While the institution maintains Islamic character, it is deeply embedded within the Israeli state system.

In the heart of Israel’s diverse legal system lies a remarkable institution: the Shariah courts. Far from being relics of history, these courts remain active and relevant today, quietly handling personal matters for the country’s 1.7 million Muslim citizens. They represent not only legal pluralism, but also the careful balancing act between faith, law, and national identity in a complex society.

Ottoman Roots in a Modern Nation

Shariah courts in Israel trace their origins back to the Ottoman Empire, when Islamic law governed personal status matters for Muslims in the region. The British Mandate preserved the system, and rather than dismantling it after the formation of the State of Israel in 1948, the new government incorporated it into its judiciary. Today, these courts are fully recognized under Israeli law and function under the Ministry of Justice.

There are currently nine regional Shariah courts across the country, with a Supreme Shariah Court headquartered in Jerusalem. These courts have jurisdiction over personal status issues such as marriage, divorce, child custody, alimony, inheritance, and burial for Muslim citizens.

Functioning Inside the Israeli Legal Framework

Muslim citizens of Israel can voluntarily use the Shariah courts to resolve family matters in line with Islamic tradition. Qadis (judges) appointed to these courts must be trained in both Shariah and Israeli civil law. Their rulings are legally binding and enforceable like any other court decision in the country.

While the institution maintains Islamic character, it is deeply embedded within the Israeli state system. This integration creates a unique dynamic — one which is both accepted and questioned by segments of the Arab Muslim community and Israeli society at large.

Influencer Shareef Safadi Sheds Light on Tel Aviv’s Shariah Court

Popular Arab-Israeli influencer Shareef Safadi, known for his educational and cultural commentary, brought the Shariah court in Tel Aviv into public focus through a now-viral video filmed in Jaffa. His commentary offers both humor and insight into how these courts operate in contemporary Israel.

“Today we are in the Sharia court in Tel Aviv,” he begins. “Yes, a Sharia court in Tel Aviv — or more specifically in Jaffa.”

Safadi explains the court’s primary role, “Now the Sharia court deals mainly with Islamic civil matters such as marriages, divorces, inheritance, and so on and so on.”

He adds a historical twist, pointing to the building’s past, “This house belonged to a Palestinian Christian family who fled during the war of 1948 during the Nakba. It was later used by the Israeli military, and then it was abandoned — and then after that, it became the Sharia court.”

In a reflective tone, he touches on symbolism and political nuance, “This court is part of the Israeli judicial system and therefore it has to have an Israeli flag. But when Arabs have to put the Israeli flag in governmental institutions, they fold it so the flag isn’t shown that much — as you can see in this court.”

Safadi’s video, layered with subtle commentary and cultural sensitivity, underscores the balancing act Muslim institutions in Israel navigate — functioning under a Jewish state while retaining a distinct religious and communal identity.

A Landmark Moment: The First Female Judge

In a historic development, Hana Khatib became Israel’s first female judge in the Shariah court system in 2017 — a watershed moment in a traditionally male-dominated domain. Appointed after a rigorous process, Khatib, a lawyer and expert in family law, broke significant barriers and became a symbol of evolving gender dynamics within Islamic jurisprudence in Israel.

Her appointment was widely celebrated among Arab-Israeli civil society and cautiously welcomed by religious authorities. For many Muslim women, Khatib’s presence in the courtroom provided a sense of representation and greater confidence in seeking justice through the Shariah courts.

Between Tradition and Modernity

For Muslim communities across Israel — from Nazareth to Rahat — the Shariah courts remain a vital thread in preserving religious identity within a modern, pluralistic state. Elders, imams, and family advocates continue to guide families in navigating these courts, ensuring that age-old traditions meet the demands of modern legal systems.

And while challenges persist — particularly around gender equity and modernization — the Shariah courts of Israel stand as a unique example in the region. They blend faith and law in a way that few other Middle Eastern states manage, allowing Muslims in Israel to live their personal lives in accordance with Islamic values — without stepping outside the bounds of the state.

In a nation often framed through the lens of conflict, the Shariah courts offer a quieter but profound story: of adaptation, coexistence, and continuity.

