last but not least a religion. I can give you a shocking atheistic interpretation of the Tora and every Rabbi and every Kabbalist will agree with it. Being Jewish is a very positive thing and it is a blessing, that there is a Jewish state and not a decadent western state. If you don't like the Jewish state, follow the advise of the other commentators: LEAVE! According to the Halakha I am not Jewish. It is a particular irony of German history, that there are enough families who have been able to obfuscate their roots so far, that they were spared. For me this means, that I will do a giur. My mothers family was marked for deportation "as soon as the war would be over". They have been told, that they had to move to Ukraine. Fortunately this never happened. So much about the hypocritical Yael, who was strugling for her identity to date. Identity is a basic human right and I cannot see any any improvement, if the groundings of Jewish identity are rocked.

Title should be revoltingly civil, no place in the Jewish state for this attitude

The operative term being "ex-wife." The course of true love never does run smooth.

You do a wonderful job in promoting Israel's abnormalities

Has it ever occurred to you that there just might be Jewish women -- a lot of them -- who restrict their encounters to Jewish men?

Wouldn't civil partnerships be the solution for Israel? We all know that CPs are not marriages; they simply confer all the benefits (and disbenefits) of marriage on two people, regardless of whether they are of same or different genders. Simples!

with such hatred for Israel. why do you stay?? and to marry a German is it sane??? but there must be a civil marriage in Israel, you are right.

Firstly a little lesson in english. 1)racist not rascist 2) Orthodox not orhthadox 3)We are in the year 2013 not 2103 4) however not hwever 5)Gullible not gulible 6) imaginary not imaganinaly 7) 'their so called lifestyle'- i think you probably mean something else because their way of life is a lifestyle whether you like it or not. It sounds like your knowledge of the orthodox Rabbis and Judaism is similar to the command you have of the english language. I would highly recommend you study both Judaism and English from authentic sources. You then might be taken slightly more seriously.

my wife is not..we went to cyprus,,whats the big fucking deal?

my daugther and her boyfriend now living together more than 10 years, in every way married and BOTH Jewish. They just don't want to get married and have kids. So - what's the big deal? Other daughter and husband (both Jewish) got married in Cyprus over 13 years ago. Again, what's the big deal? Important thing is that you love each other and are with each other. Iron out the problems together.

nor would the State of Israel. So it is in everyone's interest, BOTH RELIGIOUS AND HILONIM, to impede such an holocaust we would inflicting on ourselves.

jeeze I cant imagin how bad it would be here if Israel became a theocracy. Israel is a democracy and Must allow gay marriage. If the state wants to be involved in giving benefits and rights to people because they are married, then they should give those rights to all citizens and not let religions decide what marriage is. stop using religion to descriminate !!! its horrible!

religion doen't recognize non-jews as human equal to jews.

Only gays should be allowed civil unions/marriages in Israel as long as non of the religious congregations in Israel approves of marrying them. When/if they're allowed to marry in a religious congregation, civil marriages would be completely abundant. Civil unions is a secular meaningless invention, and I say that as a secular who'll marry tradionally according to the rabbinate.

Reading the comments here, I fear we are very racist?! May that be? Just look at the facts, more and more israelis turn away from the rabbinate, which with all his force is driving them to do to! We need a change or soon the half of the jewish population in Israel will get considered "non-jewish" by the haredi driven rabbinate! Its really time to change status quo, because the ruling of the haredim over all jews in israel dosnt not anything good! Quiet the opposite is true, it became a constant source for hate and trouble among us!