Polygamy

A 50-year-old resident of the Negev Bedouin sector is accused of concealing marriages to two women from the National Insurance Institute. By presenting them as common-law partners, he fraudulently obtained hundreds of thousands of shekels.

Police suspect that a local council head is married to four women, including a foreign national and an Israeli resident. The suspect has 45 children, ranging from adults to minors. The investigation, which began several months ago, is currently ongoing.

Police questioned an 83-year-old Bedouin from Rahat, a father of 45 children, on suspicion of bigamy and offenses related to illegal stay in Israel. According to investigators, he is married to nine women, five of whom are not residents of Israel, including residents of the Palestinian Authority.

The legal counsel to the government is blocking a key component in the struggle to restore governance in the Negev: the revocation of status for individuals born in Bedouin families to mothers from the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. This phenomenon has resulted in an entire generation of children holding full Israeli citizenship while maintaining a Palestinian identity.

Fifteen years after the Goel Ratzon cult case shocked Israel, his eldest son Yigal openly admits to having nine wives. He claims he sees no issue with his lifestyle despite legal prohibitions.