Lawyer Rula Zahalka was appointed as a judge in the Sharia Court in Israel, becoming the second woman to hold this position in the history of the Sharia courts in the country.
Zahalka, along with four new Israeli Arab judges, took the legal oath during a ceremony held at the headquarters of Israeli President Isaac Herzog, marking the start of their duties in the Israeli courts.
Her appointment came as part of a batch that included four new judges for the Sharia Court in Jerusalem, about 10 years after the Sharia Judges Appointment Committee did not convene.
The Sharia courts in Israel are competent to consider issues of personal status, inheritance, and endowments pertaining to Israeli Arab Muslims.
Lawyer Rula Zahalka Masalha belongs to Israeli Arabs, and her family roots go back to the town of Kafr Qara, located about 115 kilometers from Jerusalem.
