Decision on twins stranded in India expected within 3 days
Family Court judge, who delayed paternity test for gay Israeli who used Indian surrogate mother to have children, grants urgent motion ordering appointed guardian, State representative to decide whether test can be performed in father's absence
After nearly two months of being stranded in India, Dan Goldberg and his two babies Liron and Itay, who were delivered by an Indian surrogate mother, are getting one step closer to returning to Israel.
Judge Philip Marcus of the Jerusalem Family Court has ordered the State Prosecutor's Office and appointed guardian Attorney Hagit Ziv to reach a decision whether a paternity test can be performed in the father's absence, within three days.
Two days before the infants were born Judge Marcus rejected a motion to perform a paternity test, a common procedure, claiming the court wasn't authorized to rule on the matter. Marcus claimed the court wasn't authorized to pass judgment on children who were not in Israel and "whose affinity to Israel has not been proven," since it was not confirmed whether their father was an Israeli citizen.
During a hearing he explained, "If it turns out that one of the people sitting here (the three homosexuals) is a pedophile or a serial killer, these are things the state needs to check."
Protest in Jerusalem (Photo: Gil Yohanan)
Following the controversial decision, an appeal was filed with the Jerusalem District Court which accepted the claim that the family court should be the one to rule in the case. The district court ruled that it was in the children's best interest to hold the test.
Marcus' original ruling prompted a public protest against the delay in the children's return to Israel. Dozens of protestors held a demonstration Sunday morning opposite the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem urging the return of the twin babies from India. One of the protestors told Ynet, "Even (former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin's murderer) Yigal Amir was given the right to bring children into the world. It's our basic right as well."
Dan's brother, Tzahi Shaked also attended the protest and told Ynet of the strain on his brother, who is forced to remain in India. "It’s hard for him. He received a lot of support from the people in Israel – but nothing is actually happening."
Shaked further noted that one of the babies suffers from an eye infection while the father cannot afford the hospital treatment expense.
