Israel appoints first female judge to Muslim court

Israel has appointed a female judge to a Sharia court for the first time, breaking with the country’s Jewish ultra-Orthodox ideology that forbids women from serving as jurists in religious courts.

The Judicial Appointments Committee voted unanimously for the appointment of Hana MansourKhatib to a Muslim court, of which there are nine in Israel.

Jewish women are forbidden by Israeli law from sitting in Rabbinical courts, which-like their Sharia counterparts-decide on matters related to family, marriage, divorce and custody of children. While no similar rule exists for Sharia courts, ultraOrthodox politicians had blocked the appointment of female judges to avoid creating a precedent.

Mansour-Khatib is a family lawyer from Tamra, a predominantly Arab city in northern Israel. Her appointment represents a victory for Shaked, who had already backed a bill allowing for female Muslim judges to serve in Sharia courts in December 2015. (newsweek.com)