Haim Joseph Zadok (, born Haim Wilkenfeld; 2 October 1913 – 15 August 2002) was an Israeli jurist and politician.

Early life

Zadok was born in 1913 in

Rava-Ruska Rava-Ruska (, ; ; ) is a city in Lviv Raion, Lviv Oblast, western Ukraine. It is a border town between Ukraine and Poland. The Rava-Ruska (border checkpoint), border checkpoint is situated west of the city, along the international autoroute Warsa ...

Eastern Galicia Eastern Galicia (; ; ) is a geographical region in Western Ukraine (present day oblasts of Lviv Oblast, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, Ivano-Frankivsk and Ternopil Oblast, Ternopil), having also essential historic importance in Poland. Galicia ( ...

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

(now

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

). He studied philosophy and

Jewish studies Jewish studies (or Judaic studies; ) is an academic discipline centered on the study of Jews and Judaism. Jewish studies is interdisciplinary and combines aspects of history (especially Jewish history), Middle Eastern studies, Asian studies, ...

at the

University of Warsaw The University of Warsaw (, ) is a public university, public research university in Warsaw, Poland. Established on November 19, 1816, it is the largest institution of higher learning in the country, offering 37 different fields of study as well ...

. He was a member of the Gordonia youth movement in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

and in the "

Poale Zion Poale Zion (, also romanized ''Poalei Tziyon'' or ''Poaley Syjon'', meaning "Workers of Zion") was a movement of Marxist–Zionist Jewish workers founded in various cities of Poland, Europe and the Russian Empire at about the turn of the 20th c ...

Federation" Party. In 1935, he

immigrated Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as permanent residents. Commuters, tourists, and other short- ...

to the British Mandate of Palestine and joined the

Hagana Haganah ( , ) was the main Zionist paramilitary organization that operated for the Yishuv in the British Mandate for Palestine. It was founded in 1920 to defend the Yishuv's presence in the region, and was formally disbanded in 1948, when it ...

and the

Jewish Settlement Police The Jewish Settlement Police (JSP) were a division of the Notrim established in Mandatory Palestine in 1936, during the 1936-39 Arab revolt.Levenberg, 1993, p. 156. History At the end of 1940, the JSP had about 15,000 members. A field arm ...

. He studied law at the

Hebrew University The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; ) is an Israeli public research university based in Jerusalem. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Chaim Weizmann in July 1918, the public university officially opened on 1 April 1925. It is the second-ol ...

and was certified as a lawyer. During the

1948 Arab-Israeli War Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...

, he joined the IDF as a lawyer in the office of the Chief Military Prosecutor. In 1949, he joined the legislative department of the

Ministry of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

as a deputy of the Attorney-General, a position he held until 1952. While in this position, he drafted the

Nazis and Nazi Collaborators (Punishment) Law The Nazis and Nazi Collaborators (Punishment) Law () is a 1950 Israeli law passed by the First Knesset that provides a legal framework for the prosecution of crimes against Jews and other persecuted people committed in Nazi Germany, German-occu ...

Career

In 1958 he was elected to the

Knesset The Knesset ( , ) is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Israel. The Knesset passes all laws, elects the President of Israel, president and Prime Minister of Israel, prime minister, approves the Cabinet of Israel, cabinet, and supe ...

for

Mapai Mapai (, an abbreviation for , ''Mifleget Poalei Eretz Yisrael'', ) was a Labor Zionist and democratic socialist political party in Israel, and was the dominant force in Israeli politics until its merger into the Israeli Labor Party in January ...

