An Israeli homosexual couple married in Canada told reporters on Tuesday they intended to apply immediately to the Interior Ministry to be registered as "married" in the Population Registry after the High Court of Justice accepted their petition and ordered the ministry to do so.
"We are very happy today," said Yosi Ben-Ari, whose married status on the basis of his wedding in Canada, where homosexual marriages are legal, will appear on his identity card from now on.
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| The High Court of Justice, Israel |
"Three years after our marriage in Toronto and two years after filing this petition, we are happy that the outcome was in our favour," he told reporters at a briefing held by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI).
ACRI sponsored the first two of five petitions by homosexual couples married abroad, demanding that the Interior Ministry register them as married. The court ordered the ministry to record all five couples.
Ben-Ari participated in the briefing with his partner, Laurent Schuman. The other couple whose petition was sponsored by ACRI, Yosef Bar-Lev and Yaron Lahav, also attended the press conference.
"This is certainly a moment of satisfaction, especially after what we have been through in the past few weeks with all the displays of ugly homophobia," said ACRI legal adviser Dan Yakir. "I hope it is a step towards a more tolerant and accepting society which allows every human being to live his life and enjoy full equal rights in Israeli society."
A panel of seven High Court justices, headed by retired Supreme Court president Aharon Barak, ruled unanimously that the Interior Ministry must record the couples as married.
Asked why it was so important for him to be recognised as married, Bar-Lev said, "It's very, very simply a matter of equality of rights. I think and believe that I am entitled to every right that the state bestows on any other citizen. Whether or not I exercise that right is one thing. But I should have the right. That is very elementary."