Civil marriage has been a controversial topic in Israeli politics and has recently made headlines again following the Olympic victory of the athlete Artem Dolgopyat, but a new survey shows that 65% of Israelis support the introduction of civil marriage.
Following reports about Olympic gold medalist Dolgopyat – and his difficulty marrying his partner in Israel due to not being Jewish according to Jewish law, and the Chief Rabbinate's monopoly on marriage – The Hiddush Association for Religious Freedom and Equality initiated a survey that concluded that 65% of the public supports the introduction of civil marriage in Israel. According to the survey, a large majority of voters from all coalition parties support civil marriage in Israel: 98% of Yesh Atid voters, 93% of Labor voters, 80% of Blue and White voters, 100% of Meretz voters, 81% of New Hope voters, 82% of Yisrael Beytenu voters, 62% of Yamina voters, and even 58% of Likud voters also support the right to civil marriage. The same survey concluded 90% of secular couples and 79% of non-religious traditional couples also support civil marriage in Israel.The survey was conducted among the adult Jewish public, and therefore did not include voters from the Ra'am Party, the press release emphasized. The director of the Hiddush Association for Religious Freedom and Equality, Rabbi Uri Regev, said in response that "the time has come for the Israeli government to do the right and necessary thing, and finally allow civil marriage in Israel. Do not accept the continued hypocrisy of politicians who go out of their way to praise the Olympic medalist for the honor he brought to the State of Israel, while at the same time denying him the basic civil right to marriage."A Jerusalem Post editorial dating back to September of last year stated that legalizing civil marriage in Israel is essential, saying that the move would "indicate acceptance of non-orthodox unions, it could boost aliyah and improve Israel’s image as a democratic and inclusive society."Jeremy Sharon contributed to this report.