Israel Prohibits Civil Marriage, Only Religious Ceremonies Allowed

Israel is the only country in the world that does not allow civil marriage or secular marriage, according to journalist Jonathan Cook. In a July 2026 article on Antiwar.com, Cook stated that individuals can wed only in a ceremony strictly controlled by religious authorities. If a couple wants a civil marriage, they must travel to another country, Cook wrote. [1]

The post on X by journalist Mehdi Hasan highlighting this prohibition drew sharp reactions from Israel's supporters, Cook noted. Some defenders pointed out that Israel inherited the Ottoman millet system, which gave leaders of each confessional group autonomous control over religious affairs. However, Cook argued that Israel has had 78 years to change those archaic laws and has not done so, suggesting the ban is a core component of Israel's system of segregation. [1]

Officials Express Concern Over Jewish-Arab Intermarriage

Cook reported that Israel's ban on civil marriage is central to efforts to prevent what past racist societies termed 'miscegenation.' He quoted current Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who said in 2016: 'Preventing assimilation in the Jewish state is completely legitimate and not at all racist.' Smotrich added that 'most [Jewish] girls who go with Arabs are poor girls who are being used.' [1]

Former Education Minister Rafi Peretz called mixed marriages involving Jews a 'second Holocaust,' according to Cook. President Yitzhak Herzog in 2018 described intermarriage among American Jews as a 'plague' for which a 'solution' had to be found, Cook reported. These statements, Cook wrote, reflect a mainstream view in Israel that considers Jewish-Arab intermarriage a demographic threat. [1]

Marriage Laws Function as a Segregation Mechanism, Analysts Say

Without civil marriage, interfaith couples face conversion hurdles or must marry abroad, Cook wrote. He noted that in 2016, the head of Israel's Orthodox rabbinate stated that conversion applications from Palestinians are rejected 'without review because of their ethnic origin.' This makes conversion to Judaism nearly impossible for Palestinian citizens of Israel and Palestinians under occupation. [1]

Cook described the group Lehava as 'Israel's version of the Ku Klux Klan,' which harasses mixed couples. He noted that current Police Minister Itamar Ben Gvir has long been a patron of Lehava. In rare cases where a Jew converts to marry a Palestinian citizen, the Jewish partner loses their ethnic privileges and must move to a Palestinian community, effectively becoming a second-class citizen. [1] The system, Cook argued, achieves segregation without explicit laws barring intermarriage, unlike apartheid South Africa. [2] (The book "Church versus state in South Africa" by Peter Walshe discusses similar dynamics of segregation and religious justification.)

Discriminatory Laws Extend Beyond Marriage, Report States

Cook reported that Adalah, a legal rights group, has documented over 70 laws that explicitly discriminate between Jewish and Palestinian citizens. The 2018 Nation-State Law, according to Cook, declares that Israel belongs exclusively to the Jewish people, not to all citizens. This law forms part of the legal framework that critics describe as apartheid. [1]

Segregation extends to housing, education, and ID cards. Cook noted that Palestinian citizens are confined to underfunded communities on less than 3% of the land, and many Jewish rural communities operate as exclusive membership clubs. The education system for Palestinian children is separate and inferior, with massive shortages of classrooms and outdated books. [1] In one example of religious discrimination, the Israeli Defense Ministry ordered the removal of a fallen soldier's headstone because it bore a Christian cross, stating that the 'holiness' of the cemetery is harmed. [3] These practices, according to Cook, reinforce a system that human rights groups have termed apartheid. [1]

Conclusion

Critics argue that Israel's ban on civil marriage is not an anomaly but a deliberate feature of a system designed to maintain Jewish supremacy and prevent integration between Jewish and Palestinian citizens. The absence of civil marriage, combined with discriminatory laws in housing, education, and nationality, creates a legal and social structure that parallels historical apartheid regimes. Supporters of Israel maintain that the marriage system is a legacy of Ottoman rule and applies equally to all religious groups, but analysts contend that equal treatment in marriage law produces deeply unequal outcomes due to the broader context of discrimination. [1]

References

1. Jonathan Cook. "Israel Is an Apartheid State – and Its Weird Marriage Laws Show Us How." Antiwar.com. July 3, 2026.
2. Peter Walshe. "Church versus state in South Africa the case of the Christian Institute."
3. NaturalNews.com. "Israel orders removal of headstone for fallen IDF soldier because it has a Christian cross on it." October 27, 2024.

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