Justice Min. retreats on move to bar gays from inheritance law - Haaretz

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Fri., September 07, 2007 Elul 24, 5767

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		Justice Minister Daniel Friedmann. (Nir Keidar)

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Last update - 08:29 05/09/2007

Justice Min. retreats on move to bar gays from inheritance law

By Yuaval Yoaz, Haaretz Correspondent

Justice Minister Daniel Friedmann has reversed his decision to define common-law marriage as between "a man and a woman" in the proposed new Inheritance Law. The original wording of the bill defines "partners who live together in a common household" as each other's legal inheritors.

The proposed bill to update the present law, dating from 1965, was made by a public commission headed by former Supreme Court Justice Jacob Turkel.

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iedmann had earlier proposed to change the original recommendations, harming the inheritance rights of same-sex couples. But on Tuesday Friedmann informed the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) that he "would not advance the proposed Inheritance Law, if the matter would harm the property rights of same-sex couples."

Over the next few days, Friedmann will meet with representatives of ACRI and other public groups that protested the earlier legislative changes.

The Turkel commission was appointed in 1999 to reform the 1965 Inheritance Law. In the spring of 2006, the committee proposed to change the law by changing the definition of a couple from "husband and wife" so it would apply to both gay and heterosexual couples. The justice minister then decided to limit the proposed Inheritance Law to "a man and a woman who lead a family life in a joint household."

Friedmann had originally intended on making the changes to the law while including explanatory notes stating that the changes were not intended to change the prevailing interpretations made by the courts regarding common-law marriage, including same-sex couples. But after realizing that re-legislating the "man and wife" clause was likely to disallow such a liberal interpretation, it was decided to not make the change.

The proposed Inheritance Law will be separated from the new civil legal codification, known as the Property Law. Friedmann will continue to advance the rest of the civil law proposal without the inheritance section after he reaches an agreement with the ultra-Orthodox Shas party on applying the new law also to the rabbinical courts.

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1.	NOT IMPORTANT TO THE PEACE PROCESS	10:39	\|	indrajaya	05/09/07

2.	Many ways to destroy the Jewish State	11:11	\|	Avi	05/09/07

3.	1 indrajaya	12:29	\|	alan	05/09/07

4.	reply to Avi # 2	13:00	\|	SJ	05/09/07

5.	gays and SJ	13:38	\|	steve	05/09/07

6.	Gays Inheritance Law	14:10	\|	Mike	05/09/07

7.	Change 1 law, not 100`s!!!	14:12	\|	TW	05/09/07

8.	Hate against gays is a SYMPTOM of hate against women	14:20	\|	Catherine	05/09/07

9.	Oh dear, hear come the Iranian nukes	14:22	\|	Samuel	05/09/07

10.	Indrajaya is a murderer	14:24	\|	Gay Muslim	05/09/07

11.	reply to steve #5	14:27	\|	SJ	05/09/07

12.	Tora permits homosexuality	14:28	\|	AV	05/09/07

13.	Tora permits homosexuality 2	14:28	\|	AV	05/09/07

14.	Tora permits homosexuality 3	14:29	\|	AV	05/09/07

15.	Tora permits homosexuality 4	14:30	\|	AV	05/09/07

16.	Talmud and Rambam permit homosexuality	14:32	\|	AV	05/09/07

17.	Jerusalem was destroyed by Sinat Khinam (irrational hate)	14:44	\|	David	05/09/07

18.	reply to # 9 Chill out bro	14:45	\|	SJ	05/09/07

19.	Steve No.5	15:21	\|	Detached	05/09/07

20.	# 10 Who Is It That Is Full Of Hate?	15:50	\|	Tony Anthony	05/09/07

21.	#8 and who hates women	13:58	\|	Joe Jew	06/09/07

22.	AV gay practice is worse than death or murder	14:02	\|	Jewboy	06/09/07

23.	Hating Gay behavior is reasoned hate	14:05	\|	Jewboy	06/09/07

24.	detached, you are free to remain uncaring	14:13	\|	Jewboy	06/09/07

25.	#10 and Gay hate	14:15	\|	Joe Jew	06/09/07

26.	SJ and being a statistic	14:20	\|	Josephine	06/09/07

27.	TW and grandchildren	14:22	\|	Joanna	06/09/07

28.	SJ and genetics	14:25	\|	Joe Jew	06/09/07

29.	AV and night is day, black is white	15:53	\|	RabbiJ	06/09/07

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