. He was chairman of the Knesset House Committee, member of the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee, chairman of the Subcommittee on Constitutional Affairs, and member and chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. He was involved in the passing of the Law on Inquiry Commissions and the Basic Law: the Government, as well as in attempts to pass basic laws on Legislation and Civil Rights, sections of which were later passed in the Basic Laws on Human Dignity and Freedom and Freedom of Occupation. From 1965 to 1966 he was Minister of Industry and Trade. In 1974 he became

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

, a position he held until the 1977 "Upheaval". When

Meir Shamgar Meir Shamgar (; August 13, 1925 – October 18, 2019) was the chief justice of the Israeli Supreme Court from 1983 to 1995. Biography Meir Shamgar (Sterenberg or Sternberg) was born in the Free City of Danzig (present-day Gdańsk, Poland) to E ...

was made a Judge, Zadok appointed

Aharon Barak Aharon Barak (; born 16 September 1936) is an Israeli lawyer and jurist who served as President of the Supreme Court of Israel from 1995 to 2006. Prior to this, Barak served as a Justice of the Supreme Court of Israel from 1978 to 1995, and bef ...

as Attorney-General. With the assistance of these advisors, he passed the

Basic Law A basic law is either a codified constitution, or in countries with uncodified constitutions, a law designed to have the effect of a constitution. The term ''basic law'' is used in some places as an alternative to "constitution" and may be inte ...

: the Military and the Basic Law: the State Economy. Towards the end of his tenure at the Ministry of Justice, the translation of the Mandatory Criminal Law Ordinance was completed, and a new and integrated Penal Code was formulated. In the years 1974 to 1977 he was also the first secular Minister of Religious Affairs. His tenure as Minister of Justice saw investigations of senior figures in the Israeli economy and Israeli politics, including the Yadlin affair, the

Dollar Account affair The Dollar Account affair (, ''Parashat Heshbon HaDolarim'') was a political scandal in Israel in 1977, following the exposure of an illegal United States bank account held by Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and his wife Leah. It led to Rabi ...

and the suicide of

Avraham Ofer Avraham Ofer (; 1922 as Avraham Hirsch – 3 January 1977) was an Israeli politician, famous for committing suicide following the eruption of a corruption scandal. Biography Ofer was born in the Chorostków shtetl in Poland (today in Ukraine ...

. Zadok stood by Barak when he decided to prosecute, and refused calls from within the Labor Party to intervene in the investigation. He opposed the

Israeli settlements Israeli settlements, also called Israeli colonies, are the civilian communities built by Israel throughout the Israeli-occupied territories. They are populated by Israeli citizens, almost exclusively of Jewish identity or ethnicity, and hav ...

but allowed them to reside in IDF camps, as a compromise. He was among the initiators of the sarcastically named "Brilliant trick", in which Prime Minister

Yitzhak Rabin Yitzhak Rabin (; , ; 1 March 1922 – 4 November 1995) was an Israeli politician, statesman and general. He was the prime minister of Israel, serving two terms in office, 1974–1977, and from 1992 until Assassination of Yitzhak Rabin, his ass ...

sacked the

National Religious Party The National Religious Party (, ''Miflaga Datit Leumit''), commonly known in Israel by its Hebrew abbreviation Mafdal (), was an Israeli political party representing the interests of the Israeli settlers and religious Zionist movement. Formed ...

ministers, a move which eventually collapsed the government. In 1978, he retired from political life. From 1978 to 1980 he was a lecturer at the

Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; ) is an Israeli public university, public research university based in Jerusalem. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Chaim Weizmann in July 1918, the public university officially opened on 1 April 1925. ...

. In the 1980s and 1990s, alongside his work in his own private law office, Haim Zadok & Co., he devoted time to public activity. 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 ...

, he called for exercising the full rigor of the law with the

Shin Bet The Israel Security Agency (ISA; , (GSS); ), better known by the Hebrew acronyms, acronyms Shabak (; ; ) or Shin Bet (from the abbreviation of , "Security Service"), is Israel's internal Security agency, security service. Its motto is "''Magen ...

