The Partnership Agreement": AMF standpoint
The association for the rights of mixed families was based with its foundation on principles of equality and democracy, respecting the beliefs, lifestyles and identity of every individual. Following those principles, AMF handles the protection of the rights of around 300,000 Israeli citizens, who are not considered Jews according to Jewish religious law, the vast majority of them are immigrants from the former Soviet Union. One of the most troubling issues these people face during their lifetime in Israel is the violation of their basic right to marry according to their choice.
Over the last 25 years there has been conducted a public and political struggle in Israel over the right of each citizen to marry with free choice, in a ceremony that will be held according to the citizen's belief system and lifestyle. The growth in the number of mixed families over the 1990's due to the immigration from the former Soviet Union has contributed to the renewal of this struggle with additional intensity. Ever since its foundation, AMF has taken a proactive part in this struggle, but unfortunately all of the taken efforts to settle this issue using public pressure, lobbying and legal measures proved unsuccessful.
That being the case, it is obvious that the problems mixed couples face are harsh and urgent: according to statistics held by AMF, in the last few years the number of mixed marriages in Israel has dropped significantly, from 10,442 in 2003, to 7,998 in 2004 and to 4,500 in 2005. 70% of the couples who get married abroad every year are actually Jewish couples, not mixed couples. These statistics show that mixed couples, who come mainly from low-income families, cannot afford a trip abroad in order to get married. The country's authorities have managed in thwarting any creative solution adopted by mixed couples in the past, such as performing civil marriages inside the Russian consulate in Israel.
In 2004 a bill under the name Brit HaZugiut (Partnership Agreement) was composed by a ministers committee headed by MK Roni Bar-On ("Kadima" party), in order to solve the problems concerning mixed couples. According to this bill, a civil marriage route will be established in Israel, which will be separate from the religious establishments and under the supervision of the ministry of justice, and will grant mixed couples the option to get marry in their country. The "Israel Beytenu" party, led by Avigdor Lieberman, stipulated the Kadima government's commitment to such legislation as a condition for joining the government coalition. However, ultra-religious parties blocked and continue to resist any compromise concerning the Chief Rabbinate's monopoly on marital supervision.
While AMF promotes standardization of a civil marriage for all citizens who desire it, it accepts a limited Partnership Agreement as a better-than-nothing settlement. AMF thinks that it is necessary to make the greatest efforts, under the existing political circumstances, in order to provide an immediate solution for the sufferings of mixed couples regarding the marriage issue. Therefore, AMF supports the "Partnership Agreement" settlement as a temporary solution for this issue.
AMF demands that parties which have declared their support for the "Partnership Agreement" settlement, including Kadima, the Labor Party, Israel Beytenu and Meretz, should keep their promises prior to the last elections, and pass this legislation as early as the 2007 summer parliamentary session. Civil marriage is the only solution that will allow 300,000 Israeli citizens - including some 75,000 children born and raised in Israel - to legally marry and raise a family in their own country.
