Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked (Yamina) has announced that she will ease bureaucracy for Israelis wishing to register children born abroad.
In accordance with this decision, in cases where there is no possibility to bring medical records documenting the pregnancy or birth, parents will be able to sign an affirmation that the mother listed on the birth certificate is, in fact, the child's birth mother.
This change will apply to families with two Israeli citizen parents, who live abroad and have made their home outside Israel for over five years, and who wish to register their children born outside of Israel.
Currently, Israeli parents whose children are born abroad must register their children within 30 days of the birth, and bring proof from the hospital that the woman to be registered as the mother is in fact the child's birth mother, and that the child is her child.
Jewish status is passed through the mother, so a child who is not born to a Jewish woman is not considered Jewish. This does not always affect citizenship, but it can.
Children born abroad to one Israeli parent are also eligible for citizenship, but the process is more complicated and would remain unaffected by Shaked's proposed change.