The Reality of Marriage Inequality in Israel

Ethnic and Religious Based Restrictions On Marriage
(A Bridge Too Far series)

In 1935 the Nazis Introduced the Nuremberg Laws

Creating Marriage Restrictions On European Jews.

I have been told that to start this post I should clarify that I myself am Jewish and do have ancestors who died in Croatia during the Holocaust. I never felt compelled to make such a distinction before yet while writing a much longer post from which this article is taken it was pointed out to me such a distinction should be made. This is in part due to the fact that many of our readers seem to be under the impression that I am either Christian or Muslim. Though I have no problem with either religion, I don't belong to them. So with that said I do not take it lightly when I talk about Israel or the Holocaust. Both are dear to me and it is due to that love that I can't tolerate what I see as wrong in my beloved Israel. 

With that said, here is the portion of this new series dealing with marriage in Israel and the segregation the current system enforces. 

Marriage in America is depicted as a right that all citizens should be granted to enter into freely. Though we should not take it lightly and the current system in America may not reflect that view we are forcibly pushing for change in our homeland. It has been during this battle over equality in marriage that I could not help but look across the sea at my beloved Israel with weary eyes. For despite America's failures in removing the church from a state regulated legal contract we have at very least removed race and religion as disqualifications for marriage. This is something that I could not say about Israel. 

On August 1st of 2003 those in charge of Israel found it fitting to expand upon the ethnic bylaws for marriage in Israel. After rushing a new law through the government in Israel offered a it's Arab citizens a new set of laws that would ban the marriage of Israeli citizens to Palestinians. Arabic citizens who chose to marry Arabs from the West Bank or Gaza would therefore be forced to move out of Israel or live apart from their new spouse. The law had dictated that even when married to Israeli citizens Palestinians could not gain citizenship or residence within Israel. 

Marriage in Israel has always been something of a contentious subject. Jews in Israel are not permitted to marry non-Jews if they want their marriage recognized by the government. Jews who are not considered Orthodox are also banned from marriage to Orthodox Jews in the fact that the state of Israel will not recognize the marriage. This was highlighted in story of Rita Margulis when she, having served in the Israeli armed forces and lived in Israel since the age of four, was denied a legal marriage by the state.

For me it has been these two main parts of the laws governing marriage in Israel that has taken my mind back to the days where we Jews were faced with similar restrictions on our decisions to marry. We all know the laws to which my mind wanders. Yet far to often it seems Jews around the world try to avoid the reality of how Israel treats marriage and how we as a people were once treated in the same light.

In 1935 the fascists in Germany introduced a series of laws that would live in infamy for the rest of time. Under Nazism the Jews of occupied Europe were officially from that point on banned from marriages with non-Jews. Any marriages that existed from that point on were considered void. The offspring of all these marriages were considered "tainted" and thus Jewish. It didn't matter in reality what amount of blood was Jewish or not, children from these marriages were targeted just the same.

"Marriages between Jews and Staatsangehörige (Germanic citizens) or kindred blood are forbidden. Marriages concluded in defiance of this law are void, even if, for the purpose of evading this law, they were concluded abroad."

~Nuremberg Laws, Section 1: Article 1

The laws regarding marriages between Jews and Germans (or non-Jews) was so important to the order of Hitler's Europe that it was the first part of the new race laws. The need to discriminate against the Jews in the aspect of marriage was so important that it couldn't wait for economic policies or property ownership to be addressed first. This was in part due to the genocidal efforts of the Nazis and the desire to limit the ability of Jews to reproduce. It was also due to the idea of "blood purity" that perverted the Nazi view of marriage.

These laws had direct effects upon the Jewish population of Germany from the very moment they were implemented.

"They also, at the same time a law took effect that did not allow a Jewish person, male or female, to go with a gentile person, male or female. At that time, I was going with a nice young lady that I had gone with for some time, and we were out camping, I remember very well. I had a kayak, and we went out camping near Hamburg, and there was a fellow and, next to us, near us, in another little camp with a tent, we slept in tents. He wanted to make a date with this young lady that I was going with, and she didn't want any part of it. He reported me to, to the Gestapo, and I was arrested for going with a gentile girl. I got six months in prison, solitary confinement in 1935."

