Dispute Over Possible Israeli Supreme Court Nominee

It is not only in the United States that a potential Supreme Court nominee's writings on law and religion can lead to trouble. In Israel, Haaretz today reports that Israeli Supreme Court President Aharon Barak announced his opposition to the appointment of Prof. Ruth Gavison to the Supreme Court because "she comes to the Supreme [Court] with an agenda." Gavison has been critical of Barak's judicial activism on the Court. Gavison is known for her work on Israeli public disagreements, and particularly for the Gavison-Medan Covenant which makes recommendations on religion-state questions. Gavison worked on the agreement, along with Rabbi Yaakov Medan, for three years. Gavison's critics dislike the fact that she compromised with religious Jews on some issues. For example, she agreed that religious divorce, based on strict Jewish religious law, should be mandated so as not to increase the number of mamzerim (bastards, as determined by religious law). In Israel, justices are appointed by the President of Israel upon the nomination of "the Judges' Nominations Committee".