<p class="bodytext">Israelis demonstrated and held a one-day strike on Sunday to protest a law denying surrogacy to gay couples, with some blocking a major highway in commercial capital Tel Aviv.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Protesters also blocked traffic in central Jerusalem and two were arrested, police said. The Tel Aviv highway was blocked for about 20 minutes.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Israeli media showed dozens of protesters at each of a number of locations throughout the country, including those shouting "shame" and waiving rainbow flags.</p>.<p class="bodytext">A large demonstration was planned for Sunday night in Tel Aviv's Rabin Square.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The protest came after parliament on Wednesday approved surrogacy for single women or those unable to bear children — without granting the same right to same-sex couples or single men.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Previously, only heterosexual married couples were able to use a surrogate.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Around 200 companies announced they would allow their employees to not work to protest without it counting against their vacation days.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Sunday is already a semi-official holiday in Israel as Jews mark Tisha B'av, which commemorates the destruction of the two biblical-era temples.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"It is a symbolic measure, but one that shows real support," Julien Bahloul, spokesman for the Association of Gay Fathers in Israel, told AFP.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Some companies said they would contribute up to around $15,000 to help gay couples forced to seek surrogacy abroad.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Bahloul said gay couples wanting to have children must find a surrogate mother abroad and the costs can rise to more than $1,00,000. Costs would be cut in half if it were allowed in Israel, he said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Israel has been a trailblazer when it comes to gay rights, but same-sex relationships remain a taboo among religious conservatives who prop up Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing government.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The premier relies on ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties Shas and United Torah Judaism, both of which oppose families with same-sex parents.</p>
<p class="bodytext">Israelis demonstrated and held a one-day strike on Sunday to protest a law denying surrogacy to gay couples, with some blocking a major highway in commercial capital Tel Aviv.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Protesters also blocked traffic in central Jerusalem and two were arrested, police said. The Tel Aviv highway was blocked for about 20 minutes.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Israeli media showed dozens of protesters at each of a number of locations throughout the country, including those shouting "shame" and waiving rainbow flags.</p>.<p class="bodytext">A large demonstration was planned for Sunday night in Tel Aviv's Rabin Square.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The protest came after parliament on Wednesday approved surrogacy for single women or those unable to bear children — without granting the same right to same-sex couples or single men.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Previously, only heterosexual married couples were able to use a surrogate.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Around 200 companies announced they would allow their employees to not work to protest without it counting against their vacation days.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Sunday is already a semi-official holiday in Israel as Jews mark Tisha B'av, which commemorates the destruction of the two biblical-era temples.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"It is a symbolic measure, but one that shows real support," Julien Bahloul, spokesman for the Association of Gay Fathers in Israel, told AFP.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Some companies said they would contribute up to around $15,000 to help gay couples forced to seek surrogacy abroad.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Bahloul said gay couples wanting to have children must find a surrogate mother abroad and the costs can rise to more than $1,00,000. Costs would be cut in half if it were allowed in Israel, he said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Israel has been a trailblazer when it comes to gay rights, but same-sex relationships remain a taboo among religious conservatives who prop up Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing government.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The premier relies on ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties Shas and United Torah Judaism, both of which oppose families with same-sex parents.</p>