Esther Hayut

Esther Hayut (Hebrew: אֶסְתֵּר חַיּוּת; born 16 October 1953) is an Israeli jurist who served as president of the Supreme Court of Israel from October 2017 and October 2023.

Esther Hayut
President of the Supreme Court of Israel
In office
26 October 2017 – 16 October 2023
DeputyHanan Melcer
Neal Hendel
Uzi Vogelman
Preceded byMiriam Naor
Succeeded byUzi Vogelman (acting)
Justice of the Supreme Court of Israel
In office
26 March 2004 (2004-03-26) – 16 October 2023
Nominated byTzipi Livni
Appointed byMoshe Katzav
Personal details
Born (1953-10-16) 16 October 1953
Herzliya, Israel
Alma materTel Aviv University (LLB)

Early life

Esther "Esti" Avni was born in Herzliya, Israel, in the Shaviv ma'abara (today the Yad HaTesha neighborhood) to Yehuda and Yehudit Avni, who were both Romanian Holocaust survivors.[1] Her parents divorced when she was a toddler, and her father emigrated to the United Kingdom. She grew up in her grandparents' home in the Neve Amal neighborhood of Herzliya.[2] At age 17, she moved to Eilat to live with her mother, who had remarried. She completed high school in Eilat in 1971. After graduating high school, she was conscripted into the Israel Defense Forces, where she served in the military music band of Central Command.[3]

After her discharge from the army, Hayut attended law school at Tel Aviv University, graduating in 1977.[4][5] During her law studies, she also met her husband, David Hayut, with whom she has two sons. Hayut interned at the law firm of Haim Yosef Zadok, a former Israeli Minister of Justice, where she stayed on to work as an associate lawyer between 1977 and 1985. After leaving the firm, Hayut opened an independent office together with her husband, specializing in commercial and tort law. In 2022, Hayut was awarded by Forbes as one of the 50 over 50 women leading the way throughout Europe, the Middle East and Africa.[6]

Speaking at a conference of the Israeli Association of Public Law in 2023, she spoke out against proposed judicial reforms, calling them "an unbridled attack ... a plan to crush the judicial system".[7]

Judicial career

In March 1990 Hayut was appointed as a judge in the Tel Aviv Magistrate Court,[4] and in 1996 was appointed to the Tel Aviv District Court where she gained tenure in 1997.[4][8] In March 2003 Hayut was appointed a Justice of the Supreme Court of Israel, where she gained tenure in March 2004.[4]

In May 2015 Hayut was appointed Chairperson of the Central Election Committee for the 20th Knesset.[9]

Hayut was elected to replace Miriam Naor as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in 2017 and will serve as such until 2023, according to the seniority method used in Israel.[10]

See also

References
  1. "For Third Time, Female Justice Elected to Head Israel's Supreme Court". The Tower. 6 June 2017.
  2. "Esther Hayut named Supreme Court president - Globes English". Globes (in Hebrew). 5 September 2017.
  3. "Meet Esther Hayut, the Pop Star Who Just Became Israel's Chief Justice". Tablet Magazine. 5 September 2017.
  4. "Justice Esther Hayut Curriculum Vitae" (PDF). Supreme Court of Israel.
  5. Hovel, Revital (5 September 2017). "Esther Hayut Appointed to Be Israel's Next Supreme Court President". Haaretz.
  6. McGrath, Maggie. "50 Over 50: EMEA 2022". Forbes. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
  7. Sharon, Jeremy (12 January 2023). "In fiery speech, Hayut says judicial shakeup plan 'fatal blow to Israeli democracy'". Times of Israel.
  8. "Esther Hayut sworn in as chief justice amid bid to curb judiciary". The Times of Israel. 26 October 2017.
  9. Harkov, Lahav (26 May 2015). "Esther Hayut named new Central Elections Committee head". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  10. "Esther Hayut sworn in as Supreme Court president". Ynetnews. 26 October 2017.
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