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Illustration Photo: Benny Deutsch

Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein rules courts can recognize non-biological father’s parenthood without adoption process

Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein announced that spouses of parents to children conceived through a surrogacy process overseas will be accorded parenthood status without the previous need for a lengthy and complex adoption process.

Instead, a court order will suffice.

The AG’s statement followed several petitions to the Supreme Court by homosexual couples who demanded both fathers be registered as parents, though only one of them is the biological father through surrogate conception.

The new move by the AG is based on the Mor-Yosef Committee’s recommendations, which examined whether single men or same-sex couples should be allowed to conceive via a surrogate mother.

Weinstein ruled that pending the finalization of proper legislation, family courts will be able to issue a court order recognizing the spouse’s parenthood following a genetic test proving the parenthood of the biological father and other conditions to be further elaborated in future legislation.

Source: Ynetnews.com

A very interesting video by “One Wish Jerusalem” Such a small city, and so many views, even though sometimes radically different, harmony exists. Pretty cool video!

*The views expressed in this video do not represent SDM

Inspired by Iranian Artist Ali Molavi’s WISH

Source: Jdate.com

A minute-long siren will ring out across the country at 8 p.m. on Sunday to mark the beginning of Remembrance Day for the Fallen of Israel’s Wars; more than 1.5 million Israelis expected to visit military cemeteries.

Millions of Israelis will mark Remembrance Day on Sunday evening, and pay tribute to those who sacrificed their lives for the country’s defense.

A minute-long siren will ring out across the country at 8 p.m. on Sunday, and a two minute siren will be heard on Monday at 11 a.m.

IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Benny Gantz will join President Shimon Peres for a candle-lighting ceremony at the Western Wall on Sunday evening.

On Monday, the official state memorial ceremony will commence at 11 a.m. at the Mount Herzl military cemetery in Jerusalem. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, Peres and Gantz will be in attendance.

At the same time, Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon will attend a memorial ceremony at the military cemetery at Kiryat Shaul.

Israel, including the pre-state yishuv, has lost 25,578 casualties to war and terrorism since 1860, according to figures released by the Defense Ministry.

Over the past year, 43 disabled IDF veterans died of their disabilities, and have been recognized as fallen soldiers.

Also on Monday, more than 1.5 million Israelis are expected to visit military cemeteries, and the Defense Ministry has organized hundreds of buses to transport people.

The ministry has also prepared 1 million water bottles to hand out to bereaved families and the general public at the entrance to cemeteries. It expects some 23,000 candles to be lit at grave sites.

There are 10,245 bereaved parents, 4,964 widows, and 2,324 people orphaned by war or terrorist attacks – a total of 17,533.

On Thursday night, Ya’alon emphasized the IDF’s role in keeping Israelis safe.

“Despite everything, despite so many elements that wanted to prevent this country’s founding, and who continue to invest so much everyday to destroy us – they arise here in our intelligence assessments, Iran, Hezbollah – nevertheless, there is no doubt, that what stands between independence and a lack of independence is the shield of the IDF.”

Source: Jpost.com

Just over a hundred years ago, Tel Aviv was inhabited by a huge number of people from Europe and the Middle East. These people, only 10 percent of whom were actually born in Israel, now make up the oldest section of the population.

Most of these immigrants had very particular lives growing up in Tel Aviv; their youth wasn’t all about being carefree, their adulthood was punctuated by continuous wars and they were constantly adapting to new cultural environments. They speak the common language – Hebrew – with different accents, but although they identify as Israelis, the strains of German, Yemeni, Slovak and Hungarian heritage are still hugely important to them.

The “Tel Aviv Grannies” photo serial shows this elderly segment of the Israeli society. During a six-month stay in Israel, I decided to seek them out and follow them as they went about their everyday lives. I walked the streets, visited the beaches and joined them in their play and sports activities, in order to capture them on film.

More via Vice.com

Gordon beach 6.30AM. A woman leaves her leg on the beach while she takes her morning swim.

Hilton Beach, 4PM. She was from Germany and he was from Yemen originally. They met 4 years ago and have been together since. They’re thinking of moving in together.

Heichal Ha’Tarbut, 7PM. When I asked if I could take a picture of them they started to kiss and hug, they were pretty much the perfect models.

CBS statistical breakdown: 158,000 live in country, 80% are Arab; sector boasts highest rate of high school graduates.

Most Christian Arabs live in the northern Israel, and the cities with the largest Christian populations are Nazareth, with 22,400; Haifa with 14,400; Jerusalem with 11,700; and Shfaram with 9,400.

The Christian population is also growing at a rate of 1.3%

The level of Christian education is notable, with 64% of Christian high school students earning a high school diploma, compared to 59% for Jewish Israelis and 48% for Muslims.

The average number of children for a Christian woman is 2.2, the lowest in the country among the different population sectors.

For the full list of 65@65 facts click here

In first move as minister, Yael German instructs professional staff to consider lifting a blanket ban on blood donations from gay men.

In her first move as Israel’s new health minister, Yael German (Yesh Atid) instructed the ministry staff to reconsider the ban on accepting blood donations from gay men.

The form filled out by every blood donor in Israel states that gay men who have had sex with other men are prohibited from donating blood.

People who have tested positive for HIV, used drugs or been exposed to mad-cow disease, among other constraints, are also prohibited from donating blood.

After the Passover holiday, a Health Ministry advisory committee on intravenous medicine headed by Professor Noga Mani, formerly the head of the Hadassah blood bank, will convene to discuss the issue revisited by German, formerly the mayor of Herzliya.

“The committee will call on relevant professionals as well as the leaders of the gay-lesbian community, hear their opinions and examine the possibility of changing the clause,” the ministry stated yesterday.

Magen David Adom, the emergency-services organization responsible for Israel’s blood banks, began to monitor and limit gay donors in the 1980s following the discovery and spread of AIDS. In the questionnaire given to donors, any man who has had sex with another man since 1977, the year HIV was first discovered in humans, is disqualified.

Many other countries also limit blood donations from gay man. The U.S. Red Cross disqualifies would-be donors who had sex with another man even before 1977, while New Zealand does not accept blood from men who have had sex with other men during the previous five years.

In many countries, including the UK, Sweden, Japan, Australia, Brazil, Argentina and Chile, a one-year time frame is enforced. In South Africa the time limit is six months, while several countries including Italy, Spain and Mexico have no limitation whatsoever.

Israel’s LGBT community raised the issue back in 2004. The last debate on it was held a year ago, at the behest of Labor leader Shelly Yacimovich and gay activists in the Labor party, but the staff at the Health Ministry opted to leave the clause unchanged.

Health Ministry and MDA officials continue to define gays as a high-risk group for HIV infection, especially since the rise in recent years in HIV infection in the local gay community.

In recent years, an average of four blood samples out of a total of 300,000 donations per year have been found to be infected with HIV. Last year, 13 blood samples were found to be HIV-positive.

The Labor party’s gay organization welcomed the move, calling it a positive step, while noting that a number of Health Ministry committees had already examined the subject in the past, and that they had all eventually decided to leave the clause untouched.

“We hope that this time the committee will decide to set a time limit for [the clause], if not to cancel it altogether, similar to the trend in enlightened states,” the group said.

Source: Haaretz.com

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