An Israeli court has granted a gay male couple the right to adopt the foster child they have raised for almost 15 years, reports Haaretz.com.
Uzi Even and Amit Kama took in Yossi Even-Kama – who came from an abusive family which refused to accept his sexuality – when he was 16 years old.
It is believed that this is the first time that a gay couple has been allowed to legally adopt a child in Israel.
Even-Kama, who is now 30 years old, praised the court’s decision: “We opened a door, an opening, a window for others. An opening of hope for the couples that will follow.”
He added, “This legitimizes our daily lives, our feelings, our emotions.”
Even, who is a chemistry professor at Tel Aviv University, and Kama began the court action to have their adoptive father-son relationship recognised when they were told that Kama could not apply for a family tuition discount at the university.
The couple first came into contact with Even-Kama when the troubled 16 year old phoned Even from a public phone when he saw him on television talking about his sexuality.
“I decided to speak to the only homosexual I knew,” said Even-Kama. “One day I went down to a public phone, all shivering, and called ‘that professor from TV.”
Even-Kama moved in with the couple when it became clear that the boy’s family life would not improve.
