Rabbi Jonathan Sachs Image by getty images

Britain’s Chief Rabbi has reportedly announced his opposition to gay marriage.

Rabbi Jonathan Sachs Image by getty images

Chief Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks made the pronouncement in a submission to the British Home Office, the jc.org web site reported. It came a month after Out4marriage, a gay rights campaign, began pressuring all members of the House of Lords to proclaim their stance on gay marriage.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

British same-sex couples can currently hold civil partnership ceremonies, and the British government is proposing offering civil marriage as well.

The Reform and Liberal movements have taken up the cause in favor of the law, Sacks avoided making any public statements until today.

The Chief Rabbi’s court, the London Beth Din, and the Rabbinical Council of the United Synagogue have now stated that same-sex unions—both partnerships and marriages—are “against Jewish Law.”

Sachs told the Home Office that “any attempt to redefine this sacred institution would be to undermine the concept of marriage.”

Additionally, the document includes the point that should the law change to allow for civil marriages, it would be expected to include the possibility of religious marriages for same-sex couples. Otherwise, the law would “be subject to challenge to the European Court of Human Rights on the grounds of discrimination.”

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’ve started our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we need 1,800 readers like you to step up to support the Forward by April 21. Members of the Forward board are even matching the first 1,000 gifts, up to $70,000.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism, because every dollar goes twice as far.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

2X match on all Passover gifts!

$90 → $180 $180 → $360

$360 → $720

Other amount