Israel Shows Diversity in Supreme Court Nominations

Despite the bitter battles that surrounded some selections for seats on Israel’s Supreme Court, the result of Wednesday night’s selection process carried out by the Judicial Selection Committee in discussion with Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked was seen by some as an attempt to bring diversity to the court; and by others, an attempt to stack the court with conservatives. The four chosen from a list of 26 to sit on the court included a judge from the Christian Arab community; a member of a West Bank town (read: resident of a ‘settlement’); a sitting District Court judge. In a first for the Supreme Court, a religious Jewish woman was picked for a seat on the bench. The selections were lauded by the Israel Bar Association which also had praise for the committee head for working through difficult obstacles successfully.