Chief Rabbi comes out on gay marriage

THE CHIEF Rabbi Lord Sacks has finally broken his silence on gay and lesbian marriages and opposed government plans to introduce it. In a submission to a Home Office consultation, the London Beth Din and the Rabbinical Council of the United Synagogue stated that samesex unions were “against Jewish law”.

Same-sex couples can currently have civil partnership ceremonies but the government is proposing to offer them the option of having a civil, though not religious, marriage.

In contrast to the vocal support given by the Reform and Liberal movements to equality in marriage for same-sex couples, the Chief Rabbi had until now avoided taking a public stand.

The statement said: “Marriage, by definition in Jewish (biblical) law is the union of a male and a female. While Judaism teaches respect for others and condemns all types of discrimination, we oppose a change to the definition of marriage that includes same-sex relationships. Jewish (biblical) law prohibits the practice of homosexuality.”

Civil marriage for same-sex couples should be rejected because “any attempt to redefine this sacred institution would be to undermine the concept of marriage. If the government were to introduce same-sex marriage through a civil ceremony, any attempt to exclude the possibility of a religious ceremony for such couples would be subject to challenge to the European Court of Human Rights on the grounds of discrimination”.

The Jewish Gay and Lesbian Group (JGLG) noted the LBD’s response with “regret but not surprise”. But the group added: “We, together with our growing number of Orthodox members, draw some comfort from the fact that the response was submitted on the last possible day, which could be indicative of a struggle between those who wanted to respond, and those who would have preferred to remain silent.”

The government’s plans were also opposed in a joint submission from three senior Orthodox rabbis, the Gateshead Rav, Rabbi Shraga Faivel Zimmerman, the head of the Federation Beth Din, Dayan Yisroel Lichtenstein, and Rabbi Jonathan Guttentag, of Manchester’s Whitefield Hebrew Congregation.

They warned: “Notwithstanding assurances to the contrary, we are gravely concerned that the religious freedom of our synagogues to maintain the definition of marriage as being solely between male and female will be open to challenge under equalities legislation. ”