Ayala Procaccia

Ayala Procaccia (; born 1941) is a retired Israeli Justice of the Supreme Court of Israel. Before being elected to the Supreme Court in 2001, she served as a judge in the Jerusalem Magistrates’ Court until 1993 and in the Jerusalem District Court from 1993 to 2001. While active in the Israeli law courts, Ayala Procaccia worked to change Israeli law to champion equality for all, regardless of gender or religion. Proponents of Procaccia say that she strives for an equitable and just society; critics of her work said that she promoted a judicial dictatorship over the government.

Procaccia served in the Israel Defense Forces between 1959 and 1961. She graduated from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem with an LL.B. degree in 1963 (distinction) and a master's degree in 1969 (distinction). Following her graduation, she served as legal assistant to Chief Justice Shimon Agranat for four years. In 1969, she moved to the United States to pursue a Doctor of Juridical Science degree (S.J.D.) at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. Upon her graduation in 1972, she returned to Israel and became the legal assistant to the Attorney General. In 1983, she was appointed legal adviser to the Securities and Exchange Commission of Israel. She was appointed judiciary in 1987, and served in both the Jerusalem Magistrates' Court and in the Jerusalem District Court until 2001. She supported the right of children in East Jerusalem and said that children's right to free education in East Jerusalem is not being met

In 2001 she was elected to the Supreme Court of Israel where she served until her retirement in 2011. In 2005, she appeared at Boston University, Harvard Law School, and Brandeis University, to lecture the Boston area about Israel’s democracy and human rights. Following her retirement, she said she planned to remain active.

Procaccia was married to Uriel Procaccia (whom she divorced in 1991) and has two children, Oren (b. 1971) and Yuval (b. 1974).

Court rulings Procaccia's first supreme court case was in 2002, regarding soldiers in the Israel Defense Forces, and exemption of service for specific individuals, wherein the supreme court ruled to deny the petition, subjecting the individuals to serving in the military reserve service.

A notable court case in 2003, regarding the film Jenin, Jenin led to a supreme court ruling that it should not be censored in theaters, and the public should be able to make judgements for themselves.

In 2008, in the case "Center for Jewish Pluralism v. Ministry of Education", Procaccia ruled that the education system does not need to fund religious educational establishments.

Additionally, In 2011, Procaccia and two other justices ruled against a longstanding several-billion-dollar lawsuit in Clalit Health Services against tobacco companies, saying that rather than sue the tobacco industry, they should sue on behalf of each individual who was harmed. These justices did not deny that these tobacco companies have had a negative effect on the health of members of Clalit Health Services.

Her final ruling as a supreme court justice struck down an Interior Ministry regulation that made foreign workers lose their work permit on the occurrence of childbirth or pregnancy.

This concluded her work as a supreme court justice, and she was dismissed in a formal ceremony with the other supreme court justices, family, and friends, leaving her supreme court seat to be filled. The compiled list of supreme court cases with Procaccia is shown below.

+A list of all supreme court cases held with justice Ayala ProcacciaDate of verdictName of the CaseSupreme Court's VerdictDecember 30, 2002Zonstien v. Judge-Advocate GeneralPetition denied January 23, 2003Association for Civil Rights in Israel v. Chairman of the Central Elections Committee for the Sixteenth KnessetPetition granted May 15, 2003Mofaz v. Chairman of the Central Elections Committee for the Sixteenth KnessetAppeal denied November 11, 2003Bakri v. Israel Film CouncilPetition granted March 4, 2004State of Israel v. Haggai YosefAppeal allowed March 4, 2004Hass v. IDF Commander in West BankPetitions denied June 14, 2004Solodkin v. Beit Shemesh MunicipalityPetitions denied July 14, 2004A v. BAppeal denied August 9, 2004Milo v. Minister of DefensePetition denied October 26, 2004Fuchs v. Prime MinisterPetitions denied November 22, 2004Ganis v. Ministry of Building and HousingPetition granted March 31, 2005State of Israel v. PeretzPetition denied April 4, 2005Design 22 Shark Deluxe Furniture Ltd. v. RosenzweigPetition denied May 31, 2005Tais Rodriguez-Tushbeim v. Minister of InteriorPetition HCJ 2859/99 Granted, Petition HCJ 2597/99 dismissed July 28, 2005Najar v. State of IsraelAppeal denied September 15, 2005Mara’abe v. The Prime Minister of IsraelPetition granted December 12, 2005Commitment to Peace and Social Justice Society v. Minister of FinancePetition denied February 27, 2006Supreme Monitoring Committee for Arab Affairs in Israel and others v. Prime Minister of IsraelPetition granted April 6, 2006Amir v. The Great Rabbinical Court in JerusalemPetition granted May 4, 2006Yissacharov v. Chief Military ProsecutorAppeal allowed May 14, 2006Adalah Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel v. Minister of InteriorPetition denied June 13, 2006Dobrin v. Israel Prison ServicePetition denied August 1, 2006Beilin v. Prime MinisterPetition denied October 8, 2006State of Israel v. Beer-Sheba District CourtPetition granted November 21, 2006Ben-Ari v. Director of Population AdministrationPetition granted December 12, 2006Rosenbaum v. Israel Prison Service CommissionerPetitions granted December 12, 2006Adalah Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel v. Minister of DefensePetition granted February 6, 2007Galon v. Government Commission of InvestigationPetition denied September 4, 2007Yassin v. Government of IsraelPetition granted October 10, 2007Kav LaOved v. National Labour CourtPetition granted December 6, 2007Emunah v. Prime MinisterPetition denied June 11, 2008A v. State of IsraelAppeal denied July 27, 2008Center for Jewish Pluralism v. Ministry of EducationPetition denied August 20, 2008Hamifkad Haleumi v. Attorney GeneralPetition denied March 24, 2009New Family v. Minister of Labor and WelfarePetition granted in part July 21, 2009Boaron v. National Labour CourtPetitions denied November 19, 2009Academic Center of Law and Business v. Minister of FinancePetition granted February 11, 2010A v. State of IsraelAppeal allowed February 22, 2010Daka v. Minister of the InteriorPetition granted June 14, 2010Yekutieli v. Minister of Religious AffairsPetition granted August 29, 2010Carmel Haifa Hospital v. Malul (summary)Appeal allowed March 24, 2011District Committee of the Tel Aviv-Jaffa District Bar Association v. HalberstadtAppeal denied April 28, 2011Bar-Ilan University v. National Labor CourtPetition denied July 7, 2011Hotline for Migrant Workers v. Minister of DefenseAppeal denied February 10, 2015Zoabi v. Knesset's Ethics CommitteePetition granted