Gay couple wins right to adopt foster son

[IndianaGreen]

Last update - 05:14 11/03/2009

Gay couple wins right to adopt foster son

By Ofra Edelman, Haaretz COrrespondent

Openly gay former Knesset member Uzi Even and his life partner can legally adopt their 30-year-old foster son, the Tel Aviv family court ruled on Tuesday, making them the first same-sex male couple in the country whose right of adoption has been legally acknowledged.

"We opened a door, an opening, a window for others," said Yossi Even-Kama, who was taken in by Even and his partner, Amit Kama, 14 years ago. "An opening of hope for the couples that will follow."

Dori Spivak, the deputy director of the law clinic programs at Tel Aviv University, who assisted Even and Kama in the case, called this "the first case ever where the right of adoption was acknowledged not only for two women, but also for two men."

Even and Kama began the formal adoption process because Tel Aviv University refused to grant Even-Kama a tuition discount reserved for families of faculty members. Even is a chemistry professor at the university.

"Our struggles are political but also very real," said Kama, an expert in communication theory. "I began my first struggle when I felt I was paying fines I didn't deserve, and in Yossi's case we're talking about tens of thousands of shekels."

"But the true meaning of this is that the state and its authorities recognize us as a family," he said. "This legitimizes our daily lives, our feelings, our emotions."

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1070060.html

[Eryemil]

1. Woo hoo!

Whatever else that can be said about Israel (and there's a lot to say) at least they're a haven for queers in that hellhole of a region.
Now if they'd begin granting asylum to queer Palestinians I'd love them a bit more.

[sallylou666]

2. About time!

I'm happy for this family. It took way too long. At least now the son can make decisions about the well being of his parents and inherit their property.