Background
Robert and Michael Goldberg-Stein, both 38-year-old Jewish American men, built their lives as active members of their Reform congregation in San Francisco. After ten years together and a legal marriage in 2015, they decided to start a family through gestational surrogacy. With the help of an egg donor and a gestational carrier, their twin daughters, Abigail and Sarah, were born in 2020.
Though neither child had a genetic connection to a Jewish mother (the traditional determinant of Jewish status in Orthodox Judaism), the couple raised their daughters with strong Jewish identities from birth. The girls underwent Reform Jewish conversion ceremonies as infants, attended Jewish preschool, and were being raised with Jewish rituals, holidays, and values central to their family life.
When Robert received a prestigious job offer from a technology company in Tel Aviv, the family began considering aliyah. While both fathers clearly qualified for Israeli citizenship under the Law of Return, the status of their surrogate-born daughters presented unprecedented questions. Without either a Jewish birth mother or an Orthodox conversion, the children’s eligibility for aliyah alongside their parents remained uncertain.
The Challenge
The family’s application presented several complex obstacles:
- The children lacked both matrilineal Jewish descent and Orthodox conversion
- Questions arose about whether Reform conversions of minors would be recognized
- Surrogacy birth certificates listing two fathers created documentation challenges
- The children’s Jewish status involved intersection of reproductive technology and religious law
- Their family structure diverged from traditional models assumed in many regulations
- Concerns existed about the children’s potential religious status affecting future lifecycle events
- The case presented unprecedented questions about modern family formation and Jewish continuity
Precedent Case: The Family Unity Doctrine (2018)
The Goldberg-Stein family’s situation found resolution through the groundbreaking “Family Unity Doctrine” established in 2018, following several cases involving children born through assisted reproductive technologies.
The doctrine established that: “For purposes of immigration under the Law of Return, the State recognizes that contemporary Jewish families may be formed through diverse paths including assisted reproductive technologies. When Jewish parents are raising children as full members of the Jewish people—with appropriate religious ceremonies according to their denomination, consistent Jewish education, and integration into Jewish community—these parent-child relationships shall be recognized for immigration purposes regardless of genetic connection or birth circumstances. While religious status for other purposes follows separate religious law, the right of Jewish families to remain united in aliyah represents a core value of the Law of Return.”
Resolution Process
Working with legal experts in both family and immigration law, the Goldberg-Stein family developed a comprehensive application addressing their unique circumstances:
- Family Formation Documentation:
- Complete legal documentation of the surrogacy process
- Birth certificates and adoption decrees establishing legal parentage
- Documentation of the children’s legal status in the United States
- Evidence of the family’s consistent recognition as a family unit
- Expert testimony on contemporary family formation in Jewish communities
- Jewish Identity Evidence:
- Documentation of the children’s Reform conversion ceremonies
- Records from their Jewish preschool enrollment
- Testimonials from their rabbi about the family’s Jewish practice
- Evidence of consistent home observance of Jewish traditions
- Documentation of the children’s integration into Jewish community life
- Parental Jewish Eligibility:
- Birth certificates and other documentation confirming both fathers’ Jewish heritage
- Evidence of their lifelong Jewish identification and practice
- Documentation of their active roles in their congregation
- Letters from community leaders attesting to their Jewish commitment
- Evidence of their intention to continue raising the children in Jewish tradition
- Legal Analysis and Precedent:
- Analysis of previous cases involving diverse family structures
- Legal briefs on the evolving interpretation of family unity in immigration law
- Expert opinions on how assisted reproduction intersects with immigration policy
- Documentation of other modern families who had successfully navigated aliyah
- Scholarly perspectives on Jewish continuity in contemporary contexts
Outcome
After an eight-month review process including consultation with various experts, the Ministry of Interior approved the family’s aliyah application, explicitly citing the Family Unity Doctrine. The approval recognized all four family members as eligible for aliyah, with the children’s status derived from both their legal relationship to eligible Jewish parents and their established Jewish identity through Reform conversion and upbringing.
The approval stated: “Contemporary Jewish families form through diverse paths that the founders of the Law of Return could not have anticipated. This family has demonstrated that the children are being raised as full members of the Jewish people, with appropriate religious ceremonies, education, and community integration according to their denomination. While questions of religious status for marriage or other purposes remain subject to separate religious authorities, for immigration purposes under the Law of Return, this family unit must be recognized in its entirety. The core purpose of the Law—to welcome Jews building lives in Israel—would be undermined by separating Jewish parents from children they are raising as Jews.”
The approval included a clear statement that while it established the children’s eligibility for aliyah, it made no determination regarding their religious status for matters under the Chief Rabbinate’s authority, such as future marriage in Israel.
The Goldberg-Stein family successfully made aliyah in 2023 and settled in Tel Aviv. Robert works for the technology company that had recruited him, while Michael established a remote consulting business. The children enrolled in a progressive elementary school with other diverse families. While navigating occasional bureaucratic challenges related to their family structure, they have found a supportive community of both LGBT and straight families. They maintain connections with Reform communities where their daughters’ Jewish status is fully recognized, while preparing them for the complex religious landscape they will navigate as they grow older in Israel.
Key Principles Established
This case reinforced several important principles regarding aliyah approval for contemporary family structures:
- Modern Jewish families formed through assisted reproduction are recognized for immigration purposes
- The Law of Return’s application evolves to accommodate contemporary family formation realities
- Children being raised as Jews by Jewish parents may be eligible regardless of birth circumstances
- Reform conversions of minor children can establish sufficient Jewish identity for immigration purposes
- The distinction between civil recognition for immigration versus religious recognition is maintained
- Family unity represents a core value in applying the Law of Return
- The intention and practice of raising children as Jews receives significant weight in evaluations
This case is now referenced when counseling Jewish families formed through assisted reproductive technologies who are considering aliyah, demonstrating that contemporary family structures can be accommodated within the immigration framework when Jewish identity and practice are clearly established.