~ Edward Adler, Born 1910 in Hamburg Germany

In Israel the laws regarding the marriages of Jews to non-Jews may not word for word reflect the harshness of the Nuremberg Laws of 1935, yet the spirit of the law does. Despite the notion of being the one true democracy in the Middle East the reality remains in question when such laws are permitted. If the letter of the law is allowed to be interpreted in such a manner that it denies citizens basic human rights then the spirit of the law is dead. And without spirit the nature of democracy crumbles.

When we add in the laws that deny citizenship, revoke citizenship, or restrict the rights of certain citizens due to the religious or ethnic heritage of that citizen the spirit of democracy is faded even more. A democracy cannot tolerate the denial of human rights to any member of it's society if it desires to be a vibrant and healthy democracy. Yet in Israel, a purported beacon of democratic values, the spirit of Nuremberg taints the letter of the law when the state approaches marriage from this angle.

The most basic answer to this problem is the lack of "civil marriage" instead of Orthodoxy governed marriage is the disbanding of the Orthodoxy's monopoly upon the state sponsored establishment of marriage. For us in the United States this was supposed to be solved through the separation of Church and State. For Israel however the state is nearly governed by the Orthodoxy in the fact that despite being a democracy Israel is a Jewish state. It is an aspect of the relationship between Orthodox Judaism and the state that has long hindered any such separation.

For people like Rita Margulis this means that even being a Reform Jew in Israel means having fewer rights than those who subscribe to Orthodox Judaism. As for the Arabic Israelis, such laws add further pressures upon a portion of the population who was polled in 2007 as being 47% "less than patriotic". Such laws undoubtedly do not help create more patriotic Arabic citizens or even promote pride in "Jew-ish" citizens. And yet these laws continue to be enforced and thus help to segregate Israeli society.

Now, while I do understand that the comparison to Nazi laws may be considered offensive, this undeniable haunting reminder of such laws is meant to make you think. In a modern society should we accept the notion that religion or race should have anything to do with whether two people are permitted to marry one-another? Or should Israel be forced to rethink it's position upon marriage and the approach the state has taken to the issue thus far?

As for Alder's Ledge it is a sad reality that such laws still persist in a country where the values of liberty and freedom are espoused by both citizens and politicians alike. We would wish to see Israel take this step as one of many initial steps toward reconciliation with our Palestinian brothers and sisters. For we cannot see a future ahead where lasting peace is established and sustained when such laws are permitted to exist. Legalized discrimination, in this form and all others, will forever be a thorn in our side as long as we continue to willingly suffer it so.

Want to learn more about this subject and others covered by Alder's Ledge? 

Follow us on Twitter: @Alders_Ledge

Follow us on Facebook: Alder's Ledge

Source Documents
(Note: not all sources listed)

Huffington Post
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/12/israel-civil-marriage-ban_n_3429764.html
-
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rabbi-uri-regev/why-is-it-so-difficult-for-jews-to-marry-in-israel_b_3196200.html

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
http://www.ushmm.org/outreach/en/media_oi.php?ModuleId=10007695&MediaId=2711

Nuremberg Revisited

It's 1935 All Over Again In Myanmar
(The Darkness Visible series)

(Burmese Government Encouraging Fascist Lean Amongst Arakan Buddhists)

Myanmar's radicalized Buddhists movement 969 appears to be out of step with Nazi Germany as it jumps around in its systematic plan to eradicate Burma of Rohingya Muslims. What had begun decades ago is now amplified as the 969 movement falls back in line with its rabid leader Wirathu. Where they had instigated liquidations of Rohingya villages they now seek to enact laws that are remarkably similar to Hitler's Nuremberg Laws. So even though the hate group in Burma is out of order in its genocidal efforts, they aren't letting a single step that Hitler took pass them by. 

People in the West will have read that first paragraph and have become offended by the comparison to Nazi Germany with that of a "newly democratic" Myanmar. Let alone the direct comparison of a "democratic" society's laws to that of Hitler's Nuremberg race laws. So if you're still with us, lets take a look at just why and how Burma is revisiting the 1935 Nuremberg Laws. 

 Prevention of Rassenschande

 

"The Laws For The Protection Of German Blood And German Honour

Section 2: Extramarital sexual intercourse between Jews and citizens of the German state or related blood are forbidden."

