Esther Hayut (; born 16 October 1953) is the Chief Justice of the
Supreme Court of Israel. She was sworn in on 26 October 2017, and is expected to serve as Chief Justice until October 2023.
Early life
Esther "Esti" Avni was born in
Herzliya
Herzliya ( ; he, הֶרְצְלִיָּה ; ar, هرتسليا, Hirtsiliyā) is an affluent city in the central coast of Israel, at the northern part of the Tel Aviv District, known for its robust start-up and entrepreneurial culture. In it h ...
, Israel, in the Shaviv
ma'abara
Ma'abarot ( he, מַעְבָּרוֹת) were immigrant and refugee absorption camps established in Israel in the 1950s, constituting one of the largest public projects planned by the state to implement its sociospatial and housing policies.
...
(today the Yad HaTesha neighborhood) to Yehuda and Yehudit Avni, who were both
Romanian Holocaust survivors
Holocaust survivors are people who survived the Holocaust, defined as the persecution and attempted annihilation of the Jews by Nazi Germany and its allies before and during World War II in Europe and North Africa. There is no universally accep ...
. Her parents divorced when she was a toddler, and her father emigrated to the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
. She grew up in her grandparents' home in the Neve Amal neighborhood of Herzliya. 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. After her discharge from the army, Hayut attended law school at
Tel Aviv University
Tel Aviv University (TAU) ( he, אוּנִיבֶרְסִיטַת תֵּל אָבִיב, ''Universitat Tel Aviv'') is a public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Locate ...
, graduating in 1977.
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
Haim Yosef Zadok ( he, חיים יוסף צדוק, born Haim Wilkenfeld; 2 October 1913 – 15 August 2002) was an Israeli jurist and politician.
Early life
Zadok was born in 1913 in Rava-Ruska in Eastern Galicia in Austria-Hungary (now Ukraine) ...
, a former Israeli
Minister of Justice
A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...
, 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
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...
as one of the 50 over 50 women leading the way throughout
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
, the
Middle East
The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...
and
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
.
Judicial career
In March 1990 Hayut was appointed as a judge in the Tel Aviv
Magistrate Court,
and in 1996 was appointed to the Tel Aviv District Court where she gained tenure in 1997.
In March 2003 Hayut was appointed a Justice of the Supreme Court of Israel, where she gained tenure in March 2004.
In May 2015 Hayut was appointed Chairperson of the Central Election Committee for the
20th Knesset
The members of the 20th Knesset were 2015 Israeli legislative election, elected on 17 March 2015 and sworn in on 31 March 2015.
Members of the Knesset
Replacements
The twentieth Knesset had the highest number of replacements in Israeli histo ...
.
Hayut was elected to replace
Miriam Naor as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in 2017 and serve as such until 2023, according to the seniority method used in Israel.
See also
*
Women in Israel
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hayut, Esther
1953 births
Judges of the Supreme Court of Israel
Chief justices of the Supreme Court of Israel
Israeli women judges
People from Eilat
People from Herzliya
Tel Aviv University alumni
Living people
Women chief justices
Israeli people of Romanian-Jewish descent