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, and as the

State Comptroller of Israel The State Comptroller of Israel ( he, מבקר המדינה ''Mevaker HaMedina'', ar, مراقب الدولة, literally: ''Critic of State'') inspects, reviews, and audits the policies and operations of the government of the State of Israel. Th ...

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 Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

in the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 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 firms.

Judicial appointments

From 1964 to 1965, Goldberg served as a

Traffic Judge Traffic Judge (1952–1972) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse. He was owned by Clifford Mooers, proprietor of Walnut Springs Farm in Lexington, Kentucky, and trained by future U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee, Woody Stephens. On November ...

. 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 judic ...

. 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 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&nb ...

). 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) which investigated the

Cave of the Patriarchs massacre The Cave of the Patriarchs massacre, also known as the Ibrahimi Mosque massacre or the Hebron massacre, was a shooting massacre carried out by Baruch Goldstein, an American-Israeli extremist and member of the far-right Kach movement. On 25 F ...

. 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. 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 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