Ruth Gavison

Academic career

Her areas of research included ethnic conflict, the protection of minorities, human rights, political theory, judiciary law, religion and politics, and Israel as a Jewish and democratic state. She was a member of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities.

Academic appointments

1969–2020: various appointments at the Faculty of Law of the Hebrew University, Jerusalem (HUJI).

1978–1980: Visiting Associate Professor of Law, Yale Law School.

1984–2010: Haim H. Cohn Chair for Human Rights, HUJI.

1990–2010: Full Professor, Faculty of Law, HUJI.

1990–1992: Visiting Professor of Law, University of Southern California.

1998–1999: Fellow, Center for Human Values, Princeton University.

2010–2020: Professor Emerita, HUJI.

2011–2012: Fellow, Strauss center for Law and Justice, NYU Law School.

Gavison was nominated for a position on Israel's Supreme Court in 2005 but failed to secure a majority for the appointment. Justice Minister Daniel Friedmann asserted in 2007 that the Supreme Court justices opposed her nomination because they disagreed with her views. Gavison was critical of the court as an institution seeking to "judicialize politics" and freely expressed her views to the media.

Gavison was a founding member of the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI), where she served for many years as Chairperson and as President from 1996 to 1999. Professor Gavison was a member of the International Commission of Jurists from 1998 to 2008. In 2005 she founded Metzilah (Center of Zionist, Jewish, Liberal, and Humanistic Thought) and served as its chair and founding president.