Moshe Smoira ( he, משה זמורה, born 25 October 1888, died 8 October 1961) was an Israeli jurist and the first President of the Supreme Court of Israel.

Biography

Smoira was born in 1888 in

Königsberg Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was name ...

, in the German Empire to Leiser and Perel, Hasidic immigrants from

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

. He studied Hebrew and became a

Zionist Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after '' Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Je ...

. His future wife, Esther Horovitz from

Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...

, was a relative of

Zalman Shazar Zalman Shazar ( he, זלמן שז"ר; born Shneur Zalman Rubashov; be, Шнэер За́льман Рубашо́ў; russian: Шне́ер За́лмен Рубашо́в; November 24, 1889 – October 5, 1974) was an Israeli politician, author ...

. He studied law at

Heidelberg University } Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public university, public research university in Heidelberg, B ...

, but his studies were interrupted by the outbreak of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, during which he joined the German Army and was later wounded in action. After the war, he organized Hebrew courses in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

and later received his doctorate in jurisprudence from the

University of Giessen University of Giessen, official name Justus Liebig University Giessen (german: Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen), is a large public research university in Giessen, Hesse, Germany. It is named after its most famous faculty member, Justus von ...

as well as an

M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

Semitic language The Semitic languages are a branch of the Afroasiatic language family. They are spoken by more than 330 million people across much of West Asia, the Horn of Africa, and latterly North Africa, Malta, West Africa, Chad, and in large immigrant a ...

s. In 1921 he emigrated 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 ...

and opened a practice in

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

. He was a partner of

Pinchas Rosen Pinchas Rosen ( he, פנחס רוזן, born Felix Rosenblüth, 1 May 1887 – 3 May 1978) was an Israeli statesman, and the country's first Minister of Justice, serving three times during 1948–51, 1952–56, and 1956–61. He was also leader of ...

, who later became the

Israeli Justice Minister The Justice Ministry ( he, מִשְׂרָד הַמִשְׁפָּטִים, ''Misrad HaMishpatim''; ar, وزارة العدل) is the Israeli government ministry that oversees the Israeli judicial system. Since 13 June 2021, Israel's Minister of Ju ...

, and was associated with

Mapai Mapai ( he, מַפָּא"י, an acronym for , ''Mifleget Poalei Eretz Yisrael'', lit. "Workers' Party of the Land of Israel") was a democratic socialist political party in Israel, and was the dominant force in Israeli politics until its merger in ...

. He was invited by the Mandate authorities to teach at the Jerusalem Law School and became a lecturer there. He was the lawyer for the Histadrut. He specialized in Labor law and was one of the initiators and drafters of the Mandatory Law of compensation to dismissed workers. In the 1930s he was appointed President of the Court of Honor of the

World Zionist Organization The World Zionist Organization ( he, הַהִסְתַּדְּרוּת הַצִּיּוֹנִית הָעוֹלָמִית; ''HaHistadrut HaTzionit Ha'Olamit''), or WZO, is a non-governmental organization that promotes Zionism. It was founded as the ...

and President of the Association of Jewish Lawyers in

Eretz Israel The Land of Israel () is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine (see also Isra ...

. After the Israeli Declaration of Independence in 1948 he was appointed President of the Supreme Court. He did not consider the Declaration of Independence a legally binding document. In 1954 he retired due to a terminal illness and was succeeded by

Yitzhak Olshan Yitzhak Olshan ( he, יצחק אולשן, February 19, 1895 – February 5, 1983) was an Israeli jurist and the second President of the Supreme Court of Israel from 1954 to 1965. Biography Olshan was born in Kaunas in the Russian Empire (now ...

. He died in 1961 in Jerusalem. In 1989, Israel issued a stamp in his honour. His daughter, Michal, married Supreme Court judge

Haim Cohn Haim Herman Cohn ( he, חיים הרמן כהן, 11 March 1911 – 10 April 2002) was an Israeli jurist and politician. Biography Haim Cohn was born in Lübeck, Germany in 1911 to a religious family. He was chairman of a World Agudath Israel b ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smoira, Moshe 1888 births 1961 deaths Jurists from Königsberg People from East Prussia German Jews German emigrants to Mandatory Palestine Israeli people of German-Jewish descent 20th-century Israeli judges Chief justices of the Supreme Court of Israel University of Giessen alumni German Army personnel of World War I