Marriage in Israel

Bride and groom praying at the Western Wall before their wedding

In Israel, marriage can be performed only under the auspices of the religious community to which couples belong, and inter-faith marriages performed within the country are not legally recognized.[1] However, marriages performed abroad or remotely via videoconference must be registered by the government. Matrimonial law is based on the millet or confessional community system which had been employed in the Ottoman Empire, including what is now Israel, was not modified during the British Mandate of the region, and remains in force in the State of Israel.[2]

Israel recognizes only marriages under the faiths of Jewish, Muslim, and Druze communities, and ten specified denominations of Christianity.[3] Marriages in each community are under the jurisdiction of their own religious authorities.[2] The religious authority for Jewish marriages performed in Israel is the Chief Rabbinate of Israel and the Rabbinical courts. The Israeli Interior Ministry registers marriages on presentation of the required documentation. Israel's religious authorities — the only entities authorized to perform weddings in Israel — are not permitted to marry couples where both partners do not have the same religion or if they have the same sex;[4] the only way for people of different (or no) faith to marry is by converting to the same religion. However, civil, interfaith, and same-sex marriages entered into abroad are recognized by the state;[5] as a consequence Israeli residents not permitted to marry in Israel sometimes marry overseas, often in nearby Cyprus, or since 2022, remotely via videotelephony with an officiant in Utah, which a lower court and subsequently the Supreme Court de facto recognized in 2023.[6]

Under the Citizenship and Entry into Israel Law, the right of a spouse of an Israeli citizen to automatic Israeli citizenship is dependent on the country or territory of the spouse; it is not automatic for West Bank residents or citizens of certain Muslim-majority countries.

As of 2018 over 50 percent of Israelis married before age 25, with marriage rates much higher among Orthodox Jews and Muslims than among secular Jews.[7][8] However, an average age at first marriage among all social groups was reported to be 30.6 for men and 28.2 for women.[9]

  1. ^ Hanna Lerner (2011). Making Constitutions in Deeply Divided Societies. Cambridge University Press. p. 214. ISBN 978-1-139-50292-4.
  2. ^ a b Radday, Frances (1 April 2005). "A Free People in Our Land: Gender Equality in a Jewish State". embassies.gov.il. Archived from the original on 24 October 2024. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  3. ^ Shetreet, Shimon (n.d.). "Human Rights in Israel: Freedom of Religion". www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org. Retrieved 2017-05-16.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference npr was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Michel Chabin 2013-06-13 Married On The Mediterranean — But Not In Israel The Jewish Week. Retrieved 2015-10-01
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference jpost was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ "Majority Of Israelis Marry By 25, Most Have First Child By 27". The Times of Israel. 18 June 2019.
  8. ^ "Selected Data from the 2018 Social Survey: Residence, Family and Work Balance". Central Bureau of Statistics (Press release) (in Hebrew). 18 June 2019.
  9. ^ United Nations Economic Commission for Europe "Mean age at first marriage by sex".