Aaron Davidson, the Utah County clerk, may have a significant impact on marriages in Israel, despite never having visited the country and not being Jewish himself. The policies he oversees in
his office could influence the legal recognition of marriages in Israel. Legal marriage in Israel is controlled by the Chief Rabbinate, which is haredi Orthodox, meaning that within Israel, the only way for a Jew to get legally married is through an Orthodox ceremony. This means that same-sex, interfaith, and non-Orthodox weddings performed in Israel are not recognized by the Israeli government. This also leaves hundreds of thousands of largely Russian-speaking Israelis who are not Jewish according to traditional Jewish law unable to get married in Israel.
However, marriages performed and recognized abroad are also recognized in Israel, allowing non-Orthodox Israelis to find a workaround to these restrictions by getting married in other countries. Starting in 2020, Utah County began recognizing marriages performed entirely via videoconference, as long as the officiant or one of the parties was in the county. The county encompasses the area surrounding Provo, which is home to Brigham Young University and has a tech scene. Officials saw the new remote marriage system as a way to make it easier to “execute a permission slip from the government for two consenting adults to get married."
Since 2020, more than 1,000 Israelis have taken advantage of remote weddings. The fees for the remote wedding total a maximum of $155. Rabbi Uri Regev, CEO of Hiddush, an Israeli organization that advocates for religious pluralism, said that “the technology now opens a window of opportunity for thousands of Israeli couples every year to quickly, simply, cheaply gain civil marriage without leaving their homes.” Israelis aren’t the only foreign nationals to use the county’s remote wedding option. It has also been a boon for gay couples from China.
Acting Israeli Interior Minister Michael Malchieli, a member of the haredi Orthodox Shas party, had refused to recognize the Utah marriage certificates, as did a predecessor of his, arguing that the marriages took place in Israel. Last year, a court ruled that the Israeli government must recognize the Utah marriages, but Malchieli still refused. The case eventually made its way to Israel’s Supreme Court, which on Tuesday, ruled unanimously in favor of the married couples, officially recognizing their marriages as valid in Israel.
Israel is currently in a heated national debate over legislation being pushed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government that would effectively sap the Supreme Court of much of its power. One bill would allow a simple majority of Israeli lawmakers to override court decisions, meaning they could negate decisions like the one handed down this week. Proponents of the court reform say the legislation will allow Israeli law to more effectively represent the will of the country’s right-wing majority. Another Shas lawmaker, Moshe Arbel, cited Tuesday’s decision as a reason why the court reform is urgent, stating that the decision works to “erase the Jewish identity of the state.”
Initially, it seemed Davidson might do away with virtual marriages, as his campaign website said that “This online option devalues the union of a marriage, and Utah County should not be the entity that facilitates the marginalization of marriage.” However, after the recent ruling in favor of the Utah marriages, it is unclear whether or not Davidson will continue to recognize virtual marriages. Despite not having visited Israel, Davidson’s policies could continue to have an impact on the recognition of marriages in the country, even from more than 7,000 miles away. Photo by Maxinick11, Wikimedia commons.