Moshe Landau ( he, משה לנדוי) (29 April 1912 – 1 May 2011) was an Israeli judge. He was the fifth President of the
Supreme Court of Israel.
Biography
Landau was born in
Danzig,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
(modern Gdańsk, Poland) to Dr. Isaac Landau and Betty née Eisenstädt. His father was a leading member of the
Jewish Community of Danzig
In 1930 he finished high school in the
Free City of Danzig and in 1933 he graduated from the
University of London
The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...
School of Law. That year, he
immigrated
Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...
to the
British Mandate of Palestine British Mandate of Palestine or Palestine Mandate most often refers to:
* Mandate for Palestine: a League of Nations mandate under which the British controlled an area which included Mandatory Palestine and the Emirate of Transjordan.
* Mandatory P ...
. In 1937 he was admitted to the Bar of Palestine. In 1940 he was made judge in the Magistrate's Court of
Haifa
Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropol ...
and was appointed to the District Court in 1948.
Judicial career
*1953: Appointed a
Supreme Court judge.
*1957: Sat on the court-martial – Criminal Court of Appeals, discussing the problem of "Lawful Orders" in the case of the killing of 48 Arabs in the village
Kafr Qasim
Kafr Qasim ( ar, كفر قاسم, he, כַּפְר קָאסִם), also spelled as Kafr Qassem, Kufur Kassem, Kfar Kassem and Kafar Kassem, is a hill-top city in Israel with an Arab citizens of Israel, Arab population. It is located about east ...
.
*1961: Presided over the
Eichmann Trial.
*1962: Set a precedent regarding the freedom of information by overruling a censor decision.
*1965: As Chairman of the
Israeli Central Elections Committee
The Israeli Central Elections Committee ( he, ועדת הבחירות המרכזית, ''Va'adet HaBehirot HaMerkazit'') is the body charged under the Knesset Elections Law of 1969 to carry out the elections for the upcoming Knesset. The committe ...
he was the first to disqualify a "subversive" list from running for 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 ...
.
[
*1974: Member of the ]Agranat Commission
The Agranat Commission (Hebrew: ועדת אגרנט) was a National Commission of Inquiry set up to investigate failings in the Israel Defense Forces in the prelude to the Yom Kippur War, when Israel was found unprepared for the Egyptian attack ag ...
.
*1976: Deputy President of the Supreme Court.
*1980: President of Supreme Court until 1982.
*1987: Headed the Landau Commission to investigate the Shin Bet
The Israel Security Agency (ISA; he, שֵׁירוּת הַבִּיטָּחוֹן הַכְּלָלִי; ''Sherut ha-Bitaẖon haKlali''; "the General Security Service"; ar, جهاز الأمن العام), better known by the acronym Shabak ( he, ...
's procedures. The commission found frequent cases of perjury in court and violations of the law. The commission acknowledged that "moderate physical pressure" might sometimes be necessary as an interrogation tool.[
]
Other positions held
Member of the International Court of Justice
The International Court of Justice (ICJ; french: Cour internationale de justice, links=no; ), sometimes known as the World Court, is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN). It settles disputes between states in accordanc ...
.[ Chairman of the ]World Zionist Congress
The Zionist Congress was established in 1897 by Theodor Herzl as the supreme organ of the Zionist Organization (ZO) and its legislative authority. In 1960 the names were changed to World Zionist Congress ( he, הקונגרס הציוני העו ...
tribunal. Chairman of the advisory Commissions on reforming the Israeli Land Law, criminal procedure and administrative tribunals. Chairman of the commission for recognition of righteous among the nations
Righteous Among the Nations ( he, חֲסִידֵי אֻמּוֹת הָעוֹלָם, ; "righteous (plural) of the world's nations") is an honorific used by the State of Israel to describe non-Jews who risked their lives during the Holocaust to sa ...
in Yad Vashem
Yad Vashem ( he, יָד וַשֵׁם; literally, "a memorial and a name") is Israel's official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; honoring Jews who fought against th ...
. From 1956 to 1962 and from 1965 to 1966 he served as chairman of the board of directors of the Technion.
Awards and honours
Landau received honorary doctorates from the Technion in 1980 and from the Hebrew Union College in 1997.[
In 1991, he was awarded the Israel Prize for law.]
See also
* List of Israel Prize recipients
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Landau, Moshe
1912 births
2011 deaths
Alumni of the University of London
Chief justices of the Supreme Court of Israel
Israel Prize in law recipients
Jurists from Gdańsk
People from West Prussia
Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to Mandatory Palestine
Adolf Eichmann