Gay Adoption Arrives in the Holy Land

Just a few months ago, a little Jewish state called Israel was helping knock heads over worldwide gay discrimination, joining other countries in calling for the decriminalization of homosexuality. And now Israel is standing by its word, granting two gay men the right to adopt. It’s been 14 years in the making.

Uzi Even and Amit Kama were granted adoption rights of their foster child, Yossi Even-Kama, who’s now 30 but entered the couple’s home in 1995 after being disowned by his own family for — you guessed it — being gay. And the only reason they fought for official adoption recognition? Because Tel Aviv University, where Yossi is a student and Uzi a professor, wouldn’t grant reduced tuition because Yossi wasn’t officially his son.

The court ordered Social Services to review the case – as it does in any adoption case – “but Social Services thought the proceeding may be illegal and eventually we had to petition for Attorney General Menachem Mazuz to rule on the matter,” added Kama.

“The Attorney General’s Office found that there was no problem with the proceeding and the review was put together. The judge found that in our case, since we have had a parent-child relationship for so long, we were already a de facto family, but we only became an official family now,” he said.

Emotions ran high in the courtroom after Judge Miller read her ruling. “I’m very excited. We started off thinking we had no chance of getting here and now, two year later, we got it (the decree of adoption),” said the newly-adopted son.

Yossi’s biological father had to sign away his parental rights in order to allow for the adoption to come through, which he did. “I’m grateful to him for that,” he said.

“This may be only a formal authorization, but formalities do count for something and I’m very happy,” he added. [YNet News]

Now if only Kentucky and Florida would take the hint.