From defending the justice system to the ruling that upset the country - Career summary:
Former Supreme Court President Miriam Naor, who died at the age of 74, was known for her activist line of court involvement in government and legislative decisions.
* President Herzog pays tribute to former Supreme Court President Miriam Maor // Credit Photo Video: Roi Avraham, Recorder: Ben Peretz
During her tenure as president of the Supreme Court, she had quite a few confrontations with the then Minister of Justice, Ayelet Shaked, who demanded a more conservative line from the court.
In November 2016, a letter written by Naor was published, in light of the publications about Shaked's intention to repeal the amendment to the law that stipulates that a judge's election to the Supreme Court requires a majority of seven out of seven on the Judicial Appointments Committee.
Naor called the proposal "putting a gun on the table."
Regarding the charged relationship between her and Minister Shaked, she said in the past: "My personal relationship with Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked is excellent. At the end of an initial period, how do I define it, in which one examines the other and there is mutual adaptation. "We have to take into account the fact that many explosive issues were closed by agreement here in my office or by phone calls. In the end, despite the brushing of the swords, we reached agreements."
"Despite brushing our swords, we reached agreements."
Ayelet Shaked and Miriam Naor, Photo: Gideon Markovich
Naor has previously participated in a public hearing held at the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee on the method of electing the President of the Supreme Court.
During the hearing, the defense advocated the seniority system and prevented attempts to change the majority necessary for the election of Supreme Court justices to the Judicial Selection Committee.
In an interview published ahead of her retirement in October 2017 from the Supreme Customs, in the "Lawyer" magazine of the Bar Association, Naor spoke about her desire to return to walking around unhindered and without security guards in the Mahane Yehuda market in Jerusalem.
At the end of the interview she said: "I first want freedom, and a lot. Then I plan to write two books. One, as I mentioned, will deal with the fact-finding process, and the other will be a children's detective book. Its content is already in my head but it needs to go to the computer."
Miriam Naor, Photo: Oren Ben Hakon
Naor expressed regret that it failed to advance the construction of a new court in Jerusalem.
She said: "I really wanted the process of their establishment to get into practical lines but unfortunately this did not help. These are things that depend on other factors and not on me and what is delaying their establishment is money."
On her confrontations with politicians, she said: "There has been a lot of talk against us, such as the statement that a D-9 tractor (MK Motti Yogev; YA) will be thrown at the Supreme Court and other statements that are more than unsuccessful statements.
There is no such option of succumbing to threats and slander.
The Supreme Court was a strong court, it is still strong and it will be strong.
It is a court that cannot be threatened and cannot be intimidated. "
To the question of who really determines - the Supreme Court or the legislature replied: "There are balances and brakes between the authorities as in any democratic regime and we do not deal with the question of whether we defeated them or not. "In recognition of the supremacy of the Knesset. At the same time, if the law is unconstitutional, it is our job to say so."
Regarding the issue of whether the court can intervene in any matter it wishes, Naor replied that "everything is fair, but not everything justifies intervention."
Naor expressed politicization in the judicial election she claimed "always has been."
The law that infuriates the ultra-Orthodox public
One of Naor's most famous judgments was the criminal conviction of Aryeh Deri and his sentencing to four years in prison (which were later converted by the Supreme Court into three).
Naor was a member of the panel that conducted the trial in the Jerusalem District Court, along with then-judges Yaakov Tzemach and Musia Arad.
Deri was convicted of accepting bribes, fraud and breach of trust and receiving anything fraudulently under aggravated circumstances.
These offenses were disgraced and prevented him from returning to the political system for the next seven years.
Shas chairman Aryeh Deri, Photo: Yehuda Peretz
They wrote in the March 1999 ruling: "The picture of bribery, which was discovered in evidence and described in the verdict, is difficult. This is not a single failure of a young man who has now been exposed to the pleasures of government, Defendant 1 (Deri; Y.A.) held state positions.
"She ruled only at the opening of the police investigation. Defendant 1 began receiving bribes while he was assistant interior minister, continued to do so as general director of the Interior Ministry or a candidate for this position, and even then - during his time as interior minister ... The five years of bribery 1 for rapid personal enrichment by way of making capital from the state offices. "
The trial was conducted with periodic demonstrations and harsh verbal attacks from the ultra-Orthodox public on the justice system in general and the judges who discussed the case in particular.
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