Israel Proposes Lowering Bar Exam Passing Score to Aid Graduates
Israeli Justice Minister Yariv Levin announced a proposal to lower the passing score for the Bar Association's certification exam from 60 to 55. The proposed change, which is open for public comment, is expected to allow dozens of additional candidates to pass the exam, which was administered in June. This is not the first time Levin has intervened to assist exam takers. In December 2024, he approved regulations setting the passing score at 56 instead of 60, following a particularly difficult exam session where less than a third of candidates passed.
The June exam saw a 60.86% pass rate for first-time takers and an overall pass rate of approximately 42%. Out of 2,919 candidates, only 1,243 passed. These results are lower than the summer 2025 exam, where 77.8% of first-time takers and 59.4% of all candidates passed. The December 2024 exam was noted as one of the hardest in recent years, with a 49% pass rate for first-time takers.
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