Israel recognizes two gay men as child’s biological father

[Behind the Aegis]

In a precedent-setting move, Israel’s Interior Ministry has recognized two men as the biological father of a baby boy.

The baby is the son of Yuval Topper-Erez, a transgender male who gave birth in December 2011. The Interior Ministry initially refused to recognize the child’s father, Matan, as the biological father. But the couple fought for more than a year, and after gaining support from Interior Minister Gideon Saar and Knesset Internal Affairs Committee Chairwoman Member of Knesset Miri Regev, it received recognition.

---snip---

While Israel does not allow same-sex marriages to be performed, due to the lack of a civil marriage option, the state does recognize same-sex unions from abroad. Same-sex couples can also register for cohabitation status, and receive many of the same benefits as heterosexual couples.

Israel is the only Middle Eastern country that recognizes same-sex marriages.

more...

[AZ Mike]

1. I wonder when Sarah Palin....

....will denounce Israel as having turned its back on god what with its mandatory conscription, socialized health care, and now THIS!!!!

[Behind the Aegis]

2. Don't forget the pot!

Medical marijuana sprouts in Israel

And the Israeli government is funding breakthrough research on the healing potential of the cannabis plant

Mimi Peleg’s job is to teach people how to use pot—how long to inhale smoke or vapor, how to administer sublingual drops, or how to ration out a pot cookie.

Peleg directs large-scale cannabis training for the Israeli government’s state-run, discreet, successful and expanding medical cannabis distribution center, MECHKAR. MECHKAR began as a tiny program serving about 1,800 people from 2008-2009. Today, supplied by eight farms located all over the country, the program distributes cannabis to 12,000 patients.

While medical marijuana has been approved in 18 U.S. states, and recreational use in two, U.S. federal law still criminalizes the drug, and its future remains uncertain. In Israel, however, the $40-million-per-year medical-marijuana industry is thriving. And, while research efforts have been continually hindered in the states by the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the DEA, the Israeli government is funding and supporting breakthrough research on the many healing potentials of the cannabis plant.

Likud Party MK Haim Katz, who chairs the Labor, Social Welfare and Health Committee in Israel’s Knesset, said in January that the number of doctors allowed to prescribe medical cannabis would double from nine to 20 by the end of the year. Mimi Peleg told AlterNet that has already happened, as more than 20 doctors can now legally prescribe cannabis in Israel, though some are limited to the prescription of cannabis oil.

more: http://www.salon.com/2013/09/16/medical_marijuana_sprouts_in_israel/

[NCLefty]

3. If there's a donation to be gotten, she will say whatever needs saying to receive it.

[joeybee12]

4. All those teabaggers saying "Stand with Israel"...I guess they mean for things like this...

Right?