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.
Biography Procaccia was born in Kibbutz Ashdot Ya'akov to a German father, Hanan Aynor, and a Polish mother, Yaffa Puterman-Efrat (Rodstein). She was an only child, and attended public schools in Tel Aviv.
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. In 2023, she demonstrated this by calling for and partaking in a protest against the override clause, where people were worried that the Knesset would have too much power, should the bill be passed.
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. This supreme court seat would be filled by Noam Sohlberg. 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 deniedJanuary 9, 2003Faiglin v. CheshinPetition deniedJanuary 23, 2003Association for Civil Rights in Israel v. Chairman of the Central Elections Committee for the Sixteenth KnessetPetition grantedMay 15, 2003Mofaz v. Chairman of the Central Elections Committee for the Sixteenth KnessetAppeal deniedNovember 11, 2003Bakri v. Israel Film CouncilPetition grantedMarch 3, 2004SHIN, Israeli Movement for Equal Representation of Women v. Council for Cable TV and Satellite BroadcastingPetitions deniedMarch 4, 2004State of Israel v. Haggai YosefAppeal allowedMarch 4, 2004Hass v. IDF Commander in West BankPetitions deniedJune 14, 2004Solodkin v. Beit Shemesh MunicipalityPetitions deniedJuly 14, 2004A v. BAppeal deniedAugust 9, 2004Milo v. Minister of DefensePetition deniedOctober 26, 2004Fuchs v. Prime MinisterPetitions deniedNovember 22, 2004Ganis v. Ministry of Building and HousingPetition grantedMarch 31, 2005State of Israel v. PeretzPetition deniedApril 4, 2005Design 22 Shark Deluxe Furniture Ltd. v. RosenzweigPetition deniedMay 31, 2005Tais Rodriguez-Tushbeim v. Minister of InteriorPetition HCJ 2859/99 Granted, Petition HCJ 2597/99 dismissedJuly 28, 2005Najar v. State of IsraelAppeal deniedSeptember 15, 2005Mara’abe v. The Prime Minister of IsraelPetition grantedDecember 12, 2005Commitment to Peace and Social Justice Society v. Minister of FinancePetition deniedFebruary 27, 2006Supreme Monitoring Committee for Arab Affairs in Israel and others v. Prime Minister of IsraelPetition grantedApril 6, 2006Amir v. The Great Rabbinical Court in JerusalemPetition grantedMay 4, 2006Yissacharov v. Chief Military ProsecutorAppeal allowedMay 14, 2006Adalah Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel v. Minister of InteriorPetition deniedJune 13, 2006Dobrin v. Israel Prison ServicePetition deniedAugust 1, 2006Beilin v. Prime MinisterPetition deniedOctober 8, 2006State of Israel v. Beer-Sheba District CourtPetition grantedNovember 21, 2006Ben-Ari v. Director of Population AdministrationPetition grantedDecember 12, 2006Rosenbaum v. Israel Prison Service CommissionerPetitions grantedDecember 12, 2006Adalah Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel v. Minister of DefensePetition grantedFebruary 6, 2007Galon v. Government Commission of InvestigationPetition deniedSeptember 4, 2007Yassin v. Government of IsraelPetition grantedOctober 10, 2007Kav LaOved v. National Labour CourtPetition grantedDecember 6, 2007Emunah v. Prime MinisterPetition deniedJune 11, 2008A v. State of IsraelAppeal deniedJuly 27, 2008Center for Jewish Pluralism v. Ministry of EducationPetition deniedAugust 20, 2008Hamifkad Haleumi v. Attorney GeneralPetition deniedMarch 24, 2009New Family v. Minister of Labor and WelfarePetition granted in partJuly 21, 2009Boaron v. National Labour CourtPetitions deniedNovember 19, 2009Academic Center of Law and Business v. Minister of FinancePetition grantedFebruary 11, 2010A v. State of IsraelAppeal allowedFebruary 22, 2010Daka v. Minister of the InteriorPetition grantedJune 14, 2010Yekutieli v. Minister of Religious AffairsPetition grantedAugust 29, 2010Carmel Haifa Hospital v. Malul (summary)Appeal allowedMarch 24, 2011District Committee of the Tel Aviv-Jaffa District Bar Association v. HalberstadtAppeal deniedApril 28, 2011Bar-Ilan University v. National Labor CourtPetition deniedJuly 7, 2011Hotline for Migrant Workers v. Minister of DefenseAppeal deniedFebruary 10, 2015Zoabi v. Knesset's Ethics CommitteePetition granted
References
External links "Israeli Law, the Security Fence and the Disengagement: Litigation before the Supreme Court" (Lecture given at Boston University School of Law)