In Nazi controlled Europe the act of procreation was strictly legislated so as to prevent the "racial defilement", or "rassenschande" (defilement of blood), of the mythical Aryan race. This meant that Jewish individuals were restricted in who they could marry, who they could have sex with, and how many children they could have and with whom they would be created with. Any child that was created out of sexual relations between a non-Jew and a Jewish individual was considered to be "mischling" or a "half-breed". These "half-breed" offspring were thus considered Jewish by default in the eyes of the Nazi law.

For Rohingya in Burma there have long been laws restricting who they could marry, when they could marry, and if they are allowed to marry at all. These laws are then intertwined with other laws that have long regulated the number of children Rohingya families are allowed to have. These offspring are then supposed to be registered with the state so that the children can be tracked and monitored. Any Rohingya child created out of such incidents as rape (a common crime committed by Rakhine and Burmese soldiers) is then considered Rohingya by default in the eyes of Burmese law.

Population Control

On June 10th, 2013 in a discussion with Reuters the Minister of Immigration and Population in Myanmar told the world that he backs a two child law targeting the Rohingya. This was the first of Myanmar's new Nuremberg Laws to be introduced to the West. For the outside world it was shocking that a minister like Khin Yi would back such a racially provocative law as this one. Yet across the board the leaders of Myanmar's government have unanimously supported the two child limit for Rohingya families in Burma. 

This law, fully supported by the more vocal elements of 969, is targeted not only at reducing the number of Rohingya through attrition but is aimed at impoverishing Rohingya even further. With a lack of children to help in daily activities in areas where agriculture still remains the backbone of society, Rohingya are left at a severe disadvantage. Though not practiced as much in the West, children in Burma are put to work to support the family and help grow and harvest the families food supplies. Without the extra hands the food supply diminishes and any extra jobs that can't be completed go undone. Thus showing the intent of this law to both prevent the birth of another generation of Rohingya but to also deprive the currently living of food and security. 

Mixed Faith Marriages Banned

"The Law For The Preservation Of German Blood And German Honour

Section 1: Marriages between Jews and citizens of German or kindred blood are forbidden. Marriages concluded in defiance of this law are void, even if, for the purpose of evading this law, they were concluded abroad."

Nazi Germany had already taken away the citizenship of German Jews prior to the Nuremberg Laws. This meant that marriage between Jews and non-Jews was already hard to achieve in a country where state sponsored discrimination was law. Yet in September of 1935 Hitler's party of devout fascist still saw the need to make the act of marriage between Jews and "Germans" officially illegal. Thus came the ban and annulment of any existing interfaith marriages in Nazi occupied Europe. 

For the Rohingya the threat of a law forbidding the marriage of Buddhists to Muslims now lingers as radicalized Buddhists monks draft a new law stating exactly that. Such a law would leave Rohingya women and girls even more vulnerable as the government still practices a strategy of removing men from Rohingya villages randomly. If mass executions of Rohingya men takes place, for any reason, the women and girls left in the targeted village would be abandoned and vulnerable. Without the ability to seek out support from Buddhists neighbors or other Rohingya villages, these women and girls would be ready targets for rape and exploitation. 

The possibility for rape, and organized mass rape, are very real threats for Rohingya women left vulnerable due to the deliberate actions of Burmese military and police. It has been a long standing practice for boy and men to be called upon for slave labor operations by the Burmese military. Then when rape occurs the victimized woman or women are blamed for the crime and the perpetrators are either let go or even at times rewarded. 

It can only be speculated as to why these 200 monks want this law to be passed. One can argue that they are simply trying to stem an imaginary tide of Buddhists leaving Buddha for All-h. Or perhaps they don't want their Buddhists girls being forced into marriage to Muslim men (once again, imagined threat). Yet the most likely reason is that these 200 monks have been listening to the preaching of 969 organizer and leader, Wirathu. 

Expulsion From Politics 

April 7th, 1933 

The Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service

 All Jews Banned From Government Office

Nuremberg made it official yet two years prior the Jewish population of Germany had been banned from holding public office in any German governmental agency. Almost immediately the "Jewishness" of dissenting German politicians came into question. Anyone who dared speak out against the actions of the Nazi party ran the risk of being framed as a "Jude". Thus removing them from the political landscape of Hitler's Europe. 

