Religious families cannot get priority in adoption of non-Jewish children, High Court rules

After 20 years of legal dispute, non-Jewish children in the Israeli child services system will no longer be prioritized for Orthodox Jewish families over non-Orthodox families, so that they can undergo Orthodox conversion, the High Court of Justice ruled on Sunday.

Non-Orthodox families will be more able to adopt non-Jewish children, as adoption standards will be on a case-by-case basis “in the best interest of the child,” said the court. The state agreed to the new standard.

“The child’s best interests include their concrete needs, past, characteristics and difficulties,” read the statement.

The result of a protracted battle in the Israeli courts 

The decision by nine justices came in response to a protracted battle over a 20-year-old petition submitted by the Reform Movement’s Legal Aid Center for Olim (LACO) against standards set by child services.

State services had reportedly believed that the best interest of the non-Jewish child was served by an Orthodox conversion, which it was argued would allow them to avoid difficulties later in life in undergoing a religious marriage. The court said that it did not see “eye to eye” with the state on the standard.

The 1981 Child Adoption Law required religious compatibility between the child and adoptive parents. Optimally, children would be adopted by parents of the same religion, but adoptions among different populations were subject to court approval.

LACO said parents who wished to adopt a non-Jewish child were referred to the government conversion system. However, to get onto the waiting list, they were required to keep kosher, observe Shabbat and commit to providing a religious education. Same-sex couples were disqualified.

The case was in large part delayed due to other petitions regarding the validity of conversions through non-Orthodox denominations.

The Reform Movement’s LACO welcomed the court’s decision, but said it was unfortunate that it took two decades to change the policy.

“We welcome the fact that after many years the Welfare Ministry has agreed to cancel the discriminatory and inappropriate child services policy, which gave priority to Orthodox families in adopting children,” said LACO director Nicole Maor.

“Allowing the possibility of conversion within recognized Jewish communities will expand the number of parents able to adopt and create more successful matches between adopted [kids] and adopting [families],” she said.