My husband and I are both Jewish but married in a civil ceremony abroad . We did not register the marriage at the Ministry of Interior. We have decided to split up. Do we need to do anything in Israel so that we are free to marry anyone else under Israeli law ?
By: דיאנה שאלתיאל•Published on: 02 May, 2022Yes. Even though you choose not to have a Jewish religious wedding, if you want to be legally entitled to marry again according to Israeli – and in your case, Jewish religious law – you will need to get a ‘get’ from the rabbinical court. This is to erase any doubt about ‘dedication’ (‘kiddushin’). Otherwise, if you do not have a ‘get’ and you have a child with another Jew, then, under Jewish law that child would likely to be regarded as a bastard (‘Mamzer’), if , in Jewish law, you had not obtained a ‘get’ , and were regarded as ‘married’ by the rabbinical court ( because you had been ‘dedicated’ by your husband). Furthermore, there is the need to formally end your marriage, so as to avoid complications of bigamy, should you wish to marry in the future.