Choosing Religious Court Judges in Israel: A Case Study

Israeli rabbinical courts have exclusive jurisdiction over marriage & divorce among Jewish residents. In December 2002, the author was elected to the Commission to Appoint Religious Court Judges & was reelected to a second three-year term in December 2005. The commission has traditionally operated as an "old boys' club" & job-placement center for cronies of haredi (ultra-Orthodox) political & religious leaders, with judges being appointed on the basis of their family ties or religious-party alliances. With the support of a coalition of twenty-five women's organizations, the author & the non-haredi members of the commission succeeded in putting a halt to the haredi rabbis' control over the appointment process. Women's organizations & other critics have demanded that candidates be appointed on the basis of merit. Party politics & religious politics have also influenced the commission's work over the past three years, causing a deadlock & an inability to appoint judges to fill the ten open positions on regional rabbinical courts. Adapted from the source document.