Perhaps I am misinformed. May a Jew marry in Israel against the wishes of the religious establishment? Can a Jew have a civil wedding in the country?
I am engaged in a first-class argument on another board, but darn it, why argue when there is a factual answer?
(I thought everyone who wanted to avoid the rabbis took the ferry to Cyprus to marry, and the marriage was then recognized in Israel. Am I mistaken?)
Basically, you are right. All weddings in Israel have to be performed by a religious authority. For Jews, the only recognized authority is the official rabbinate-which is a branch of the government. So Jews who wish to violate Jewish ritual,( say, by marrying a non-jew), or just want to avoid the official rabbinate and its medieval bureaucracy, hop over to Cyprus for a civil ceremony there. Many tourist agencies offer convenient “wedding packages” (of a flight, hotel reservation and all the necessary paperwork for a marriage license done for you).*
Any marriage performed outside of Israel is fully legitimate under Israeli law…
*( It’s also cheaper than hiring a typical obnoxious wedding hall, a caterer and a wedding band ) 
(whatever happened to that smiley of the orthodox jewish face?
I believe one or more Mods found it to be insulting. 
Tell me if I’m not up to date, but since several countries now have legal same-sex marriage, I’m assuming that those are not understood as marriages per se by Israel.
I think you are correct about thelegal recognition of same-sex marriages. But the de-facto situation is different. The Israeli Supreme Court has granted homosexual partners virtually full recognition as a legally obligated couple in financial matters, and inheritance issues.
A year ago, the court ruled that same sex marriages performed elsewhere were recognized in Israel.
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/11/21/africa/ME_GEN_Israel_Same_Sex_Marriages.php
Thank you all.
I miss the Orthodox smilie. Was there a discussion of his removal?
You can find the offical scoop cited at the State Department:
"Marriage Certificates
Available. There is no civil marriage in Israel, Jerusalem, the West Bank or Gaza. Requests for marriage certificates should be sent to the appropriate religious community.
Jews should send requests to the Chief Rabbinate in the appropriate marriage district.
Muslims should send requests to the Sharia Court in the district where the marriage took place.
Christians should send requests to the church where they were married."
Never boring over there. Special bonus: even Jews don’t get to pick what branch of Judaism they are married in, so large numbers of them leave Israel to get married, even if they are marrying other Jews.
I can only say one thing to the Israelis who make life difficult for other Israelis:
┌─────┐
│putz!│
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/