Judge Jacob Turkel served on the Supreme Court of Israel from March 1935 to May 29, 2023. For ten of his 38 years as a judge, Turkel presided over the Israeli Supreme Court. He was chosen in June 2010 to lead the Israeli Turkel Commission of Inquiry probing the Gaza flotilla raid.
As a Regional Court judge starting in 1967, Turkel presided over a number of courts, including the Shalom Court. He presided over the Beersheba District Court between 1980 and 1995, pausing for two of those years to sit as an interim justice on the Supreme Court. From 1995 to 2005, Turkel presided as a justice on the Israeli Supreme Court.
Who is Jacob Turkel? Israeli former High Court justice passes away at 88
Yaakov Turkel, a former Supreme Court justice who had 38 years of distinguished service in the legal system, died on Monday afternoon at the age of 88.
Turkel was renowned for his decisions in a number of significant Supreme Court cases, including one involving the performance of Richard Wagner’s music in public. He was also known for his work on two public commissions, one examining a deadly Israeli raid on a pro-Palestinian flotilla in 2010, and the other dealing with inheritance rights for gay couples.