Four new judges were selected by a parliamentary panel on Wednesday to serve on Israel’s 15-member Supreme Court.

The most notable selection was George Kara of the Tel Aviv District Court. Kara is a Christian Arab-Israeli who presided over the 2009-10 trial that convicted former Israeli President Moshe Katzav of rape.

The other newly appointed judges are David Mintz of the Jerusalem District Court, Yosef Elron from the Tel Aviv District Court, and Yale Willner from the Haifa District Court. The three are seen as conservative or non-activist judges and were supported by Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked of the Jewish Home party, who chaired the Knesset’s Judicial Selection Committee. The committee consisted of three sitting Supreme Court justices, two government ministers (including Shaked), two other members of the Knesset, and two members of the Israel Bar Association.

The new judges are slated to take the place of four members of the court who will reach the mandatory retirement age of 70 in the coming year, including Supreme Court President Miriam Naor, Deputy President Elyakim Rubenstein, and Justices Salim Joubran and Zvi Zilbertal.

[Photo: Government Press Office / Flickr ]