MK Michael Ben-Ari said in an interview with Arutz 7 that the Civil Union law as it stands is something he and other religious MKs could support, if only because there was no better alternative. “Shas supports the law, after having helped to develop it with the Chief Rabbinate. United Torah Jewry has avoided the process altogether. But the people whom this law affects do face serious problems, and many of them are immigrants from the former Soviet Union.” MK Ben-Ari said he planned to support the law when it came up for a vote next week, "by default and with a heavy heart."