@havivrettiggur and I are not fans of state ordained religion, so despite both being “fully recognized Jews,” some 17 years ago we married in a private religious ceremony in Israel followed by a civil ceremony in the US. We are still married in the eyes of the state and of everyone we know, including Haredi friends who attended our wedding. We are not unique. Hundreds of thousands of couples in Israel, South Africa, Kenya and India have gone through some similar process. We all live within legal systems that are a byproduct of the British Mandatory system which generally chose to adopt customary tribal law or the Turkish Millet system with regard to personal status law (Marriage, Divorce, Inheritance ect) rather than institute a separate civil system. These hybrid legal systems create fascinating questions with regard to the role of the individual, the state and the community in modern democratic systems. A lifetime ago I had the privilege to research some of these questions at NYU’s legal theory program. But that’s all it is: fascinating questions for academics. The reality on the ground- the lived experience of millions - is quite different and does not reflect the bigotry implied in Noah’s assumptions, based on a two minute Wikipedia search. https://bird.makeup/@noahpinion/1848890233498353965
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