Israel does not have a system of civil marriage and Israeli law mandates that Jewish marriages must be conducted by a rabbi authorized by the Chief Rabbinate. This discrepancy has resulted in tens of thousands of people, many of them from the former Soviet Union, who live in the country and serve in its army but who are blocked from Jewish rituals such as weddings and funerals. Under "halacha," or Jewish religious law, one must have a Jewish mother to be considered Jewish. But while Dolgopyat's father is Jewish, his mother is not. Under its "Law of Return," anyone with at least one Jewish grandparent is eligible for Israeli citizenship. Her comments touched a raw nerve in this country, which has repeatedly struggled with balancing matters of religion and state since it was founded as a refuge for Jews 73 years ago. "The state doesn't allow him to marry," Dolgopyat's mother, Angela, told 103FM in an interview Sunday. But the celebrations were tempered after his mother lamented that the country's authorities will not allow him to wed because he is not considered Jewish according to Orthodox law. The Ukrainian-born Israeli gymnast was hailed as a national hero for winning Israel's second-ever gold medal - and its first in artistic gymnastics. But back home in Israel, his hopes of trading gold wedding bands with his longtime girlfriend seem to be an impossible dream.
Artem Dolgopyat fulfilled a lifelong dream when he won a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics.
0 kommentar(er)
