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 ...
, Israel, in the Shaviv
ma'abara (today the Yad HaTesha neighborhood) to Yehuda and Yehudit Avni, who were both
Romanian
Romanian may refer to:
*anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania
**Romanians, an ethnic group
**Romanian language, a Romance language
*** Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language
**Romanian cuisine, traditiona ...
Holocaust survivors
Holocaust survivors are people who survived the Holocaust, defined as the persecution and attempted annihilation of the Jews by Nazi Germany and Axis powers, its allies before and during World War II in Europe and North Africa. There is no unive ...
. 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
Eilat ( , ; he, אֵילַת ; ar, إِيلَات, Īlāt) is Israel's southernmost city, with a population of , a busy port and popular resort at the northern tip of the Red Sea, on what is known in Israel as the Gulf of Eilat and in Jorda ...
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 m