The Israel Supreme Court ordered the Chief Rabbinate and the Jerusalem Religious Council to show cause for their refusal to register a marriage contracted by a Falasha Jew in Israel.
The high court also issued an order to the two agencies to show cause why arrangements should not be made to allow the Falasha Jew to have a legal wedding ceremony under state rabbinical auspices. The applicant became married in a private ceremony when the rabbinate, which has exclusive jurisdiction over marriages and divorces of Jews in Israel, refused to perform the ceremony.
The issue stems from the reluctance of Israel’s rabbinate to accept the claim of the Falashas as full members of the Jewish community. The Falashas, living in Ethiopia, claim they are circumcised and of Jewish descent.
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