Israel Bar Association

The Israel Bar Association operates under the Chamber of Advocates Law, 5721-1961, which created the Association and defined its purposes.[1] Section 1 gives it three interlocking aims: organizing Israel's lawyers, safeguarding the standard and integrity of the legal profession, and acting to protect the rule of law, human rights, and the State of Israel's fundamental values.[5] The law thereby assigns the Association both a professional role in admission and conduct and a public-facing role concerning legal norms.[5]

A 1998 Israeli report to the UN Human Rights Committee described the Association as a corporation governed by the 1961 law. The report stated that the State Comptroller reviewed its actions, giving it quasi-public characteristics for certain purposes, including High Court review of decisions by its administrative bodies.[6] The Association has also been described as the only profession in Israel enjoying this form of self-governing autonomy, in contrast to professions controlled directly by the government.[2]

Membership is mandatory for lawyers practicing in Israel.[1][2] The Association's governance includes a National Council elected by members, a Central Committee, and geographically organized districts covering Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa, the South, and the North.[1][7] The National Council has set membership dues and elected Association representatives to the Judicial Selection Committee.[1][5]

A reference account of the statutory framework describes admission requirements as including Israeli residency, a minimum age of 23, prescribed examinations, a year of legal apprenticeship, and acceptance as an Association member.[2] It describes the apprenticeship as service with specified judges, experienced advocates, or in a prescribed government legal-service post, followed by written practical examinations and an oral examination before a judge and two advocates.[2] Because the account does not date this description, these details should not be read as confirmation that every requirement remains unchanged.

Sources differ on responsibility for the qualifying examination. A November 2024 report described the Association as responsible for qualifying law graduates and for their required examinations.[1] A January 2025 report stated instead that the examination was administered by an independent committee appointed by the Ministry of Justice, while noting that the examination continued to be publicly associated with the Association.[8] The 1998 government report identified accrediting attorneys and supervising apprenticeships before qualifying examinations as principal statutory functions of the Bar.[6]

Foreign lawyers and foreign law firms providing services in Israel under foreign law must register with the Association.[9] Listed requirements for a foreign lawyer include a valid foreign license, at least five years of professional experience in the licensing country, a passing grade on the Israeli Ethics Exam for Foreign Lawyers, and compliant professional-liability insurance in Israel.[9] The examination result remains valid for two years, and additional documents are required.[9] A foreign law firm opening an Israeli branch must notify the Association within 30 days and employ at least one lawyer registered with it as an Israeli or foreign lawyer.[9]

The Association requires member lawyers to hold professional-liability insurance, a requirement described as benefiting clients as well as lawyers.[7] Professional conduct is enforced through disciplinary tribunals composed solely of advocates under the 1961 law.[2] An accused advocate, the prosecuting Chamber, and the attorney general may appeal a tribunal judgment to the National Disciplinary Tribunal, with a further appeal available to the Supreme Court.[2] Suspension from practice is possible in serious cases.[7]

The 1998 government report identified disciplinary proceedings as one of the Bar's core statutory functions, alongside accrediting attorneys and supervising apprenticeships.[6] This three-part core of accreditation, supervision, and discipline remained central to 2025 legislation governing the purposes for which compulsory dues could be used.[10]

Beyond its regulatory duties, the Association provides services to its members and the public. District committees in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa, the South, and the North organize courses and professional events, while the Association holds conferences and study days.[7] An institution for continuing professional training supports members' ongoing legal education.[7]

The Association's Foreign Relations Department maintains ties with government organizations and bar associations abroad through conferences, delegations, information exchange, and international assistance.[7] The 1998 government report also described the Association as commenting on legislation, forming drafting committees, lobbying Knesset members, referring people to lawyer mediators by specialization, offering continuing education, and maintaining committees in fields including human rights, judicial administration, and international relations.[6]

A government guide describes legal assistance and consultations offered through the Association, with some services subject to fees.[11] The Association initiated and operates the Schar Mitzva pro-bono program, which assists people unable to afford an attorney in civil matters.[7][11] Its services include initial advice, answers to legal questions, help preparing documents, and representation in legal proceedings.[11] The guide reported that the program operated 44 centers nationwide, while a 2019 account listed assistance involving National Insurance, child support, prisoners receiving help through the Public Defender's Office, and applications for the appointment of guardians.[7][11]

A Begin-Sadat Center paper traces Israel's collaborative judicial-appointment system to the Judges' Law of 1953 and describes it as involving the government, Knesset, Bar Association, and Supreme Court.[12] A 1998 government report recorded that the Association held two voting seats on the Judicial Selection Committee, which selected judges for courts of general jurisdiction.[6]

The long-standing nine-member arrangement comprised three Supreme Court justices, two Bar Association representatives, two Knesset members, the justice minister as chair, and another cabinet minister.[6][13] A Library of Congress country study described most members as elected by their respective institutions through secret ballots intended in part to protect their independence, and said the mixed composition was designed to depoliticize nominations.[14] Under the arrangement discussed during the 2023 reform debate, Supreme Court appointments required seven of the nine votes.[15] The Association's representatives were chosen through its National Council, making internal Bar elections consequential for judicial appointments.[5]

