The Judiciary
The Supreme Court in Jerusalem, the Attorney General and State Prosecution, and the religious courts that govern personal status.
The Supreme Court
11 entries
Israel’s highest court sits in Jerusalem. It hears appeals and, as the High Court of Justice, petitions against public authorities. Profiles below include selected serving and former justices.
Isaac Amitיצחק עמית
President of the Supreme Court since 2025 and a justice since 2009. He studied law at the Hebrew University, practiced in Haifa, joined the Haifa Magistrates’ Court in 1997 and became a permanent District Court judge in 2002.
Notable record
- Voted with the 8–7 majority that invalidated the 2023 reasonableness amendment to Basic Law: The Judiciary on 1 January 2024.
Sitting
Full page · share this profile →Sources:123Noam Sohlbergנעם סולברג
Deputy President of the Supreme Court since 2025 and a justice since 2012. A Hebrew University law graduate, he worked as an assistant to the attorney general before joining the Jerusalem Magistrates’ Court in 1998 and the District Court in 2005.
Notable record
- Voted against invalidating the 2023 reasonableness amendment to Basic Law: The Judiciary in the Court’s 8–7 ruling of 1 January 2024.
Sitting
Full page · share this profile →Sources:123David Mintzדוד מינץ
Supreme Court justice since 2017, with a background in civil litigation and insolvency law. Previously served in Jerusalem’s magistrates’ and district courts.
Background
Born in England in 1959 and moved to Israel in 1970. Served as an Armored Corps officer through the Har Etzion hesder program. Studied law at the Hebrew University, joined the Jerusalem Magistrates’ Court in 1998 and the District Court in 2009, and became a Supreme Court justice in June 2017.
Notable record
- Voted against invalidating the 2023 reasonableness amendment to Basic Law: The Judiciary in the Court’s 8–7 ruling of 1 January 2024.
Sitting
Full page · share this profile →Sources:12Yael Willnerיעל וילנר
Supreme Court justice since October 2017, following service on Haifa’s Magistrates’ and District Courts.
Background
Born in 1959. Completed national service in Kiryat Shmona in 1978 and a law degree at the Hebrew University in 1982. Served on the Haifa Magistrates’ and District Courts before joining the Supreme Court in October 2017.
Notable record
- Voted against invalidating the 2023 reasonableness amendment to Basic Law: The Judiciary in the Court’s 8–7 ruling of 1 January 2024.
Sitting
Full page · share this profile →Sources:12Yosef Elronיוסף אלרון
Supreme Court justice from 2017 to 2025, following service as president of the Haifa District Court.
Background
Graduated in law from the University of Buckingham in 1983. Appointed to the Haifa Magistrates’ Court in 1994 and the Haifa District Court in 2003; became its president in 2013 and joined the Supreme Court in 2017.
Notable record
- Voted against invalidating the 2023 reasonableness amendment to Basic Law: The Judiciary in the Court’s 8–7 ruling of 1 January 2024.
Today
Retired from the Supreme Court in September 2025 at the statutory retirement age of 70.
Former
Full page · share this profile →Sources:123Alex Steinאלכס שטיין
Supreme Court justice since August 2018. Born in Kishinev in 1957, he immigrated to Israel in 1973. He holds law degrees from the Hebrew University and a doctorate from the University of London, and taught at the Hebrew University, Cardozo and Brooklyn Law School.
Notable record
- Voted against invalidating the 2023 reasonableness amendment to Basic Law: The Judiciary in the Court’s 8–7 ruling of 1 January 2024.
Sitting
Full page · share this profile →Sources:12Ofer Grosskopfעופר גרוסקופף
Supreme Court justice since March 2018. Born in 1969, he studied law and economics at Tel Aviv University and earned a master’s degree in law at Harvard. He taught at Tel Aviv University and served on the Central District Court from 2009.
Notable record
- Voted with the 8–7 majority that invalidated the 2023 reasonableness amendment to Basic Law: The Judiciary on 1 January 2024.
Sitting
Full page · share this profile →Sources:12Khaled Kabubח'אלד כבוב
The Supreme Court’s first permanent Muslim justice, appointed in 2022. Born in Jaffa in 1958, he joined the Netanya Magistrates’ Court in 1997 and the Tel Aviv District Court in 2003. His district-court work included financial crime and commercial cases.
Notable record
- Voted with the 8–7 majority that invalidated the 2023 reasonableness amendment to Basic Law: The Judiciary on 1 January 2024.
Sitting
Full page · share this profile →Sources:123Daphne Barak-Erezדפנה ברק-ארז
Supreme Court justice since May 2012. Born in the United States in 1965, she grew up in Israel from 1966. She earned her law degrees at Tel Aviv University, served as an IDF legal officer and became dean of the university’s law faculty.
