Stirring the pot of moral controversy, Israel’s liberal Supreme Court has ruled that the government must recognize same-sex marriages performed abroad. Though homosexual marriages still may not be legally performed in Israel, gay couples will have the same status in the Ministry of Interior as heterosexual couples married in civil ceremonies outside of Israel.

The decision sparked outrage. “We don’t have a Jewish state here. We have Sodom and Gomorrah here,” said Moshe Gafni, an ultra-Orthodox parliamentarian. “I assume that every sane person in the state of Israel, possibly the entire Jewish world, is shocked, because the significance is...the destruction of the family unit in the state of Israel.”
The ruling pitted the modern Jewish state against ancient Jewish Law. Effectively, the court ruled that in a democracy, everyone should have equal rights.
Gay activists and the Association of Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) hailed the decision as a victory. “It’s a very important day for anyone that is fighting for equality, for liberty, for democracy,” said Yossi Ben-Ari, who was among five couples petitioning the Supreme Court to have their same-sex marriage registered. “But the struggle is not over.”
MARRIED MEN: Yossi Ben-Ari (left) and Laurent Schuman celebrate after the Supreme Court recognized their marriage