Gabriela Shalev - Early Life

Early Life

Shalev was born in Tel Aviv in 1941. Her mother's parents were murdered in Auschwitz, and her father's parents had to leave a comfortable life in Berlin and immigrate to the Yishuv.

In 1959 she entered the Israel Defense Forces, and she was honorably discharged in 1961 as a Lieutenant. In 1966, she received an LL.B. (summa cum laude) from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. As a student, she helped support her family. She received an LL.M. (summa cum laude) in 1969, and Doctor Jur. (summa cum laude) in 1973, all from the Hebrew University. Her mentor was Gad Tadeschi.

Her husband, Shaul Shalev, was killed near the Suez Canal in the 1973 Yom Kippur War, and she raised her two children alone. She was a Visiting Scholar (post-doctoral research) at Harvard Law School from 1975 to 1976.

Shalev worked as a clerk at the Supreme Court of Israel from 1964 to 1966, and at the legal department of the Jewish Agency in 1967. She was admitted to the Israeli Bar in 1968. She was Chief Legal Editor of the Judgments of the Supreme Court of Israel from 1968 to 1980 (and again in 1998), and Chief Legal Advisor for the reform in national health services in 1991. She was Legal advisor, arbitrator, and expert, in Israel and abroad, on litigation matters concerning national and international transactions.