High Court rules women allowed to supervise rabbinical courts

The High Court of Justice rules that women must be allowed to supervise rabbinical courts in Israel.

The ruling comes in response to a 2014 petition filed by women’s rights groups who protested the lack of female supervisors in rabbinical courts, according to the Ynet news website.

Court supervisors serve in an administrative capacity with no say in judicial rulings. The job’s requirements, which previously stipulated that candidates must be eligible to serve as a city rabbi in order to qualify, automatically excluded women from applying.

That requirement has now been dropped. According to the new requirements set by the court today, a potential candidate must be a resident of Israel; possess a rabbinical court advocate license or a law practicing license along with a master’s degree in Jewish law or Talmud; have at least seven years of experience in rabbinical court appearances; and possess “character and lifestyle befitting a director of rabbinical courts.”