This study utilizes the recruitment of Israeli Supreme Court justices to explore that country's legal culture. The data indicate that professional legal criteria are the primary variable for the selection of Israeli judges, and that the political/legal culture supports a civil court system which operates independently of partisan politics. Thus, Israeli legal culture can be encompassed within a Weberian framework: it values adherence to settled rules. Paradoxically, precisely because the Supreme Court is seen as the guardian of fundamental values embedded in an objective legal order, authority—and increasing political power—has flowed toward Israel's premier non-partisan institution.
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