* civil marriage¶

Not only is gay marriage not legal in Israel, neither is any civil marriage. If you want to get married in Israel, it needs to be a religious ceremony. And since none of the recognized religious institutions allow homosexuality, gay marriage is not allowed. https://t.co/ORXiVdeue5 "But wait," you cry! "Israel recognizes gay marriages performed in countries where it's legal!"

Yes. Because Israel is a settler colonial enterprise. It requires a constant stream on immigration to continue its campaign of demographic displacement. It needs to entice wealthy, liberal, colonially-minded settlers from the imperial core, which means it needs to adopt the same liberal affectations as those cultures do. It needs all the imperial amenities, the cultural norms, the professional career prospects, and so on. So why does Israel recognize gay marriage while leaving family law in the hands of religious institutions? This too is an integral part of the colonial project. Israel relies on enforcement of the legitimacy and legal authority of Judaism in the construction of a Jewish state. The Rabbinical courts are an inextricable component of the Israeli justice system, with authority over the family -- the reproductive cell of cultural hegemony. Israel maintains strict religious control over marriage, divorce, status and care of children, inheritance, and more. The family is incredibly important to crafting culture and controlling the flow of capital in a society. It engenders allegiance to a constructed identity, modulates the transmission of wealth and education, instills obedience to the social order, and tamps down unrest. By investing all power over the family into a religious court, Israel legitimizes the supremacy of its Jewish settler population. Jewish strictures govern the very foundation of social life -- and through it, economic hegemony is reinforced. That is the nature of colonialism. They cannot legalize gay marriage -- or interfaith marriage, or secular marriage in general -- without undermining the absolute authority of the Rabbinate. While in the midst of its ongoing ethnic cleansing, this would collapse the colonial project.