JERUSALEM (JTA) — A messianic Jewish couple cannot get married in a Jewish ceremony in Israel, a rabbinical court ruled.
The couple are considered converts to Christianity, a special panel of the Tel Aviv Rabbinical Court ruled Tuesday after consulting with a scholar on Christianity and missionary cults, as well as questioning the couple.
The couple said they believe in Jesus as the Messiah and that they work to spread the Gospel, The Jerusalem Post reported. They belong to the Tiferet Yeshua messianic community in Tel Aviv.
The rabbinical court based its opinion in part on a ruling by Israel’s Supreme Court in 1992 that said a messianic Jewish couple from the United States could not move to the country under the Law of Return since they had converted to Christianity.
The court said that if the couple told the court they had given up their Christian beliefs it would reconsider the decision.
