Eliezer Goldberg ( he, אליעזר גולדברג; 24 May 1931 – 12 March 2022) was an Israeli judge and civil servant who served on the

Supreme Court of Israel The Supreme Court (, ''Beit HaMishpat HaElyon''; ar, المحكمة العليا) is the Supreme court, highest court in Israel. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all other courts, and in some cases original jurisdiction. The Supreme C ...

, and as the State Comptroller of Israel.

Early life and legal career

Goldberg was born in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine ( ar, فلسطين الانتدابية '; he, פָּלֶשְׂתִּינָה (א״י) ', where "E.Y." indicates ''’Eretz Yiśrā’ēl'', the Land of Israel) was a geopolitical entity established between 1920 and 1948 ...

. There he attended the Hebrew Gymnasium Rehavia, graduating in 1949. From 1952 to 1955, he studied law in the

Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Dr. Chaim Weiz ...

, where he specialized in the office of the president of the Jerusalem District Court. From 1957 to 1964, Goldberg worked as a lawyer in a number of

law firm A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise clients (individuals or corporations) about their legal rights and responsibilities, and to r ...

Judicial appointments

From 1964 to 1965, Goldberg served as a Traffic Judge. From 1965 to 1974, he served as

Magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...

. In August 1974, he became a District Judge in the Jerusalem District Court, and in May 1982, he became its vice president.

Supreme Court Judge

From March 1983 to March 1984, Goldberg served as

Acting Acting is an activity in which a story is told by means of its enactment by an actor or actress who adopts a character—in theatre, television, film, radio, or any other medium that makes use of the mimetic mode. Acting involves a broad r ...

Supreme Court Judge. On 18 April 1984, he was appointed a Supreme Court Judge.

Central Election Commission and committees

In 1988, Goldberg served as chair of the Central Election Commission (the

12th Knesset 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

). He was a member, then chair, of the Committee for Criminal Jurisprudence Order. In 1994, he became a member in the Shamgar Commission (chaired by former Supreme Court president,

Meir Shamgar Meir Shamgar ( he, מאיר שמגר; August 13, 1925 – October 18, 2019) was the chief justice of the Israeli Supreme Court from 1983 to 1995. Biography Meir Shamgar (Sterenberg or Sternberg) was born in the Free City of Danzig (present-da ...

) which investigated the Cave of the Patriarchs massacre. He also served in several other legal committees.

State Comptroller

Goldberg was voted by the

Knesset The Knesset ( he, הַכְּנֶסֶת ; "gathering" or "assembly") is the unicameral legislature of Israel. As the supreme state body, the Knesset is sovereign and thus has complete control of the entirety of the Israeli government (with ...

for a seven-year term as Israel's State Comptroller and Public Complaints Commissioner (from 5 July 1998 to 4 July 2005). On 18 May 2006, he received an esteem award from the influential

Movement for Quality Government The Movement for Quality Government in Israel ( he, התנועה למען איכות השלטון בישראל, ''HaTnu'a Lema'an Ekhut HaShilton BeYisrael'') is an Israeli non-profit organization that claims a membership of about 17,000. Formed ...

. From 2007 to 2011 he presided over the

Goldberg Commission The Goldberg Commission, chaired by Eliezer Goldberg, was set up by the Israeli government in late 2007 to end the long-running land disputes between the state and Bedouin living in the Negev. The Commission issued its report on 20 November 2011. I ...

considering

Bedouin The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu (; , singular ) are nomadic Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia. The Bedouin originated in the Syrian Desert and A ...

land rights.

Personal life

Goldberg died on 12 March 2022, at the age of 90.

References

1931 births 2022 deaths 20th-century Israeli civil servants 21st-century Israeli civil servants Hebrew University of Jerusalem Faculty of Law alumni Judges of the Supreme Court of Israel People from Jerusalem State Comptrollers of Israel Sapir Academic College faculty {{asia-law-bio-stub