Lesbian and gay couples are adopting in Israel. Solid partnerships and responsible parenting are boosting Israeli family life.

According to Israel’s daily newspaper – Haaretz – Welfare Minister Yitzhak Herzog (pictured) will promote a policy that would allow gay and lesbian couples to adopt children. Until now, those in same-sex relationships have been allowed to adopt their partner’s biological children, or to have an adoption registered in Israel after it was performed abroad. Couples have not been allowed to adopt a child who was not born to one of the two partners.

Israeli rabbi and attorney Gilad Kariv agrees with the decision, and says:

“Removing the obstacles faced by same-sex couples who wish to adopt an Israeli child constitutes a clear and unequivocal expression of the State’s recognition that the child’s good would not be undermined because he or she have same-sex parents, and that this good hinges on, first and foremost, the quality of family life and the relationships within it.”

According to sources in the Welfare Ministry, four same-sex couples have asked to adopt a child over the past several months. Several other couples have applied to have one partner adopt the other’s children.