Israelis stuck in Georgia because their son did not receive birth certificate: "Feeling imprisoned"

Since his birth, the baby colleague in Georgia has been living with his parents, Sharon and Keren, who cannot return to Israel because he did not receive a birth certificate. The reason - a delay in the notary's signature on the surrogate mother's document. Now they are organizing a protest: "Let us go home." Foreign Ministry: "The family must act on its own with the authorities"

Israelis stuck in Georgia because their son did not receive birth certificate: "Feeling imprisoned"

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For four months now, the baby colleague, who was born to a couple of Israelis in Georgia, did not receive a birth certificate and thus could not return to Israel. In the Foreign Ministry, the family responded to conduct the legal proceedings themselves, but the parents have not yet received a date for legal hearing and in fact feel imprisoned in a foreign country. This Tuesday, they are organizing a protest and calling on all parents to join them.

The Alia family is in Georgia even before the baby was born in surrogacy, but the latter did not receive a birth certificate. The reason is that at the time of fertilization, a notary did not sign the fetal insertion document, as required, but with a three-month delay. The family began legal proceedings against the state, but no date has been set for the hearing. The Israeli Foreign Ministry said they had no ability to intervene in these legal proceedings.

Sharon Maya Elia told in a conversation with Walla! NEWS that he landed in Georgia on November 1, five days before the birth of a colleague. He said within a month, Georgia authorities and the Interior Ministry should issue a birth certificate. "I asked my wife to check with other couples whether they had been issued a birth certificate. She checked and all couples received except us," he said. "I contacted a company that did the surrogacy procedure and she said there should be no problem in the case. I urged her to check what was going on here and only after I left them did I realize that while inserting the surrogate into the surrogate, which was supposed to be backed by the surrogate and the notary, he did not sign contrary to Georgian law."

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"Let us go home." Sharon and Karen in Georgia with their baby son, Amit (Photo: Courtesy of the photographers)

Sharon and Keren Ilia (Photo: Courtesy of the photographers)

The family contacted the Consular Department at the Foreign Office to try another way to obtain approval from the Home Office, but was further denied even after submitting more documents. Sharon and his wife Keren even performed a DNA test to prove that a colleague was their biological child. "At this point, we hired Georgian lawyers. They filed a petition to the Justice Department in Georgia and two weeks ago we received a refusal," he said.

The saga also continued on Feb. 5, so they filed a petition with the Georgia court seeking a court hearing, but so far no date has been set for the hearing. "We've been stuck in Georgia for four months," Sharon said. "A colleague with no vaccines or medical surveillance, no alliance, and the most serious thing - no medical insurance.

He said that throughout this period he remained detached from everything that was going on in Israel and could barely function at his job. "My wife and I are in a bad state of mind. The foundation is crying and anxious all day. The Foreign Ministry is repeating the mint that cannot be intervened in a legal process. We do not ask for it, but only want a date for a legal hearing. , Sharon explained.

"The family must act on its own with the Georgia authorities." Foreign Ministry (Photo: Wikipedia)

Foreign Ministry Building, Jerusalem (Photo: Wikipedia, official website)

Meanwhile, Sharon and Keren - along with baby Amit - feel trapped in Georgia. "I do not blame the state. Here we work 'according to the book'. I only ask the State of Israel and Georgia, we did not make the mistake. Whoever made the mistake is the surrogate company," he added. He urged them to set a date for a legal hearing and "let us home. A four-month family may not be imprisoned here."

After contacting the Foreign Office, they replied that, "in examining the matter with the Foreign Office, the state authorities have worked as much as possible to shorten your stay in Georgia, but to the State of Israel how any authority to intervene in legal proceedings on the spot. You must work with the appropriate authorities in Georgia ".

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Sharon said: "This is not true. We have started a legal process, but where is the office? Why is it not helping us get a legal hearing? I received no support, neither from the consular headquarters nor from the Foreign Ministry." This Tuesday, the family is organizing a protest at the Givatayim shopping mall and urging all parents in the city to join it.

Foreign Ministry: "State authorities have acted as much as possible"

The Foreign Ministry said in response: "We are sorry for the unpleasant situation the family encountered. However, issuing birth certificates to minors born as part of surrogacy procedures is conducted in accordance with the laws and procedures of the foreign state where the procedure is conducted. The authorities of the State of Israel have no regard for this procedure. As previously announced by the Foreign Ministry, Israeli citizens applying for surrogacy procedures abroad and the companies involved in the matter are solely responsible for clarifying the law applicable there. "

The ministry added: "In the present case, state authorities have been working as much as possible to help the family shorten her stay in Georgia, but the family must work with the Georgia authorities to regulate its affairs."