Yehoshua Ben-Zion (1924 – 2004) ( he, יהושע בן ציון) was an Israeli banker. He served as the managing director of Israel-British Bank. Following the collapse of the bank in July 1974, owing British investors £46.6 million, Ben-Zion was convicted of embezzling £20 million ($39.4 million) from the bank. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison. After urging of the Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin in 1977, Ben-Zion was pardoned by the Israeli president

Ephraim Katzir Ephraim Katzir ( he, אפרים קציר, translit=Efrayim Katsir; – 30 May 2009) was an Israeli biophysicist and Labor Party politician. He was the fourth President of Israel from 1973 until 1978. Biography Efraim Katchalski (later Katzir ...

, on medical grounds. He was released after serving three years. Ben-Zion was born in

Mandate 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 i ...

and spent his childhood in the United States. He was a member of the

Irgun Irgun • Etzel , image = Irgun.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = Irgun emblem. The map shows both Mandatory Palestine and the Emirate of Transjordan, which the Irgun claimed in its entirety for a future Jewish state. The acronym "Etzel" i ...

and later became a colonel in the Israel Defense Forces. In 1972 he was a jurist in the trial of the women involved in the Sabena Flight 571 hijacking. In 1973 he was the president of Lydda Military Court, with rank of major.Langer, Felicia (1974) ''With my own eyes. Israel and the Occupied Territories 1967-1973''. Ithaca Press. . Pages 124-126.

References

1924 births 2004 deaths Irgun members Israeli bankers Israeli fraudsters 20th-century Israeli judges Israeli prisoners and detainees Prisoners and detainees of Israel Recipients of Israeli presidential pardons Mandatory Palestin expatriates in the United States {{israel-bio-stub