Thousands of Israelis have already used an option offered by the U.S. state of Utah to marry via Zoom and register as legally wed. Israelis who did not want, or were unable, to marry through Israel’s Chief Rabbinate, the only authority through which Jews can marry and be registered as married in Israel, found a solution in the arrangement. Now, an internal legislative move in the U.S. state threatens that possibility.
In recent weeks, a bill introduced in the Utah Senate seeks to bar marriages conducted entirely remotely, without physical presence in the state, unless they were recognized before a certain date. The proposed legislation would require at least one of the spouses to be physically present in Utah during the wedding ceremony.
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Will the option for Jews to marry outside the rabbinate and register as married in Israel be revoked?
(Photo: Alexander Dyachenko / Shutterstock)
According to data from the Hiddush religious freedom advocacy group, about 3,000 couples in 2024, in which at least one spouse is Israeli, were married in “Utah weddings” via Zoom or another video platform. Information from Utah County indicates that roughly 30% of all couples marrying through the remote procedure there are Israelis.
During the COVID pandemic, Utah authorized marriage ceremonies to be conducted via Zoom, enabling couples, including non-U.S. citizens, to marry and have their unions legally registered. After Utah residents, Israelis make up the largest national group to use the option.
In a landmark 2022 ruling, Israel’s Administrative Court instructed the Population and Immigration Authority and the Interior Ministry to recognize all couples married under the “Utah wedding” framework and register them as married. The decision effectively validated the registration of civil marriages conducted in Israel by remote means. Now, that option could be curtailed.
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Zoom app. About 30% of Utah weddings are of Israelis
(Photo: Thaspol Sangsee / Shutterstock)
“‘Utah weddings’ are a very common 'bandage' for the distorted reality in which the State of Israel does not allow many citizens to marry at all or to marry in accordance with their worldview,” said Rabbi Dr. Seth Farber, founder and chairman of the ITIM advocacy organization, which helps people navigate Israel’s religious bureaucracy
“Our assistance center at ITIM uses Utah weddings as a solution for many couples who seek to marry according to Jewish law but refuse to do so through the Chief Rabbinate,” he added.
“Israeli lawmakers must advance an arrangement that allows citizens to choose how to conduct their wedding ceremony. More and more couples would then choose a Jewish wedding.”