Khaled Kabub ח'אלד כבוב
The first Muslim Arab justice of Israel's Supreme Court, a historic 2022 appointment that reflects the steady integration of Israel's Arab citizens into the country's highest institutions. A respected commercial-law jurist who built his career in the Tel Aviv District Court.
Background
Born in Jaffa to an Arab Muslim family, Kabub studied law at Tel Aviv University, practiced commercial law in private practice, and served on the Tel Aviv District Court for 12 years (specializing in complex commercial cases and class actions) before his February 2022 appointment to the Supreme Court, the first Muslim Arab to hold the office.
Notable record
- Authored leading opinions in Israeli class-action and commercial law during his district-court tenure
- His Supreme Court appointment was supported across the political spectrum and welcomed by Israeli Arab civil-society organizations as a milestone for representation
- Continues a tradition of distinguished Arab jurists in Israeli courts, the first Arab Supreme Court justice, Salim Joubran (a Christian), served from 2003 to 2017
Today
Continues to hear commercial and administrative cases as a sitting justice; his presence on the Court is a quiet, daily refutation of the slander that Israel denies its Arab citizens full participation in public life.
Why it matters
His appointment makes concrete what Israel's Declaration of Independence promised in 1948: that the Jewish state would 'ensure complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion, race or sex.'
Cite this page
Khaled Kabub, Justice of the Supreme Court. The State of Israel. https://thestateofisrael.com/justice/khaled-kabub