Jerusalem, 15 October, 2026 (TPS-IL) — Israel’s Supreme Court has selected Justice Yael Willner to serve on the Judicial Selection Committee, replacing Justice Daphne Barak-Erez, whose three-year term on the panel has ended.
Under the law, at least one of the three Supreme Court justices serving on the nine-member committee must be a woman. Willner’s appointment meets that requirement. Supreme Court President Isaac Amit and Deputy President Noam Sohlberg, the other two justices on the committee, are men.
Justice David Mintz, who joined the Supreme Court three months before Willner in 2017, would ordinarily have been next in line under the seniority-based selection process. The gender requirement, however, takes precedence.
The committee, which appoints judges to Israel’s courts, is unlikely to convene before a new government is formed following the Oct. 27 election.
Legislation passed by the outgoing government is set to take effect after the election, changing the committee’s composition and the judicial appointment process. The committee will retain its three Supreme Court justices, but the new law will allow it to appoint Supreme Court judges without the justices’ support. Under the revised rules, a simple majority can select judges to any court, provided that the majority includes at least one government representative and one opposition representative.
The changes form part of the government’s broader judicial overhaul agenda, which also includes giving the Knesset the power to override certain High Court rulings, changing how legal advisors are appointed to government ministries, and restricting judges’ use of the legal principle of “reasonableness,” which allows courts to review certain government decisions.
Supporters of the overhaul say it is intended to curb what they view as years of judicial overreach. Opponents argue that the changes would undermine democracy.
Opposition parties have pledged to repeal the legislation if they form the next government.