Israel can never escape the reality that its birth came at the expense of the perennial suffering of the Palestinians. That narrative can never be hijacked or expropriated as long as the Palestinian people continue to defy their occupiers.

Seventy-one years since the Nakba — an epic event that is fundamental to the anatomy of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict — one thing stands out: It remains as vivid in the collective Palestinian psyche as it was seven decades ago. We see this in the “million man” marches by Gazans along the borders with Israel, in the protests and general strikes that pervade the West Bank and in the rallies staged by Palestinians living in Israel — deep inside the Green Line. Beyond Palestine, in the refugee camps scattered in Jordan and Lebanon, Palestinians show a unique sense of unity as they too mark that somber event. In the rest of the world, sympathizers join Palestinians in honoring the anniversary that underlines the usurpation of ancestral lands and the futile attempt to blur out a national identity.

And, no matter what Israel tries to do to detach its independence day celebrations from the fact that it was achieved over the destruction of hundreds of Palestinian villages, the displacement of thousands of refugees and the continuous attempt to rewrite historical accounts, Palestinians have been able to keep the narrative on the right side of history.

No nation in modern times has had to endure what generations of Palestinians have gone through since 1948 and before. Theirs remains the only open case from the colonial era, despite dozens of UN resolutions and a handful of international conventions that recognize their right to self-determination as a people under occupation. But, despite all of this, they continue to be victims not only of direct Israeli suppression, but of a multinational conspiracy to deny them their rights. Over the past decades, the Palestinians had managed to defy their oppressor and were able to preserve their national identity. They stood up following the carnage of Sabra and Shatila in Lebanon in 1982. They caught the attention of the world when they staged the first Intifada in the late 1980s. They did it again earlier this century through their Second Intifada and when Israel reoccupied the West Bank in 2000. The Palestinians never relented.

Even as Israel continues to kill hundreds and incarcerate and deport thousands on an almost daily basis, the Palestinians are still able to defy, resist and make sacrifices. Even as many mainstream Western media outlets continue to bend the facts and try to change the narrative, the Palestinians, like the mythical phoenix, manage, through their daily sacrifices, to rise and continue their struggle. Their tenacity and belief in their just cause are truly inspiring.

But the conspirators are wasting no time. In a few weeks, the US administration will unveil a plan that seeks to close the file on the Palestinian chronicle. For the last two years, the Trump White House has been trying to dismantle the main components of the Palestinian cause: First, by removing East Jerusalem from the final status negotiations; and, second, by attempting to shut down the refugee issue and the right of return. In the process, the US, again in a unilateral move, will reportedly no longer consider the huge settlement blocs that now occupy more than 40 percent of the West Bank as illegal or built on occupied territory. Finally, the US is aligning itself with Israel’s far-right governing coalition by distancing itself from the two-state solution and the possibility of recognizing an independent Palestinian state.

This final solution ignores all international parameters and benchmarks and seeks to implement a second Nakba on the Palestinians by turning them into a stateless people with no right to the land on which they live. Their fate will remain in the hands of an Israel that is quickly turning into a racist and fascist state.

But the fate of both people is now entangled forever, especially following that dark day of May 15, 1948. Israel can never escape the reality that its birth came at the expense of the perennial suffering of the Palestinians. That narrative can never be hijacked or expropriated as long as the Palestinian people continue to defy their occupiers.

And, no matter what the conspirators say or do, no Palestinian will ever bow down and sign a piece of paper that effectively erases his people’s existence. Once more, the Palestinians, despite a weak and divided leadership, will count on their astounding ability to make sacrifices and on the fact that, just as Israel is occupying them, they too are overburdening Israel through their perseverance as a nation.

Time is not on Israel’s side. There are more than 5 million Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza and they are not going anywhere. More than 21 percent of Israel’s population is Palestinian — and that proportion is growing. Israel’s fate is tethered to that of the Palestinians and nothing can change that.

If Israel was to learn anything from recent history it should be this: The more it pressures the Palestinians, the more defiant they become, and the more it tries to obliterate their national identity, the more they celebrate and revive it. Seven decades on, the legacy of the Nakba has been passed from one generation to another and the Palestinians will never allow a second Nakba to pass.

Article first published in Arab News.

Osama Al-Sharif is a journalist and political commentator based in Amman. Twitter: @plato010