Uri Shoham ( he, אורי שהם; August 3, 1948) is a judge on the Supreme Court of Israel. He previously served as a district court judge in

Tel-Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the ...

and a Judge Advocate General. His appointment to the court was viewed as a victory for

Mizrahi Jews Mizrahi Jews ( he, יהודי המִזְרָח), also known as ''Mizrahim'' () or ''Mizrachi'' () and alternatively referred to as Oriental Jews or ''Edot HaMizrach'' (, ), are a grouping of Jewish communities comprising those who remained ...

, as the court had consisted largely of judges of Ashkenazi descent. Shoham was born in

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

on 3 August 1948 and moved to

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

with his family in 1951. He grew up in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the ...

and attended the Ironi Dalet High School. In 1966, he began his military service in the Israel Defense Forces as part of the

Atuda Atuda, or Academic Atuda ( he, עתודה אקדמית, literally: Academic Reserve), is a program of the Israeli Defense Forces which enables high school graduates to defer the draft and attend university prior to their military service. After th ...

program, serving in the

Combat Engineering Corps The Israeli Combat Engineering Corps ( he, חיל ההנדסה הקרבית, ''Heil HaHandasa HaKravit'') is the combat engineering forces of the Israel Defense Forces. The Combat Engineering Corps beret's color is silver and its symbol featur ...

. In 1971, he received a BA in law from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and received a law license in 1975. In 1977, he received a master's degree in law from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He served in the

Military Advocate General The Military Advocate General (MAG Corps') ( he, הפרקליטות הצבאית, ''HaParklitut HaTzva'it'') is responsible for implementing the rule of law within the Israel Defense Forces. The unit's objectives include integrating the rule of ...

's office of the IDF in a number of positions, including as a judge and prosecutor in the IDF legal system.http://jpress.org.il/Olive/APA/NLI_Heb/SharedView.Article.aspx?parm=V3jdJGJ94Ed6LhOGKKDlZwZ%2FNkDrk7XZxUlENDk%2BWQipOFtwRW0%2BhcaRMnU0L8IhYw%3D%3D&mode=image&href=DAV%2f1980%2f04%2f30&page=3&rtl=true He served as President of the Military Court of Appeals for the Judea, Samaria, and Gaza Areas, was Chief Military Prosecutor from 1995 to 2000, and then served as Deputy President of the

Military Court of Appeals The Israeli Military Court of Appeals is the supreme military court of the Israel Defense Forces. It considers and judges over appeals submitted by the Military Advocate General which challenge decisions rendered by the District Military Tribunals ...

. He completed his military service with the rank of Brigadier General. In September 2001, he was appointed a judge on the Tel Aviv District Court. While serving in this position in 2009, he imposed several long sentences on members of organized crime groups. Shoham was threatened by the crime groups, and he was given increased security by the police. He was appointed to the Supreme Court in 2012. Shoham is married with two daughters.

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* 1948 births Living people Judges of the Supreme Court of Israel Iraqi Jews Israeli people of Iraqi-Jewish descent Mizrahi Jews {{Asia-law-bio-stub