Moshe Landau

Moshe Landau
Supreme Court of Israel judge
In office 1953–1982
President of the Supreme Court of Israel
In office 1980–1982
Preceded by	Yoel Zussman
Succeeded by	Yitzhak Kahan
Personal details
Born	29 April 1912(1912-04-29) Danzig, Germany
Died	1 May 2011(2011-05-01) (aged 99) Jerusalem, Israel

Moshe Landau (Hebrew: משה לנדוי‎, 29 April 1912 – 1 May 2011)^[1] was an Israeli jurist. He was the fifth President of the Supreme Court of Israel.

Biography

Landau was born in Danzig, Germany (modern Gdańsk, Poland) to Dr. Isaac Landau and Betty née Eisenstädt.^[2] His father was a leading member of the Jewish Community of Danzig^[3] In 1930 he finished high school in the Free City of Danzig and in 1933 he graduated from the University of London School of Law. That year, he immigrated to the British Mandate of Palestine. In 1937 he was admitted to the Bar of Palestine. In 1940 he was made judge in the Magistrate's Court of Haifa and was appointed to the District Court in 1948.^[4]

Judicial career

The Agranat Commission; Left to right: Yigael Yadin, Moshe Landoi, Shimon Agranat, Yitzchak Nebenzahl, and Chaim Laskov (1973)

• 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 30 Arabs in the village Kafr Qasim.
• 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 he was the first to disqualify a "subversive" list from running for the Knesset.^[4]
• 1974: Member of the Agranat Commission.
• 1976: Deputy President of the Supreme Court.
• 1980: President of Supreme Court until 1982.
• 1987: Headed the Landau Commission to investigate the Shin Bet'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.^[5] Israeli human rights groups maintained that the practices authorized by the commission amounted to torture.^[6] The commission's report was nullified in 1999 by a Supreme Court ruling.^[5]

Other positions held

Member of the International Court of Justice.^[4] Chairman of the World Zionist Congress 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 in Yad Vashem. From 1956 to 1962 and from 1965 to 1966 he served as Chairman of the board of directors of the Technion.

Awards and honours

• In 1980, Landau received an honorary doctorate from the Technion.
• In 1991, he was awarded the Israel Prize for law.^[7]
• In 1993, he was made an honorary chairman of the Technion's board of directors.
• In 1997, he received an honorary doctorate from the Hebrew Union College.^[4]

References

1. ^ http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4063015,00.html
2. ^ Sleeman, Elizabeth (2003). The international Who's Who 2004. Europa publications. p. 954. http://books.google.de/books?id=jn_GG55gKm8C&pg=PA954&lpg=PA954&dq=moshe+isaac+landau&source=bl&ots=8FPzhVM6cp&sig=rdEiNHcgjLCIYaac7YcEtGxprKQ&hl=de&ei=Xa5ZTP_vFuCjsQam9bX8Cw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CBwQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=moshe%20isaac%20landau&f=false. 
3. ^ Grass, Günther; Mann, Vivian B.; Gutmann, Joseph (1980). Danzig 1939, treasures of a destroyed community. The Jewish Museum, New York. p. 32. http://books.google.de/books?id=vvIECPYRssIC&pg=PA32&dq=isaac+landau+Danzig&hl=de&ei=la9ZTPjONMqQsAa50PGUCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CDEQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=isaac%20landau%20Danzig&f=false. 
4. ^ ^{a b c d} "Landoy Moshe". nfc. 2000-10-29. http://www.news1.co.il/Archive/006-D-108-00.html?tag=17-53-17. Retrieved 2008-10-18.  (Hebrew)
5. ^ ^{a b} Lelyveld, Joseph (2005-06-12). "Interrogating Ourselves". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/12/magazine/12TORTURE.html?pagewanted=7. Retrieved 2008-10-18. 
6. ^ "Israel admits torture". BBC. 2000-02-09. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/637293.stm. Retrieved 2008-10-18. 
7. ^ "Israel Prize Official Site – Recipients in 1991 (in Hebrew)". http://cms.education.gov.il/EducationCMS/Units/PrasIsrael/Tashmag/Tashnab_Tashmag_Rikuz.htm?DictionaryKey=Tashna. 

External Links

• Moshe Landau Obituary The Independent (London, UK) 2011 By Martin Childs

See also

• List of Israel Prize recipients

Persondata
Name	Landau, Moshe
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1912-04-29
Place of birth	Danzig, Germany
Date of death	1 May 2011
Place of death	Jerusalem, Israel