37 Facts About Dorit Beinisch

Dorit Beinisch was the 9th president of the Supreme Court of Israel.

Dorit Beinisch was the first woman to serve as president of the Israeli Supreme Court.

Dorit Beinisch's mother, Chava, was a kindergarten teacher in Tel Aviv.

Dorit Beinisch was awarded honorary Doctor of Philosophy degrees by the Hebrew University in Jerusalem in June 2010, and Ben-Gurion University in May 2012, as well as an Honorary Fellowship by The Interdisciplinary Center, Herzliya.

Dorit Beinisch was awarded "Doctor of Humane Letters-Honoris Causa"by The "Hebrew Union College"Jerusalem, on November 14th,2012.

Dorit Beinisch is a member as an Officer at The French "National Order of the Legion of Honour" since December 17,2012.

On December 30,2012, Dorit Beinisch was awarded as a knight of The Movement for Quality Government in Israel.

On May 8,2013, Dorit Beinisch was awarded "Honorary Citizen of Jerusalem".

In May 2015 Dorit Beinisch received an honorary award from The Holon Technological Institute.

Dorit Beinisch was nominated in May 2013 as The Chancellor of the Open University of Israel and chairwoman of its Council.

Dorit Beinisch is a critic of the Israeli government's judicial reform initiative, citing that it threatens the independence of the judiciary.

Dorit Beinisch joined the Ministry of Justice in 1967, doing her legal internship in the legislation department.

Dorit Beinisch served in the Ministry of Justice for 28 years, holding senior positions to which women in Israel had never been appointed before.

Between 1967 and 1969, Dorit Beinisch served as Assistant in the Jerusalem District Attorney's Office until she completed her master's degree, moving up in 1970 to become Senior Assistant to the State Attorney.

Dorit Beinisch represented the state before the Supreme Court in constitutional and administrative cases.

Dorit Beinisch played an instrumental role in prosecuting some of the state's most difficult cases.

Dorit Beinisch collected evidence for the Kahan commission which investigated the Sabra and Shatila massacre.

Dorit Beinisch served as the State Attorney of Israel from 1989 to 1995, the first woman in Israel to hold this position.

Dorit Beinisch supervised the lengthy investigation, trial and eventual conviction of then Shas Party chairman and former interior minister Aryeh Deri.

Dorit Beinisch represented the state before the Supreme Court in significant constitutional, administrative and criminal law cases.

Dorit Beinisch refused to represent Yitzhak Rabin's government in the High Court when a petition was filed against its decision to deport 415 Hamas members to Lebanon.

Dorit Beinisch fought for her professional and legal views on controversial issues, such as the Kav 300 affair in 1984.

Dorit Beinisch was appointed as a Justice of Israel's Supreme Court in December 1995.

Dorit Beinisch served as chair of the Central Elections Commission.

In September 2006 Dorit Beinisch was sworn in as President of the Supreme Court of Israel, after being voted in unanimously, becoming the first woman in Israel to hold this position.

Dorit Beinisch believed that one of her primary tasks as President of the Supreme Court was to safeguard the independence of the Israeli court system and ensure its apolitical character.

Dorit Beinisch emphasized the importance of judicial review of the activities of the executive branch, including the military, as well as the importance of following the rule of law and the principle of non-discriminatory law enforcement, and preserving every person's right of access to court.

On January 27,2010, Dorit Beinisch was injured when a 52-year-old man named Pinchas Cohen hurled his sneaker at her during a hearing on medical marijuana, hitting her between the eyes, breaking her glasses and knocking her off her chair.

Dorit Beinisch was arrested and later apologized for his act, and stated that he hoped she was well.

Dorit Beinisch has focused on government corruption and to ensuring that government institutions adhere to the law, with a particular emphasis placed on the Defence Forces, the police and general security services.

In 2004 Dorit Beinisch criticized the use of expedited legislative mechanisms, often used by the Knesset to legislate various economic laws and reforms.

Dorit Beinisch held that the appropriate doctrine for the Israeli legal system to adopt is not an absolute one, but a relative doctrine which allows the court to exclude illegally obtained evidence at its discretion.

In 2008, Dorit Beinisch ruled on interpretation of the Unlawful Combatants Law and the extent to which the law is consistent with international humanitarian law.

Dorit Beinisch held that the provisions of the statute should be interpreted, in so far as possible, in a manner consistent with the accepted norms of international law.

In 2009, Dorit Beinisch issued a precedent-setting ruling on the unconstitutional nature of the privatization of prisons.

Dorit Beinisch concluded that the Amendment violates the constitutional rights to personal freedom and human dignity.

In Dorit Beinisch's ruling, the High Court stated that a woman suing for discrimination will not have to prove she was deprived of pay because of her gender, but only show there is a significant difference in salaries.