Yosef Harish ( he, יוסף חריש ‎ 1923 – 6 November 2013) was an Israeli jurist who served as the country's

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

between 1986 and 1993.

Biography

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 ...

in 1923, Harish was educated in a

yeshiva A yeshiva (; he, ישיבה, , sitting; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are s ...

. He joined the

Haganah Haganah ( he, הַהֲגָנָה, lit. ''The Defence'') was the main Zionist paramilitary organization of the Jewish population ("Yishuv") in Mandatory Palestine between 1920 and its disestablishment in 1948, when it became the core of the ...

, and volunteered for the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, before serving as an officer in the

1948 Arab-Israeli War Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect. ** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British ...

. He studied for bachelor's and master's degrees in law at 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 ...

, and began working as a magistrate. He became a judge in the

Tel Aviv District The Tel Aviv District ( he, מָחוֹז תֵּל אָבִיב; ar, منطقة تل أبيب) is the smallest and most densely populated of the six administrative districts of Israel with a population of 1.35 million residents. It is 98.9% Jewi ...

court in 1969, and later became its vice-president. In 1986 Harish was appointed Attorney General. His predecessor

Yitzhak Zamir Yitzhak Zamir (Hebrew: יצחק זמיר) (born in Poland on April 15, 1931) is a professor of public law and Dean of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem's Faculty of Law, a former Attorney General of Israel, first Dean of the University of Haifa's ...

had resigned after refusing to abandon an investigation into the activities of the head of Israel's GSS.Israel replaces attorney general
Anchorage Daily News, 2 June 1986 A year later Harish set up the

Landau Commission Moshe Landau The Landau Commission was a three-man Commission set up by the Israeli Government in 1987 following a long-running scandal over the deaths of two Palestinian prisoners in custody and the wrongful conviction of a Circassian IDF office ...

to investigate methods used by the GSS. He left the post on 1 November 1993 and was replaced by

Michael Ben-Yair Prof. Michael Ben-Yair ( he, מיכאל בן יאיר; born 1 September 1942) was raised in Sheikh Jarrah until 1948, is a former Attorney General of Israel, a position he held between 1993 and 1996, and former acting judge at the Supreme Court of ...

. Harish died on 6 November 2013. At the time of his death Harish resided in the

Ramat Aviv Ramat Aviv Alef or Ramat Aviv HaYeruka, and originally plainly Ramat Aviv ( he, רָמַת אָבִיב, ''lit.'' Spring Heights), is a neighborhood in northwest Tel Aviv, Israel. History Ramat Aviv was founded in 1950s following the great inf ...

area of

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

References

1923 births 2013 deaths People from Jerusalem Jews in Mandatory Palestine Haganah members British Army personnel of World War II Israeli soldiers Hebrew University of Jerusalem Faculty of Law alumni 20th-century Israeli judges Attorneys General of Israel Zionists {{Israel-law-bio-stub