A bill to establish civil marriage and divorce in Israel was struck from the Knesset’s agenda yesterday. Justice Minister Haim Zadok said the bill could not be considered because the government is bound by a status quo on religious matters. Meir Payil, of Moked, who introduced the bill, said that a recent survey by the Institute of Applied Social Science showed that 60 percent of Israel’s population favored civil marriage and divorce.
His bill would establish civil marriage and divorce as an alternative to the religious marriage and divorce rites, leaving the choice to the individuals concerned. In that respect it differed from a civil marriage bill introduced last year by Independent Liberal Party MK Gideon Hausner which would have applied only to couples ruled ineligible for marriage by the Chief Rabbinate.
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