Israeli police raid wedding party to prevent marriage of 14-year-old bride

Israeli authorities placed a groom and a rabbi under house arrest after intervening in an illegal marriage ceremony involving an underage girl.
1 min read
31 Aug, 2017

Police in central Israel prevented a wedding involving a 14-year-old girl from taking place on Monday, arresting the girl's father and her groom-to-be.

According to local welfare ministry officials who spoke to the television channel, there is no way of monitoring whether another wedding will be arranged in secret for a future date.

Israel's minimum age of marriage is 18 - having been raised from 17 in 2013. Exceptions to this law can only be made with special permision from a family court.

According to a 2016 report by a Knesset committee, 716 under age marriages took place between 2014 and 2015.