Former Supreme Court President Miriam Naor, z’l, suddenly passed away on Monday at the age of 74.
Naor, z’l, who was the chair of the state commission of inquiry into the Meron disaster, was still hearing testimony in the court from witnesses just yesterday. Her death was declared after she failed to wake up from her sleep on Monday morning.
Naor, z’l, fulfilled her role with great diligence and showed much consideration toward the needs of Meron as a kodesh site as well as renovating the site for the benefit of the numerous visitors.
“With great tzaar, we announce the death of the chairman of the state commission of inquiry into the Meron disaster, former Supreme Court president, Judge Miriam Naor,” said a statement from the members of the commission shortly after Naor’s death was announced.
“In recent days, she devoted herself to the work of the committee and to the investigation of the devastating disaster, and saw it as a foremost mission in her work for the public, as she has acted all her life. She was a judge with every fiber of her being until her last day. The members and staff of the committee are shocked and share in the family’s grief. Yehi Zichra Baruch.”
Naor, z’l, born in Jerusalem in 1947, was known as a prodigy from a young age. She began her legal career after graduating with honors from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 1971. She began working for the State Attorney’s Office in the Supreme Court Department in 1972, and over the years advanced to the position of senior deputy state attorney. In 1980, she began her career as a judge when she was appointed to the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court at the age of 33, Israel’s youngest judge at the time.
She began serving as a Supreme Court Justice in 2003 and served as president of the Supreme Court from 2015 to 2017, retiring in October of 2017 upon reaching the mandatory judicial retirement age of 70.
In June 2021, Supreme Court President Esther Hayut appointed Naor to chair the Naor Committee, the state commission of inquiry into the Meron disaster.
Naor is survived by her husband Aryeh, who served as Prime Minister Menachem Begin’s cabinet secretary, and her sons, Michael and Naftali.
Yehi Zichra Baruch.
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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7 Responses
By what virtue is she z”l?
“z’l” – how many anti religious rulings did she decide/support as an Israeli supreme court judge?
Good riddance
ר׳ שמעון ב״ר יוחאי took care of her before she closed up רח״ל Miron like we learn this parsha portion in משפטים ״עין תחת עין״ don’t mess with צדיקים and the holy graves and don’t judge hashem with what he did lag baumer was what hashem want and to close lag b. Is not! and if you try that’s the end….
From an Israeli newspaper:
“During her 14-tenure [sic] on the [Israeli] Supreme Court, Naor oversaw some of the most significant cases in Israel’s history, including striking down legislation that sought to delay drafting ultra-Orthodox Jews into the army; barring the state from deporting African migrants against their will; allowing mini-markets in Tel Aviv to operate on Shabbat; and forcing the government to recognize private conversions to Judaism for the sake of citizenship.”
Note especially that last one.
So, why Z”L? Must be because she was a Zionist, of course.
Loads of comments from posters that did not know her. Take this from someone that worked under her. This was a very serious temimusdik person that always, ALWAYS, tried and did the correct thing.
In life, the right thing might be seen as a harsh decree but people died here. She could have sat home and enjoyed life but she answered the call. I have no doubt that the pain of hearing the testimony with everybody twisting and lying hurt her very much.
Don’t know hue worked under her but can’t believe he is a reliable source after working under someone hue was fully here to take care of god’s work that’s considered a אפיקורס after such a tragedy which turned over the whole world and so much non Jews or non believers agreed that this was hashem and he knew what hue when!! How can someone come and judge a few fellow Jews!!!