When the pandemic scuttled Shira Hofesh’s plans to get married overseas, she did what a growing number of Israelis are opting to do she got married virtually in the state of Utah.
That seemingly simple act has landed her at the center of a case before the Israeli Supreme Court, one that if her appeal succeeds could fundamentally change the options available to Israeli couples unable to get hitched in the Holy Land.
Hofesh’s husband, Alexey Kabishcher, immigrated to Israel from Ukraine as a child but is not recognized as Jewish by the Orthodox Rabbinate. As a result, the couple could not get married in Israel.