Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.Join Britannica's Publishing Partner Program and our community of experts to gain a global audience for your work!
Miriam Ben-Porat, (Miriam Shinezon
Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.Join Britannica's Publishing Partner Program and our community of experts to gain a global audience for your work!
Miriam Ben-Porat, (Miriam Shinezon), Israeli judge and government official (born April 26, 1918, Vitsyebsk, Vitebsk province, Soviet Russia [now in Belarus]—died July 26, 2012, Jerusalem), was the first female justice (1976–88) on Israel’s Supreme Court and the first woman to be that country’s state comptroller (1988–98). She grew up in Lithuania, but in 1936 she moved to British-mandated Palestine, leaving behind her family, some of whom later died in the Holocaust. She studied law at Hebrew University of Jerusalem and was called to the bar in 1945. Ben-Porat started working in the state attorney’s office in 1948 and was soon promoted to deputy state attorney (1953–58). She then served as a judge (1958–75) and president (1975–76) of the district court in Jerusalem. Ben-Porat’s decisions as a Supreme Court justice (deputy president of the court from 1983), included a ruling that stipulated that a man who forces his wife to have intercourse has committed rape. As state comptroller and public complaints commissioner, she served as a government watchdog, auditing government agencies and providing critical reports on government failings. She declared that a water shortage was imminent owing to long-term mismanagement, that the government had poorly prepared for the immigration wave of Soviet Jews, and that during the Persian Gulf War (1990–91), many of the gas masks that had been distributed in Israel would have been ineffective in the event of a gas attack. Her aggressive and thorough investigations, often conducted preemptively, earned her criticism from some of the accused and much respect from the public. In 1991 Ben-Porat received the Israel Prize for her service.
Learn More in these related Britannica articles:
Moshe LandauMoshe Landau, Israeli jurist (born April 29, 1912, Danzig, Ger. [now Gdansk, Pol.]—died May 1, 2011, Jerusalem), presided o