On Sunday, the first ever Jewish ceremony confirming a same-sex marriage was held in the synagogue of the Liberale Joodse Gemeente (Liberal Jewish Community) in Amsterdam.
As of this week, Jewish same-sex couples can have their relationships confirmed in one of the community’s ten synagogues in a ceremony called Brit Ahava, a covenant of love.
The Amsterdam ceremony was not a global first. In the United States, Jewish same-sex couples have been able to get married for five years. A spokesperson for the synagogue said that there had not been much interest in the community so far, but added that Sunday’s ceremony might help generate more interest.
The Council of Rabbis of the Dutch Union of Progressive Jewry recently ruled that Jewish same-sex couples could henceforth have their relationship confirmed in a Jewish ritual.
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Same-sex weddings have been conducted in some Australian synagogues since 2008. They are not legally recognised. For more, click here and here.