Avi Himi, 60, takes helm of battered, scandal-ridden Bar Association

19 June 2019, 3:56 pm

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Attorney Avi Himi, 60, has been elected head of the Israel Bar Association, beating out rival Zion Amir in Tuesday’s vote.

Both Himi and Amir are noted criminal trial lawyers. A Rosh Ha’ayin resident, Himi owns a prominent criminal defense firm.

Exact vote counts are not yet public while vote-counting continues, but Bar Association officials announced this afternoon that Himi’s lead is now too great to be affected by the uncounted votes.

The latest vote also saw continued decline in voter turnout among Israel’s attorneys. Just 18,000 ballots were cast in Tuesday’s vote out of the 67,000 attorneys who are eligible, a turnout of 27 percent, slightly lower than the 28.5% in the last race in 2018 or 31% four years earlier.