No Vote: The vote on a bill that would allow same sex marriages in Israel has been delayed. Image by Haaretz

A vote scheduled for today on civil unions in Israel has been put off indefinitely, Justice Minister Tzipi Livni said on Sunday.

The Ministerial Committee for Legislation had been slated to vote on a bill that would have allowed civil partnership in Israel, including by same-sex couples.

The delay was at the behest of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other members of the government, in order to reach agreement about the bill’s phrasing.

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The bill is designed to bring a solution for hundreds of thousands of people who currently cannot marry in Israel, including same-sex couples and those forbidden from wedding under religious law.

Livni is to spearhead the process of hashing out the agreement on the wording.

“The plight of hundreds of thousands of citizens that cannot wed in Israel and enjoy the privileges that married couples enjoy, is crying out for a solution and we are determined to provide one for them,” she said. “This government has the opportunity and the majority [in the Knesset] to bring about the long-awaited change.”

Read more at Haaretz.com.

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