March 2013

The Union Election Committee orders that Democracy and Human Rights Party expel six of it's members that had listed themselves as Rohingya. The example is established for all other parties in Myanmar. The government makes it clear that if a party is going to allow Rohingya they must list their ethnicity as anything other than Rohingya. This move by the Union Election Committee however only restated the long held legal precedent that allows parties to bar Rohingya from holding office within Burma's government. 

Every since Myanmar became a nation it has banned Rohingya from participating in governmental affairs. Rohingya are not permitted the right to self-determination and are subject to laws created for them (and often about them). Since their collective voice is barred from the "democratic" system they are therefore kept outside the realm of what it means to be a modern day Burmese citizen. 

Stateless 

Nazi Germany's July 14th, 1933
 Denaturalization Law

All of Germany's Jews were officially stripped of their citizenship during the infamous Nuremberg rally. However all Jews in Germany had been denied their citizenship two years prior when Germany passed the Denaturalization Law. This revoked citizenship of any Jewish individual who had recently immigrated to Germany and denounced the citizenship of Jews who had been born and lived in Germany for generations. It was one of Hitler's earliest victories in attacking the entire Jewish population of Germany all at once.

Officially Rohingya are not citizens of Burma. The government of Myanmar has never recognized the Rohingya as a given ethnic group and therefore often denies that Rohingya even exist. This policy of denial has led to and upheld the policy of forcing Rohingya to denounce their own ethnicity and register as "Bengali immigrants". This permits Myanmar's government the opportunity to ethnically cleanse their country of Rohingya by simply renaming the Rohingya as "Bengali". It also allows for Burma to deny citizenship rights and a clear nationality to the Rohingya by adding the term "immigrant" to the Rohingya.

The process of "denaturalization" may be convoluted in Burma, yet it is happening at an alarming rate. With increasing ferocity, and savagery, the Myanmar government is pushing Rohingya to sign away their heritage. Those who refuse to sign away their names are subjected to beatings, torture, and imprisonment.

In affect, the very act of forcing signatures is ethnic cleansing.

Bringing Burma To It's Own Nuremberg

On November 20th of 1945 the Nazis were dragged back to Nuremberg. Many of the worst of the Nazi leaders would commit suicide before being dragged out before the world at Nuremberg this time around. They knew rather well what they had done. They knew all to well what had come from the laws they had passed on that same spot ten years before. But for those who did face their trial there, this was not the Nuremberg they had left in 1935.

If the United Nations and world as a whole is to seek justice both during and after acts of genocide are committed then we must learn from Nuremberg. We must learn from both 1935 and 1945 Nuremberg. We cannot pick and choose the lessons that history is trying to teach us. The laws that came out of 1935 led us to the trials of 1945. Therefore we must learn from the mistakes of that rally and apply them ever increasingly harshly to the trials we face today.

Burma must be brought to its own Nuremberg. It must be forced to face the sins that have been committed in it's name. The world community must challenge the actions that still come out of Myanmar's hate. We cannot overlook the laws that Myanmar is passing. We cannot overlook the actions that arise from these state sponsored dictations of discrimination. If even a single word hints at the intent to violate the human rights of any minority group in Burma, we must apply the same wrath we showed Germany's criminals.

We must always keep in mind that history does not relent in it's attempts to teach us from our own mistakes. If we fail to learn from Germany, if we fail to learn from Myanmar... we will face these same crimes, these same sins, over and over again.

"So grotesque and preposterous are the principle characters in this galaxy of clowns and crooks that none but a thrice double ass could have taken them for rulers."
~ Officer in the Allied Control Commission, Nuremberg Trials 1945

Source Documents 

(note: not all sources listed)

Irrawaddy

http://www.irrawaddy.org/archives/37391

http://www.irrawaddy.org/archives/37063

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007901

Restless Beings 

http://www.restlessbeings.org/projects/rohingya/concentration-camps-and-systematic-rape-rohingya-under-persecution

Democratic Voice of Burma 

http://www.dvb.no/news/burma-expels-rohingya-members-from-political-party/28296