The year 2017 marked the near simultaneous retirement of the three most senior members of the Israeli Supreme Court. President Miriam Naor, Deputy President Elyakim Rubenstein, and Justice Salim Joubran all reached the mandatory retirement age of 70. President Naor has remarked that their departure is "the end of an era" because they are the last members of the Court to have Palestine birth certificates. But apart from that symbolic closure, the departure of these three important justices marks an unusual juncture in the Court's evolution. It is an appropriate moment both to acknowledge and evaluate the jurisprudential contributions of these three Justices and to take stock of the Court's position in Israeli law and society.

The Institute for Israel and Jewish Studies at Columbia University and the Israel Supreme Court Project at the Cardozo School of Law have joined forces to present this unique event.

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Wednesday, March 7, 2018 at Columbia Graduate School of Journalism 
8 p.m.
Pulitzer Hall
Joseph D. Jamail Lecture Hall, 3rd Floor
2950 Broadway
New York, NY 10027

This conference begins with an evening panel at Columbia University on March 7 featuring all three Justices in conversation with Michael Stanislawski from Columbia and Suzanne Stone from Cardozo. 

Thursday, March 8, 2018 at Cardozo School of Law
9 a.m. - 3:15 p.m.
Jacob Burns Moot Court Room
55 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10003

On March 8, Cardozo will host three panels, each focusing on a specific opinion and the general jurisprudence of one of the three Justices.  CLE credit is available for the March 8 panels; the full day's schedule is set out below.

9:00 - 10:30
Panel 1
Hon. Miriam Naor, Supreme Court of Israel (ret’d)
T. Alexander Aleinikoff, The New School
Tally Kritzman-Amir, College of Law and Business (Israel) and Harvard Law School
Alex Stein, Brooklyn Law School
Rivka Weill, Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya and Yale Law School
Doron Kalir, Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, moderator
This panel will focus on Desta v. Minister of Interior, HCJ 8665/14 (Aug. 11, 2015), which dealt with the detention and deportation of illegal entrants.

11:00 - 12:30
Panel 2
Hon. Salim Joubran, Supreme Court of Israel (ret’d)
Stephen Ross, Penn State University
Udi Sommer, Tel Aviv University and Columbia University
Ruti Teitel, New York Law School
Michael Herz, Cardozo School of Law, moderator
This panel will focus on Adalah Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel v. Minister of Interior, HCJ 7052/03 (May 14, 2006), which involved limitations on the entrance of Palestinians into Israel for purposes of family unification.

12:30 - 1:45
Lunch
Lunch will be provided for all registrants.
Remarks by:
Ari Berman, President, Yeshiva University
Irwin Cotler, Chair, Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights

1:45 – 3:15
Panel 3
Hon. Elyakim Rubinstein, Supreme Court of Israel (ret’d)
Susanna Mancini, University of Bologna and Columbia University
Nomi Stolzenberg, USC Gould School of La
Julie Suk, Cardozo School of Law
Michael Stanislawski, Columbia University, moderator
This panel will focus on Ragen v. Ministry of Transport, HCJ 746/07 (January 5, 2011), concerning  gender segregation on public buses.