Polygamy in Israel: Should it be Legalized?

As blogger Christopher Smith beautifully stated, "Polygamy may be banned by the state federal law and abolished by the predominant religion, but it is still practiced by ultra-orthodox followers of the faith, some who want it made lawful to avoid sticky legal and moral questions." While to some this may sound very similar to Utah, this statement is actually referring to the state of Israel. 

In Israel, where undoubtedly the predominant religion is Judaism, polygamy has become a bitter religious issue that has developed into a hotly debated question over the past recent years from various factions of the State's diverse population. Should polygamy be legalized in Israel?

Having banned polygamy during the 1950's mainly due to affirm women's equality, and in order to combat the surge of Mizrahim Jews migrating from Islamic countries where polygamy is widely practiced, in theory, polygamy has become clearly prohibited in Israel. However, in the article titled, "Polygamy's Stirs Debate in Israel," Christopher Smith explains how while European or "Askenazi" Jews adopted the rabbinical adjustments to ban polygamy as a binding tradition to continue with the contemporary social status quo, the Sephardi Jews, who've migrated from outside of Europe, continue to take second wives. In addition, while polygamy is considered to be a crime punishable by up to five years in prison, the government has put very little effort to enforce this prohibition. Banna Shoughry-Badarne, a Muslim lawyer with the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, testifies that government enforcement has been virtually non-existent because many law-enforcement officers consider multiple marriage to be a strictly religious issue, such as marriage and divorce, which the civil government believe has no reason to interfere with (Rosenthal 354). 

Many of these Mizrahim Jews disregard the State's prohibition on polygamy instituted back during the mid-20th century claiming to be more traditionally correct by continuing this biblical marital practice. This restoration of obtaining "extra-wives" has created a growing pro-polygamist push in Israel for legalizing polygamy. 

Smith argues that this alternative form for having more than one wife at one time, stems not from a shortage of marriage-age men, an abundance of single women or an upswing in demand for multiple brides, but as "part of a political movement to restore conservative traditions and lash out against popular notions of social equality. Using Anthropologist S. Zev Kalifon of Bar-Ilan University in Israel to substantiate this claim, Smith asserts that many Mizrahim Jews firmly believe that the stories in the Torah and other holy scriptures clearly indicate polygamy as a Godly inspired social order and should therefore be legal under Jewish law.

Many pro-polygamists instantly refer back to the biblical accounts of people such as the highly esteemed Abraham, who is notoriously known to have had a wife and a concubine. The list continues with Jacob and King David, both considered to have had numerous concubines as well. And to bring an extreme example into perspective, King Solomon was reported to have had over 1,000 wives (Rosenthal, 353)! Furthermore, they believe that the only reason why this traditional common practice became disputed and eventually banned for the Ashkenazi Jews back in the 11th century was due to social compromise with the predominant Christian inhabitants of Europe who openly opposed the practice of polygamy. By adopting this secular adjustment to their holy practices in Israel, many pro-polygomists view it as a distortion of a tradition sanctioned by God. Instead of expressing pure Orthodox Judaic doctrine and religious traditional values, Kalifon declared, "the ban on polygamy is seen as something modern, an expression of western or European values". 

What makes this controversial issue even more multifaceted and complex are the various participants that engage in this distinct marital practice residing in Israel. One of the most common practitioners of polygamy are the Israel Arabs. As with the biblical Hebrews, there are polygamous families in almost every Arab Muslim community. Similarly to the Mizrahi Jews, many Israel Arabs also refer to their holy book, the Koran, to reinforce their divine reason in obtaining multiple wives. However, besides claiming to just "restoring conservative traditions", many also argue on behalf of its positive influence on family unity. Many are convinced that by given the opportunity to have multiple wives, "a man will not need mistresses or risk contracting AIDS from prostitutes or have to divorce an infertile wife" (Rosenthal 354). 

Another particular minority group of Israel that partakes in this religious marital practice are the Bedouins. Having been an established way of life for them for so many years, polygamy has caused some dubious implications in their own communities. In the article titled, "State program to Tackles Problem of Polygamy in Bedouin Community," by Ruth Sinai, polygamy is so negatively perceived to be labeled as an "epidemic" causing much detrimental effects upon the Bedouin women and children. Regardless of the severity of this "epidemic", however, the State has dealt very minimally with this illegal issue.

Probably one of the least discussed sects, yet most intriguing group of people, residing in Israel would be the minority group referred to as the Black Hebrews. Discussed extensively in the article titled, "A Fascinating Look at Israel's Polygamist Black Hebrews," Suzanne Weiss states, dissatisfied with the racial persecution and second-class treatment many experienced in the U.S., a number of African-Americans migrated to Israel during the early 1970's "establishing a community and forging a new identity". Believing to be the descendants of the lost tribe of Israel, they began accustoming to ancient Jewish laws and practices, one of them being the practice of polygamy. Although it may be consistent with ancient Jewish liturgy, living in the 21st-century, Weiss stresses it is causing much socio-psychological burden on the woman's behalf.

All in all, I guess the actual question that one must honestly answer for themselves before jumping to this controversial question mentioned earlier is: should one esteem restoring conservative religious values over  contemporary social norm? For regardless of the case, these two seem to be constantly in conflicting positions when discussing polygamy in Israel. In this particular scenario, I for one am in favor for maintaining the status quo, for it seems evident that only through this way can women equality, social justice, and human dignity be ultimately preserved in a marital relationship.  

In regards of reliability from the sources used, the first article reviewed by Christopher Smith proves to hold much credibility as he incorporated various quotes from experts and professional's opinions concerning this subject into his article, including Anthropologist S. Zev Kalifon and Sephardi Chief Rabbi Ovadia Yoseph. In addition, instead of just producing generalized statements of a particular argument, he substantiated his article with numerous factual data and historical information. Some bias does seem to permeate, however, in opposition toward polygamy, yet the article still maintains its objectivity. The article "State Program to Tackle Problem of Polygamy in Bedouin Community," was taken from the Haaretz online publication site. Not only does the journalist, Ruth Sinai, not present any factual information, yet the whole article leans to be very subjective as she continuously focuses on just  one individual's (Social Affairs Minister Isaac Herzog) personal opinion regarding Bedouin people and the effect of polygamy in their communities. The last article reviewed, "A Fascinating Look at Israel's Polygamist Black Hebrews," was very brief and direct. Author Susanne Weiss, who is a news correspondent for JWeekly publication, does an exemplary job in introducing and describing the Black Hebrews, yet when it comes to fairly examining the polygamy debate question; it clearly falls short, as it leans too heavily in opposition toward polygamy, with its main concern dealing with women's afflictions.