Israel’s new ‘covenantal partnership’ bill would legalize gay marriage

Well here's one way to legalize gay marriage, without even really having to mention gays, or marriage: Introduce a law that allows any couple, regardless of religion or gender, to obtain a “covenantal partnership” from the state.

This approach may only be possible in Israel, a nation built on religion but aspiring to the ideals of Western democracy. “>Times of Israel, with the repercussions:

This legal situation, inherited from the Ottoman era, has meant that some 300,000 non-Jewish immigrants who have Jewish relatives and are eligible to immigrate to Israel as Jews under Israeli law cannot marry at all, as the rabbinate does not consider them Jews under Jewish law and will not perform a wedding service for them with either Jews or non-Jews. Similarly, non-Orthodox (and, more recently, some Orthodox) converts to Judaism have been unable to marry under Israeli law.

So in order for Israel to stay modern and desirable, a new door must be opened for the more Tel Aviv-minded half of the country.

The United Nations' Human Rights Council found the issue so pressing, in fact, that — amid a rash of dictator crackdowns and civil wars throughout the Middle East — representatives from various countries “>told the Times of Israel, point blank: “It’s not right and it won’t happen.” Kol explained that before the bill reaches the floor, the Knesset's Ministerial Committee for Legislative Affairs has 45 days to consider, and either accept or reject, its contents. (Last year,