Same Sex Couples Allowed To Adopt In Israel

A happy-making report from SMH, Feb 11th 2008:

Israel has recognised the right of same sex couples to adopt a child, public radio reported.

The government's legal adviser Menachem Mazuz, who also serves as attorney general, said the state would no longer oppose such adoptions.

The only consideration was "the welfare of the child", he said.

Social Affairs Minister Yitzhak Hertzog welcomed the decision and said he could instruct the social services in charge of adoptions.

Despite opposition from the Jewish religious hierarchy, Israel in December 2004 also recognised the property and inheritance rights of gay couples.

However, only religious marriages are formally recognised in the Jewish state, where a ban on homosexuality was lifted in 1988.