Notable record
- Voted with the 8–7 majority that invalidated the 2023 reasonableness amendment to Basic Law: The Judiciary on 1 January 2024.
Sitting
Full page · share this profile →Sources:12Aharon Barakאהרן ברק
Supreme Court justice from 1978 to 2006 and President from 1995 to 2006. His interpretation of the 1992 Basic Laws helped establish judicial review of ordinary legislation. The scope of that power remains a subject of constitutional debate.
Background
Born in 1936 in Kaunas, Lithuania, Barak survived the Holocaust as a child in the Kovno Ghetto, smuggled out in a sack and hidden by a Lithuanian family until liberation. He immigrated to Mandatory Palestine in 1947, studied at the Hebrew University, served as Attorney General (1975-78), and was appointed to the Supreme Court in 1978. As President (1995-2006), he led the Court through the post-1992 Basic Laws period and the United Mizrahi Bank ruling (1995) that established judicial review.
Notable record
- United Mizrahi Bank v. Migdal (1995): established that the Supreme Court may invalidate ordinary statutes that violate the 1992 Basic Laws, the 'constitutional revolution'
- Sat on the Israeli delegation to the Camp David peace negotiations with Egypt in 1978 as legal advisor
- Author of internationally cited works including 'The Judge in a Democracy' and 'Purposive Interpretation in Law'
Former
Full page · share this profile →Sources:123Esther Hayutאסתר חיות
President of the Supreme Court from 2017 to 2023. She studied law at Tel Aviv University and joined the Tel Aviv Magistrates’ Court in 1990. After serving on the District Court, she became an acting Supreme Court justice in 2003 and a permanent justice in 2004.
Notable record
- Voted with the 8–7 majority that invalidated the 2023 reasonableness amendment to Basic Law: The Judiciary on 1 January 2024.
Former
Full page · share this profile →Sources:12Office of the Attorney General
2 entries
The attorney general and the State Prosecution advise and represent the state and oversee public prosecutions, with distinct responsibilities within the legal system.
Gali Baharav-Miaraגלי בהרב-מיארה
Attorney General since February 2022, and the first woman appointed to the office. Previously Tel Aviv District Attorney for civil affairs, she later worked in private practice. The role includes legal advice to the government, state representation in court and supervision of the prosecution service.
Today
On 15 July 2026, the Knesset passed a law changing the binding force of the attorney general’s non-criminal legal opinions and the rules for separate government representation in court. It is scheduled to take effect on 1 January 2027.
Sitting
Full page · share this profile →Sources:123Amit Aismanעמית איסמן
State Prosecutor since 2021. Previously Haifa District Prosecutor, he received cabinet approval for the permanent appointment in June 2021 on Justice Minister Gideon Sa’ar’s recommendation. The State Prosecution handles criminal, civil and administrative proceedings on behalf of the state.
Sitting
Full page · share this profile →Sources:123Religious Courts
3 entries
The chief rabbis and the state rabbinical courts, which apply Jewish law within their statutory jurisdiction. Separate religious jurisdictions serve Muslim, Christian and Druze communities.
David Yosefדוד יוסף
Elected Sephardi Chief Rabbi on 29 September 2024 for a ten-year term. He is the son of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, author of the Halacha Berura series and a former rabbi of Jerusalem’s Har Nof neighborhood. He also serves as President of the Great Rabbinical Court.
Sitting
Full page · share this profile →Sources:123Kalman Barקלמן בר
Elected Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi in the runoff on 31 October 2024 for a ten-year term. He studied and taught at Yeshivat Kerem B’Yavneh, served in the IDF’s Nahal Brigade and was Chief Rabbi of Netanya from 2014 until his national election.
Sitting
Full page · share this profile →Sources:123The Rabbinical Court Systemבתי הדין הרבניים
State rabbinical courts apply Jewish law within the jurisdiction granted by statute. The 1953 Marriage and Divorce Law gives them exclusive jurisdiction over marriage and divorce of Jews in Israel who are citizens or residents. Regional court decisions may be appealed to the Great Rabbinical Court in Jerusalem.
Notable record
- Israeli Supreme Court reviews rabbinical-court decisions only on narrow administrative and jurisdictional grounds, preserving the religious courts' substantive halachic authority
- Parallel state-recognized religious court systems exist for Muslim (Sharia), Christian (ecclesiastical), and Druze communities, each with jurisdiction over personal-status matters within their community
Today
A law passed on 24 March 2026 permits rabbinical and Sharia courts to arbitrate certain civil disputes with all parties’ consent. Criminal and administrative matters, cases involving the state or a local authority, and disputes between spouses or former spouses are excluded from this arbitration power.
Sitting
Full page · share this profile →Sources:12