An INSS analysis assessed that dialogue and compromise among political, judicial, and Bar representatives had generally produced professionally respected judges with moderate positions, including appointees viewed as conservative and liberal.[16] A Begin-Sadat Center author who served on a 2017 subcommittee considering Supreme Court candidates recalled that candidates were not questioned about their politics, writing, "We had no idea what their political beliefs were," and saying that the justices were selected on quality alone.[12]

A 2006 case study states that the Association also appointed two practicing lawyers to the ten-member Commission to Appoint Religious Court Judges, established under a selection method enacted by the Knesset in 1955.[17] Chamber-elected advocates have also served on nominations committees for Muslim and other religious courts, with committee composition varying by court system.[2]

The 2006 case study describes the Association's representatives as playing a significant role in the Commission to Appoint Religious Court Judges. The ten-member commission also included the Sephardic and Ashkenazi chief rabbis, two dayanim from the Rabbinical Court of Appeals, two ministers, and two Knesset members; dayanim were appointed by Israel's president on the commission's recommendation.[17]

The study identifies Shoshana Glass, a Tel Aviv family-law practitioner, as the first woman Bar representative on the commission in the late 1990s.[17] In 2000, the Association selected lawyer Hedva Levin alongside an Orthodox male lawyer. Levin later supported Dayan Hagai Izirer's appointment to the Rabbinical Court of Appeals despite opposition from a coalition of 25 women's organizations that criticized his record in regional rabbinical court cases.[17]

Following that appointment, women's organizations lobbied the Association in late 2002 to elect women lawyers with family-law knowledge, rabbinical-court divorce experience, and women's-rights backgrounds.[17] Sharon Shenhav was elected on December 12, 2002, for a three-year term and was then the only woman on the ten-member commission. She supported candidates who combined religious studies with university education and public-service experience.[17]

For the 2003-2006 period, Shenhav and Ben Zion Langental served as the two Bar representatives. The study says they joined three other non-haredi members in a voting bloc that prevented appointments favored by leading haredi authorities.[17] Shenhav was reelected on December 6, 2005, becoming the first woman to serve a second term. By this period, two women served on the commission, raising women's representation from 10% to 20%.[17]

The Association is led by a chairperson elected by its membership. Avi Himi resigned at the end of January 2023 after a journalist reported allegations of sexual misconduct against him.[8] In the chairperson election held on June 20, 2023, Amit Becher won with 73% of the vote, ahead of Efi Nave with 20%.[18] Turnout was reported at 50.8%, compared with 28.5% in the 2019 election, amid heightened national tensions over the proposed judicial overhaul.[18]

Becher aligned himself with protests against the overhaul, while Nave argued that political identification harmed the organization's professional role.[18] The elected National Council chooses the Association's representatives to the Judicial Selection Committee, making leadership elections consequential beyond the Bar's internal affairs.[5][18] In January 2025, the representatives were attorneys Yonit Calmanovich and Muhamad Naamneh; both voted for Yitzhak Amit's appointment as permanent president of the Supreme Court.[8]

The Israel Bar Association's seats on the Judicial Selection Committee became central to the judicial-reform dispute beginning in 2023. Proposals advanced that year would have removed its two representatives and replaced them with politically selected public or Knesset representatives.[4][15] Supporters argued that greater representation for elected officials would make appointments more democratic. Critics warned that the changes could give governing coalitions excessive influence, weaken checks and balances, and shift appointments away from professional considerations.[4]

Multiple drafts circulated during 2023. A version advanced in February would have reduced the minimum operating size of the committee and increased coalition representation, while a version forwarded for further readings in March would have expanded the committee to eleven members and removed the Bar representatives.[4] An INSS analysis described Justice Minister Yariv Levin's preferred model as three ministers, two coalition Knesset members, one opposition member, two public representatives appointed by the justice minister, and three judges, with the Bar excluded and the seven-vote threshold for Supreme Court appointments removed.[16]

In March 2025, the Knesset approved an amendment providing for the Association's representatives to be replaced by representatives selected by the coalition and opposition when the next Knesset took office.[3] As of a July 1, 2026 report, the existing committee still included the two Bar representatives. Petitions challenging the amendment had been heard by the High Court, but no ruling had been issued.[3]

The Association also became embroiled in a dispute over its finances. On January 22, 2025, the Knesset passed the Bar Association Law (Membership Fees) by a vote of 52 to 45, restricting compulsory dues primarily to designated statutory functions, including intern supervision, the ethics disciplinary system, and elections for Association institutions.[10] The bill's sponsor said the measure would immediately reduce annual dues by 50%. Bar head Amit Becher and opposition legislators characterized it as retaliation, while Justice Minister Levin defended it as a way to reduce fees and let districts establish priorities.[10]

A November 2025 report said the High Court had frozen challenged provisions until further notice, including provisions concerning district committee chairpersons' veto powers and the reduction in 2025 membership dues.[19] A preliminary-reading bill reported in November 2024 had been described in its explanatory notes as an interim arrangement pending a separate proposal to replace the Association with a government-controlled body; both were still legislative proposals at the stage described in that report.[1]

The June 2023 chairperson election was widely framed as a referendum on the overhaul. Becher, who opposed the proposed changes, won by a landslide, frustrating coalition hopes of influencing judicial appointments through the committee in the near term.[8][15] The disputes reflected competing views of the Bar as either an independent source of professional expertise or an entrenched interest, and of the financial legislation as either regulatory reform or political retaliation.