5 ms·

You've mentioned "third- and fourth- wives" multiple times in this thread. Can you clarify? Israel doesn't allow polygamy, so how does that work? And do you hap

• dotancohen 5y ago
  In Israel, polygamy is forbidden to Jews. The Muslims practice polygamy, I have many friends with multiple wives.
  • detaro 5y ago
    Legally recognized multiple wives? Because according to the sources I can find, that has been illegal for decades, regardless of religion.
    • dotancohen 5y ago
      I don't know about internet sources or laws, but in general Arab affairs are left up to the Arabs. I just took a look through my telephone and at least four people in my address book have multiple wives. These are people that I know well enough to have in my address book. Two of them I'd call personal friends, one is an electrician, and another I buy my gas from. I could probably find more in there, and I certainly know of many more.
      • estaseuropano 5y ago
        This is still not answering the question whether these are legally recognized wives; whether they have residenve./nationality rights, right to work, etc
        • dotancohen 5y ago
          • claviola 5y ago
            I'm trying really hard to put aside the racist comments... This still doesn't explain how these women are obtaining Israeli citizenship if polygamy is illegal.
            • twofornone 5y ago
              Pointing out dramatic differences between cultures is not racist, and pretending they do not exist to honor misguided western virtues while supporting loose immigration policies breeds resentment among those (typically lower income) who are forced to suffer the friction of cultural clash. Third world immigrants are far less likely than natives to care about your laws, just as they are far less likely to honor your ideas about morality, justice, etc. It's not a stretch to imagine Muslims from poor middle eastern countries having multiple wives regardless of the legality of the practice, particularly given their religiously inspired oppression of women - what proportion of those wives are even willing to speak out? It's ironic that western champions of women's rights are totally silent on the issue, apparently not being a "racist" is more important than standing against abuse among immigrant populations.
              • mattnewton 5y ago
                I think you are missing their point, which is that under Israeli law the multiple wives are already not legally recognized, so this change (not recognizing Palestinian spouses for citizenship) was not needed to prevent what you are talking about. I don't think anyone "in the west" is advocating for the treatment of women you are talking about. People here are just pointing out that a) this is an incredibly broad brush and b) doesn't seem to be directly related to whether the state of Israel recognizes legal marriages to foreign Arabs as a path to citizenship for those people.
            • dotancohen 5y ago
              Now I understand your question. It is possible that because the first and second wife are not registered with the state, the men are "marrying" for the first (official) time. That could even be why this practice is usually done for the third- and forth- wife, and not the first or second. It is possible that these marriage are the "official" state-registered marriage. That's my guess, I don't really know.
    • dotancohen 5y ago
      Me again. I just googled for "beduin polygamy in israel", try it and you'll find all you need. It is ostensibly illegal but impossible to enforce. You should know that it's not restricted to only Beduin, I recently was at a West Bank gas station talking to a guy (in Arabic) who has recently married his second wife. There are Beduins in the West Bank, but this guy wasn't Beduin.
      • JumpCrisscross 5y ago
        > ostensibly illegal but impossible to enforce Isn’t it quite simple to enforce when it comes to naturalisation?
        • dotancohen 5y ago
          I would imagine so, which is why that is the aspect that is now being addressed.