Yitzhak Amit (, born Yitzhak Goldfreund ; 20 October 1958) is a judge on the

Supreme Court of Israel The Supreme Court of Israel (, Hebrew acronym Bagatz; ) is the Supreme court, highest court in Israel. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all other courts, and in some cases original jurisdiction. The Supreme Court consists of 15 jud ...

and serves as the President of the Supreme Court of Israel since 13 February 2025. Amit is widely considered as a liberal justice and has had a major impact on the Supreme Court.

Early life and education

Amit was born and raised in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

. He attended a religious high school and graduated in 1976. He served in the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...

as an officer in

Unit 8200 Unit 8200 (, ''Yehida shmone matayim'' "Unit eight two-hundred") is an Israeli Intelligence Corps unit of the Israel Defense Forces responsible for clandestine operation, collecting signal intelligence (SIGINT) and code decryption, counteri ...

, and was discharged in 1980. In 1981, he began studying law at the

Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; ) is an Israeli public university, public research university based in Jerusalem. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Chaim Weizmann in July 1918, the public university officially opened on 1 April 1925. ...

and graduated ''cum laude'' with a

Bachelor of Laws A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

in 1985.

Career

Amit was granted a license to practice law in 1986 and worked as a lawyer in private practice. In 1997, he was appointed a judge on the

Acre The acre ( ) is a Unit of measurement, unit of land area used in the Imperial units, British imperial and the United States customary units#Area, United States customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one Chain (unit), ch ...

Magistrates Court, and subsequently a judge on the

Haifa Haifa ( ; , ; ) is the List of cities in Israel, third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropolitan area i ...

Magistrates Court. He then became a judge on the Haifa District Court. He was elected to the Supreme Court in August 2009, and took office in October 2009. In 2023, Amit was expected to become President of the Supreme Court, following

Esther Hayut Esther Hayut (; born 16 October 1953) is an Israeli jurist who served as president of the Supreme Court of Israel from October 2017 to October 2023, and as Justice of the Supreme Court of Israel from 2004 to 2023. She is considered to have been ...

's retirement. However, due to the objection of the Minister of Justice,

Yariv Levin Yariv Gideon Levin (; born 22 June 1969) is an Israeli lawyer and politician who serves as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice. He served as Speaker of the Knesset in December 2022, previously serving that role from 2020 to 2021. He cu ...

, Uzi Vogelman became acting President of the Supreme Court of Israel from 16 October 2023 until he stepped down reaching retirement age on 1 October 2024. Amit became the acting President of the Supreme Court of Israel after Uzi Vogelman stepped down, until a permanent president was appointed by the Judicial Selection Committee. Justice Minister

blocked the accession of Amit as permanent president who was nominated based on the long-standing seniority-based convention, arguing he possesses discretion regarding the committee's convening, the identity of the candidates to be presented for a vote, and the timing of such a vote, but was forced to call a vote following an unanimous High Court decision in 2025. Amit was thereafter appointed President on 26 January 2025, and sworn in on 13 February 2025 by Israeli president

Isaac Herzog Isaac "Bougie" Herzog (; born 22 September 1960) is an Israeli politician who has been serving since 2021 as the president of Israel. He is the first president to have been born in Israel after its Declaration of Independence. Son of former Is ...

with Levin boycotting the inauguration, and subsequent meetings in what has been branded as a constitutional crisis.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Amit, Yitzchak 1958 births Living people Judges of the Supreme Court of Israel Unit 8200 alumni