Israel's Olympic hero can't get married, but that may soon change

Artem Dolgopyat and Maria Masha Sakovichas.
(Image credit: Illustrated | AP Images, iStock)

Artem Dolgopyat is an Israeli national hero. A champion gymnast from a small country with few world-class athletes, Dolgopyat won Israel's second-ever gold medal in the Tokyo Olympic Games.

Dolgopyat is also a symbol of long-running controversy. Under Israeli law, all marriages must be conducted by legally-recognized religious authorities. For Jews, that means the Chief Rabbinate, which is dominated by Haredi (so-called "ultra-Orthodox") officials.

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Samuel Goldman

Samuel Goldman is a national correspondent at TheWeek.com. He is also an associate professor of political science at George Washington University, where he is executive director of the John L. Loeb, Jr. Institute for Religious Freedom and director of the Politics & Values Program. He received his Ph.D. from Harvard and was a postdoctoral fellow in Religion, Ethics, & Politics at Princeton University. His books include God's Country: Christian Zionism in America (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2018) and After Nationalism (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2021). In addition to academic research, Goldman's writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and many other publications.