Ruth Gavison


Ruth Gavison is an Israeli Law professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Her areas of research include Ethnic Conflict, the Protection of Minorities, Human Rights, Political Theory, Judiciary Law, Religion and Politics, and Israel as a Jewish and democratic state.
She is a member of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities.

Supreme Court nomination

Gavison was nominated for a position on Israel's Supreme Court in 2005 but failed to secure a majority for the appointment. Justice Minister Daniel Friedmann reportedly asserted in 2007 that existing Supreme Court justices opposed her nomination because of their disagreement with her views.

Background and education

She published an essay on privacy in the Yale Law Journal, and edited a volume dedicated to H.L.A.Hart's legal philosophy published by Oxford. Recently, she published an essay about days of rest in divided societies, included in 'Law and Religion in Comparative Context', published by Cambridge. She is a member of the Editorial Board of the Jewish Review of Books.

Academic appointments

Gavison was a member of numerous Israeli Public Inquiry committees, including the following:
Gavison was a founding member of the Association for Civil Rights in Israel where she served for many years as Chairperson and as President from 1996 to 1999. Professor Gavison was a member of the International Commission of Jurists 1998-2008. In 2005 she founded Metzilah and is serving as it chair and founding president.
With Rabbi Yaaqov Medan, she coauthored the Gavison-Medan Covenant, a proposal for the coexistence of religious and secular Israelis.

Awards