JERUSALEM, Nov. 21 (UPI) -- Israel's high court has ruled that the marriages of five same-sex couples registered in Canada must be given similar recognition in Israel.
In a precedent-setting 6-1 ruling, the justices ruled that the five common-law marriages can appear as being married on Israel's population registry, reports the Ha'aretz newspaper.
The Association for Civil Rights in Israel, which took up the case of the couples, argued the Israeli Interior Ministry's refusal to register them as married had denied their right to equality. The state attorney claimed countries that register same-sex nuptial agreements cannot expect Israel to extend similar recognition because the country lacks the appropriate legal framework for such marriages, the report said.
A member of the gay community who married his partner in Canada said, "This is an historical day for the (homosexual) community and for democracy."
Ha'aretz quoted Israel's minister in charge of religious affairs as saying, "The dam that protected the Jewish state has been burst open under the auspices of the High Court, asking for an anti-Jewish deluge clad in black capes."
