Wedding Between A Muslim and Jew Sparks Protests

By Kyle Glatz --
20 Aug 2014 --

Instead of well-wishes for a newlywed couple, a couple in Israel was faced with protests and ridicule on their wedding day.

The individuals were angry over the marriage between a woman who recently converted to Islam in order to marry her husband. This tension comes amidst a renewed conflict between Israel and Hamas, which has only served to fuel these attempts to disrupt the wedding.

A Troubled Start

One of the elements which provided the most trouble for the couple was the Organization for Prevention of Assimilation in the Holy Land, also known as Lehava. They are a noted extremist right-wing group that looks down upon what they call inter-marriage. Since the bride, Morel Malka, was born Jewish and converted, she was looked down upon as was her husband for being Arab. These threats and jeers are nothing new between these two factions, but the couple hoped that they would be put aside for the sake of their love.

Official Help

When the couple found that there was going to be protests at their wedding ceremony, they went through just about every legal channel to ensure that it would not happen. They sought help from the High Court of Justice, who ruled that Lehava could have a protest that was no closer than 200 meters from the site of the wedding. This relieved the couple from having to hear the worst that was offered by the protesters.

The restraining order was not the only help that the couple had on their happy day; there were numerous volunteers and police officers that came to support the couple. As the protesters attempted to sneak past, up to 100 police officers kept the peace as they hurled insults towards the crowd.

Wedding Plans

The couple was not deterred from their wedding, and they happily traveled to their reception where they enjoyed the company of their family and friends. The celebration that was meant to be deterred by the presence of the Lehava was instead carried out with a great deal of happiness for the couple. Even though some of the people wanted to prevent the marriage, it still took place and lasted well into the night.

With the darkness of war and the bitter hatred on both sides, the wedding serves to remind that a little bit of happiness can be found even in the times of greatest distress.