The issue of gay marriage is now alive and well in the Holy Land as Israel is facing a showdown concerning same-sex unions. Newsweek reports that five gay Israeli couples who married in Canada in 2003 have asked the Israeli government to recognize their unions. Israeli law prohibits the union of Jews and non-Jews, but recognizes them when the couples marry abroad. The gay couples are looking for that same recognition.

Israel's chief justice, Aharon Barak, has appointed an expanded panel to hear the case. Analysts believe the court, often a trailblazer on liberal issues, will side with the petitioners. But Avraham Ravitz, a rabbi and member of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's coalition, said Parliament would block gay-marriage advances through legislation. "We have a coalition agreement that says when the court makes decisions against religious principles, Parliament will correct them," he says.

We’re obviously not the only country with pesky “radical” judges.