The year 2024 will forever be remembered as a year of eerie silence: the streets of Kiryat Shmona were empty, the kibbutzim on the Gaza border became ghost towns, and the sounds of joy were replaced by explosive sounds. It seemed that life had stopped.
But then the year 2025 arrived, bringing with it something no one dared to imagine.
The Ministry of Religious Services' annual summary report, published today (Wednesday), reveals a happy reality: This is not just a 61% increase in marriage registrations across the country. This is a historic correction in the most painful points on the map.
""Did they think we were broke?" says a senior official in the ministry. "The numbers prove that we've just started over.".
The Miracle of Kiryat Shmona: From the Abyss to the Canopy
Imagine this: In 2024, at the height of the fighting, only 39 couples were registered in Kiryat Shmona. The city was in deep stagnation. But then the unbelievable happened. In 2025, the number jumped to 103 cases, an imaginary increase of 164%.
The city that was evacuated, that was bombed, and that was at the center of the storm, became a powerhouse of young couples who decide: This will be our home.
""The 2025 graph is a winning answer," says the director general of the Ministry of Religious Services. "If in 2024 we saw the break, 2025 is the year of rebirth. The trust of young couples in our future in Kiryat Shmona and Shaar Negev is the true national resilience.".
Not just in the north: The Gaza envelope is coming to life
In the south, the story is no less dramatic: the Sha'ar Hanegev Regional Council, which suffered an unbearable blow, is making a comeback with an increase of 67%.
A complete correction has also been recorded in the Negev fields. Young couples are not only returning to the settlements, they are building their future there, breaking glasses under the canopy and proving that this melody cannot be stopped.
Marriage Summit: The first in the number of registrants
In first place - Tel Aviv, with 3247 couples who registered at the Marriage Bureau of the Religious Council in Tel Aviv. In second place - Jerusalem, with 1757 couples who registered for marriage. In third place - the Marriage Bureau in Sheshaam with 1744 couples who chose to register for marriage. In fourth place - the Hof Hasharon Regional Council with 1572 couples. And in fifth place - Ashdod with 1407 couples who chose the Marriage Bureau of the Religious Council.
The Director General of the Ministry of Religious Services explains the increase in marriage registrations: "The Ministry of Religious Services leads in the satisfaction survey of government ministries. The survey results are consistent and the public chooses us to register marriages due to the highest quality and level of service.".
So what is the conclusion from all these numbers? Apparently, even after the most difficult year, the people of Israel choose one thing above all else: life.
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