Yitzhak Zamir (

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 ...

: יצחק זמיר) (born in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

on April 15, 1931) is a professor of public law and

Dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

of 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 ...

's Faculty of Law, a former

Attorney General of Israel The attorney general of Israel ( he, היועץ המשפטי לממשלה, ''Ha-Yo'etz Ha-Mishpati La-Memshala'', lit. ''Legal Advisor to the Government'') heads the legal system of the executive branch and the public prosecution of the state. ...

, first Dean of the

University of Haifa The University of Haifa ( he, אוניברסיטת חיפה Arabic: جامعة حيفا) is a university located on Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel. Founded in 1963, the University of Haifa received full academic accreditation in 1972, becoming Is ...

's Law Faculty, and a former Judge of 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 ...

Biography

Zamir was born in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

in Poland on April 15, 1931, and immigrated with his parents to Israel at the age of three. Zamir was educated 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 ...

before serving in the

Israeli Air Force The Israeli Air Force (IAF; he, זְרוֹעַ הָאֲוִיר וְהֶחָלָל, Zroa HaAvir VeHahalal, tl, "Air and Space Arm", commonly known as , ''Kheil HaAvir'', "Air Corps") operates as the aerial warfare branch of the Israel Defense ...

. When finishing his military service, Zamir went to study economics and political science. Later Zamir changed his major to law at the

Hebrew University 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 ...

. Zamir did his internship at the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

under the supervision of

Justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...

Yoel Zussman Yoel Zussman also spelled Yoel Sussman ( he, יואל זוסמן, born 24 October 1910, died 2 March 1982) was an Israeli jurist and the fourth President of the Supreme Court of Israel, from 1976 to 1980. Biography Sussman was born in 1910 in Kr ...

(later Chief Justice). In 1959 Zamir received his license to practice law. Zamir received his doctorate certificate from the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

. Zamir taught public law at the Hebrew University, becoming Dean of the Law Faculty in the years 1975–1978. From 1978 to 1986 Zamir served as the Israeli

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 ...

. During this period, Zamir is remembered for his fight to investigate the GSS during the

Kav 300 affair The Bus 300 affair (), also known as Kav 300 affair, was a 1984 incident in which Shin Bet members executed two Palestinian bus hijackers, immediately after the hostage crisis incident ended and they had been captured. After the incident, the Sh ...

, after two terrorists caught alive were secretly

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...

ed by GSS officer

Ehud Yatom Ehud Yatom ( he, אהוד יתום, born 26 September 1948) is an Israeli former Shin Bet agent and politician who served as a member of the Knesset for Likud between 2003 and 2006. Biography Ehud Yatom was born in Netanya. He is the brother o ...

(brother of

Danny Yatom Danny Yatom ( he, דני יתום, born 15 March 1945) is a former Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset for Labor. In 1996–1998, Yatom was head of the Mossad and between 1999 and 2001, he served as Prime Minister Ehud Barak ...

). Zamir demanded from

Moshe Arens Moshe Arens (27 December 1925 – 7 January 2019) was an Israeli aeronautical engineer, researcher, diplomat and Likud politician. A member of the Knesset between 1973 and 1992 and again from 1999 until 2003, he served as Minister of Defense th ...

, then Minister of Defense, to appoint a committee to investigate the accusations. On May 18, 1986, Zamir demanded to prosecute

Avraham Shalom Avraham Shalom Bendor ( he, אַבְרָהָם שָׁלוֹם בֵּנְדּוֹר; 7 July 1928 – 19 June 2014) was head of Shin Bet from 1981 to 1986.Shimon Peres Shimon Peres (; he, שמעון פרס ; born Szymon Perski; 2 August 1923 – 28 September 2016) was an Israeli politician who served as the eighth prime minister of Israel from 1984 to 1986 and from 1995 to 1996 and as the ninth president of ...

refused and removed Zamir from office, replacing him with Joseph Harish. In the Years 1988-1991 Zamir was president of the Journalist Council. In December 1991, Zamir quit his job claiming that he is not trusted and has not authority, as he had no power to place sanctions over journalists who broke the ethical code. In 1991 Zamir was appointed as the first Dean of the newly established Faculty of Law in the

, and served there until 1994. In 1994 he was appointed as a Supreme Court Judge until the year 2001, when reached the age of 70. In 2001 he was head of the Jerusalem Center for Ethics, and between 2003 and 2007 was head of the committee in charge of creating ethical rules for the

Knesset The Knesset ( he, הַכְּנֶסֶת ; "gathering" or "assembly") is the unicameral legislature of Israel. As the supreme state body, the Knesset is sovereign and thus has complete control of the entirety of the Israeli government (with ...

members.

Awards

* In 1986, Zamir was awarded the Tzeltner's Award for the research of law. * In 1986, he received 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 1 ...

. * In 1997, he was awarded the

Israel Prize The Israel Prize ( he, פרס ישראל; ''pras israél'') is an award bestowed by the State of Israel, and regarded as the state's highest cultural honor. History The Israel Prize is awarded annually, on Israeli Independence Day, in a state cer ...

for law (1997). * In 2014, he was awarded the

Emet Prize The EMET Prize for Art, Science and Culture is an Israeli prize awarded annually for excellence in academic and professional achievements that have far-reaching influence and make a significant contribution to society. Prizes are awarded in the fol ...

for excellence in law.

Biography

Awards

References

See also