Gay father lands in Israel with twins
Dan Goldberg, who was stranded in India with twins born of surrogate mother while awaiting paternity test, lands in Israel, says, 'It's a pleasure to be home'
Dan Goldberg, the homosexual father who has been stranded in India with his twins born of a surrogate mother for two-and-a-half-months, landed in Israel Friday morning with his partner Arnon Angel and his children, Itai and Liron. The family was kept from returning to Israel due to a court ruling that delayed the execution of a paternity test.
Family, friends and representatives of the gay community armed with signs, balloons and bottles of Champaign welcomed the family at the airport.
Goldberg has been living in Mumbai with his children since their birth to an Indian surrogate mother and has been waiting for them to receive Israeli citizenship. The process was dependant on a tissue analysis to confirm Goldberg's paternity. Such a procedure has been approved by Israeli courts many dozens of times in the past.
Thursday afternoon, representatives of the Goldberg family submitted to the court the results of the paternity test confirming that Dan Goldberg is the father of the twins. The Interior Ministry gave the Israeli Consulate in India the authorization to register the twins as Israeli citizens and issue them passports.
"There's nothing like being in Israel, we have been waiting for this moment for a long time," Angel said. "It can be summed up in two words: We won. No one was able to stop us. It was a long, difficult period, but we love the land of Israel, the State of Israel.
"This is our home, and this is where the children should be raised and educated to become model citizens. These entire past two months were unnecessary, these are two beautiful children and there was no need for a paternity test, there was ample proof that they are ours."
When asked how he views the State of Israel after the affair, Angel said, "Israel is not a dark country. There was simply a bump in the road, we fell on an unfortunate panel in court, but this may have been for the best – it could serve as a message to the judges, the authorities and the State that it is no big deal. We are citizens of the State and have been serving it for many years. We still do not understand what all the fuss is about."
Goldberg described his feelings upon his return home, "We are tired but it was a great flight, and the children slept throughout it. We are very excited, it's a pleasure to be home. I missed my grandmothers' food, my room, my bed."
He said the family's plans for the coming days are to "rest, watch television, and we already made an appointment at the infant welfare center."
