Yitzhak Amit

Yitzhak Amit (Hebrew: יצחק עמית, born Yitzhak Goldfreund Hebrew: יצחק גולדפריינד 20 October 1958) is a judge on the Supreme Court of Israel and serves as the President of the Supreme Court of Israel since 13 February 2025. Amit is widely considered as a liberal justice and has had a major impact on the Supreme Court.^[1][2][3][4]

Yitzhak Amit
יצחק עמית‎
Amit in 2015
President of the Supreme Court of Israel
Incumbent
Assumed office 13 February 2025
Deputy	Noam Sohlberg
Acting 1 October 2024 – 13 February 2025
Preceded by	Uzi Vogelman (acting)
Judge in the Supreme Court of Israel
Incumbent
Assumed office 14 October 2009
Nominated by	Yaakov Neeman
Appointed by	Shimon Peres
Personal details
Born	(1958-10-20) 20 October 1958 (age 66) Tel Aviv, Israel
Education	Hebrew University of Jerusalem (LLB)

The swearing-in ceremony of Judge Yitzchak Amit as President of the Supreme Court of Israel

Early life and education

Amit was born and raised in Tel Aviv. He attended a religious high school and graduated in 1976. He served in the Israel Defense Forces as an officer in Unit 8200, and was discharged in 1980. In 1981, he began studying law at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Laws in 1985.^[5]

Career

Amit was granted a license to practice law in 1986 and worked as a lawyer in private practice.^[6]

In 1997, he was appointed a judge on the Acre Magistrates Court, and subsequently a judge on the Haifa Magistrates Court. He then became a judge on the Haifa District Court.^[7] He was elected to the Supreme Court in August 2009, and took office in October 2009.^[7]

In 2023, Amit was expected to become President of the Supreme Court, following Esther Hayut's retirement.^[8] However, due to the objection of the Minister of Justice, Yariv Levin, Uzi Vogelman became acting President of the Supreme Court of Israel from 16 October 2023 until he stepped down reaching retirement age on 1 October 2024.^[9]

Amit became the acting President of the Supreme Court of Israel after Uzi Vogelman stepped down, until a permanent president was appointed by the Judicial Selection Committee.^[9] Justice Minister Yariv Levin blocked the accession of Amit as permanent president who was nominated based on the long-standing seniority-based convention, arguing he possesses discretion regarding the committee's convening, the identity of the candidates to be presented for a vote, and the timing of such a vote,^[10] but was forced to call a vote following an unanimous High Court decision in 2025.^[11] Amit was thereafter appointed President on 26 January 2025, and sworn in on 13 February 2025 by Israeli president Isaac Herzog with Levin boycotting the inauguration, and subsequent meetings in what has been branded as a constitutional crisis.^[12][13]