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Forum Dvorah Experts

Maya Heller

Criminal law, military law, mediation and dispute resolution

אורנה מזרחי

Chairperson of Forum Dvorah


Colonel (Res.) Maya Heller retired from military service in the Israel Defense Forces in 2020.


From 2001 to 2020, Col. (Res.) Heller served as a military judge in the Military Courts Unit. During this period, from 2009 to 2016, she served as President of a Military Court of First Instance. In 2017, she was appointed Military Judge of the Military Court of Appeals.


Prior to her appointment she has served in a variety of positions in the Military Advocate General (MAG) unit. Among them: Legal Adviser in the Office of the Chief of Staff (Lt. General Ehud Barak) and a Senior Assistant to the Chief Military Prosecutor.


Throughout her tenure as a judge, Col. (Res.) Heller presided in complex and sensitive cases, some of which were at the center of public discourse and dealt with a variety of issues, such as: combat morality and purity of arms, commanders' responsibilities, IDF duty and equality in service. 

At the same time, Maya presided the entire spectrum of criminal offenses, amongst them: manslaughter offenses, sexual assaults, drug offenses, and more. 

Maya was also the chair of a Parole Board.


Maya is a graduate of the Mediation Course of the Mediation Company (A.D.R.) Ltd., as part of the Judicial Training Center, (recognized by the Gadot Committee, the Department of Justice) and a graduate of the Military Judges Course, at the United States Army Military Law School (Charllottesville, Virginia).


Maya took part as an editorial board member in writing the book "History Will Judge - 70 Years of Military Justice" published by the Ministry of Defense.


Maya holds an LL.B. degree from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and an LL.M. degree, with Distinction, from Tel Aviv University.

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