Zvi Berenson (

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

: צבי ברנזון, February 26, 1907 – January 30, 2001) was an Israeli jurist who served as a judge on the

Supreme Court of Israel The Supreme Court (, ''Beit HaMishpat HaElyon''; ar, المحكمة العليا) is the Supreme court, highest court in Israel. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all other courts, and in some cases original jurisdiction. The Supreme C ...

. He was one of the writers of the

Israeli Declaration of Independence The Israeli Declaration of Independence, formally the Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel ( he, הכרזה על הקמת מדינת ישראל), was proclaimed on 14 May 1948 ( 5 Iyar 5708) by David Ben-Gurion, the Executive ...

in 1948.

Early life

Berenson was born in

Safed Safed (known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as Tzfat; Sephardi Hebrew, Sephardic Hebrew & Modern Hebrew: צְפַת ''Tsfat'', Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation, Ashkenazi Hebrew: ''Tzfas'', Biblical Hebrew: ''Ṣǝp̄aṯ''; ar, صفد, ''Ṣafad''), i ...

to a family of merchants. In his youth he studied in a

cheder A ''cheder'' ( he, חדר, lit. "room"; Yiddish pronunciation ''kheyder'') is a traditional primary school teaching the basics of Judaism and the Hebrew language. History ''Cheders'' were widely found in Europe before the end of the 18th ...

and

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 ...

before studying at a boys' elementary school from 1919 to 1922, and then studied at the Scottish College of Safed until 1926. He continued to study mathematics and physics and received a doctorate in sciences in 1929. He taught mathematics and Hebrew at the Scottish College of Safed from 1929 to 1931 before receiving a grant from the British Mandatory government to study in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. He moved to the United Kingdom in 1931 to study mathematics and law at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

. Berenson married Hannah Wolf in 1931 and had two children, Ilana and Chaim. His son Chaim would later follow in his father's footsteps and open law firm in

Herzliya Herzliya ( ; he, הֶרְצְלִיָּה ; ar, هرتسليا, Hirtsiliyā) is an affluent city in the central coast of Israel, at the northern part of the Tel Aviv District, known for its robust start-up and entrepreneurial culture. In it h ...

. He and his wife were vegetarians.

Legal career

After returning to Palestine, he specialized in the law firm Zmora Korngold and Bar-Shira and received a law license. He served as a legal adviser to the

Histadrut Histadrut, or the General Organization of Workers in Israel, originally ( he, ההסתדרות הכללית של העובדים בארץ ישראל, ''HaHistadrut HaKlalit shel HaOvdim B'Eretz Yisrael''), is Israel's national trade union center ...

labor federation from 1934 to 1948. In 1948, he prepared the first draft for the

.Troy, Gil: ''The Zionist Ideas: Visions for the Jewish Homeland—Then, Now, Tomorrow'', p. 144 Berenson also helped prepare recommendations for labor laws and national insurance programs in the new state. In 1950, Berenson was named Director-General of the Ministry of Labor, and he was appointed a judge on the

in 1954. He also headed the Israeli delegation to the

International Labor Union The International Labor Union was a trade union in the northeastern United States from 1878-1887. The ILU was founded by members of the Workingmen's Party of the United States who were upset with the parties turn toward political action after t ...

from 1958 to 1959. Berenson served on the court for 23 years before retiring in 1977. His main contributions were in administrative law, public tenders, torts, labor law, and family law. In 1987, the

Association for Civil Rights in Israel The Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) (Hebrew: ; Arabic: ) was created in 1972 as an independent, non-partisan not-for-profit organization with the mission of protecting human rights and civil rights in Israel and the territories u ...

awarded him the

Emil Grunzweig Human Rights Award The Emil Grunzweig Human Rights Award is an award made annually by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel to "an individual or NGO that has made a unique contribution to the advancement of human rights in Israel". The award was established in ...

for a "long list of rulings and determinations" which "laid down the foundations for proper governmental administration, as well as effective monitoring of that administration by the courts."

Later life

After his retirement from the court, he served as Chairman of the Arbitration Board for the Public Sector for 17 years until 1994. He died in 2001 at the age of 93.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Berenson, Zvi 1907 births 2001 deaths Jews in Ottoman Palestine Jews in Mandatory Palestine 20th-century Israeli judges Judges of the Supreme Court of Israel