, and protested the attempts to subvert the investigation and to grant pardons before the legal process had been completed. He also spoke out against the granting of a pardon to the members of the

Jewish Underground The Jewish Underground ( ''HaMakhteret HaYehudit''), or in abbreviated form, simply Makhteret,David S. New''Holy War: The Rise of Militant Christian, Jewish and Islamic Fundamentalism,'' McFarland, 2001, p. 143. was a radical right-wing fundamenta ...

and opposed the

Israeli occupation Israel has occupied the Golan Heights of Syria and the Palestinian territories since the Six-Day War of 1967. It has previously occupied the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt and southern Lebanon as well. Prior to 1967, control of the Palestinian terr ...

of the

West Bank The West Bank is located on the western bank of the Jordan River and is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip) that make up the State of Palestine. A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

and the

Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip, also known simply as Gaza, is a small territory located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea; it is the smaller of the two Palestinian territories, the other being the West Bank, that make up the State of Palestine. I ...

. He called for negotiations with the

Palestinians Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenou ...

and fought against the Law for the Direct Election of the Prime Minister. He also represented ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'' magazine when a libel suit was brought against it by

Ariel Sharon Ariel Sharon ( ; also known by his diminutive Arik, ; 26 February 192811 January 2014) was an Israeli general and politician who served as the prime minister of Israel from March 2001 until April 2006. Born in Kfar Malal in Mandatory Palestin ...

concerning the Sabra and Shatila massacre. He was a member of many public committees, including the Shamgar Commission, which considered the definition of the role and appointment of the Attorney-General, and he chaired committees that considered the regulation of police activity, the religious councils and the press. In 1991, he was one of the founders of the

Israel Democracy Institute The Israel Democracy Institute (IDI; ), established in 1991, is an independent research center that defines itself as being dedicated to strengthening the foundations of Israeli democracy. It is based in Jerusalem. History The Israel Democracy ...

and served as the first chairman of its board of directors. In 1993, he was made president of the Press Council. He held liberal views that ruled out government intervention in the free press. In 1999 he was last on

One Israel One Israel (, ''Yisrael Ahat'') was an alliance of the Labor Party, Meimad and Gesher created to run for the 1999 Knesset elections. Background One Israel was formed by Labor leader Ehud Barak in the run-up to the 1999 elections with the ...

's list for the

fifteenth Knesset Early general elections for both the Prime Minister and the Knesset were held in Israel on 17 May 1999 following a vote of no confidence in the government; the incumbent Likud Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, ran for re-election. The elections ...

and received the

Solomon Bublick Award The Solomon Bublick Award (Solomon Bublick Public Service Award or Solomon Bublick Prize) is an award made by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem to a person who has made an important contribution to the advancement and development of the State of I ...

of the

. Zadok died in 2002 of a heart attack during a trip to

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. He was given the Israel Democracy Institute Award by the IDI. He was cited as one of the Labor Party's greatest leaders by

Yossi Sarid Yossi Sarid (‎; 24 October 1940 – 4 December 2015) was an Israeli politician and news commentator. He served as a member of the Knesset for the Alignment, Ratz and Meretz between 1974 and 2006. A former Minister of Education and Minist ...

and

Binyamin Ben-Eliezer Binyamin "Fuad" Ben-Eliezer (, ; 12 February 1936 – 28 August 2016) was an Iraqi-born Israeli politician and general. He served as a member of the Knesset between 1984 and 2014, and held several ministerial posts, including Minister of Indust ...

. Streets are named after him

Netanya Netanya () () or Natanya (), is a city in the "Planet Bekasi" Central District (Israel), Setanyahu of Israel, Israel BAB ih, and is the capital of the surrounding Sharon plain. It is north of Tel Aviv, and south of Haifa, between the Poleg stre ...

Rehovot Rehovot (, / ) is a city in the Central District (Israel), Central District of Israel, about south of Tel Aviv. In it had a population of . Etymology Israel Belkind, founder of the Bilu (movement), Bilu movement, proposed the name "Rehovot ...

and

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

Publications

*“Law and Government”, edited with Abraham Ben Naftali (1971) *“Issues in Government in Israel” (1978)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zadok, Haim Yosef 1913 births 2002 deaths People from Rava-Ruska People from the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria Jews from Galicia (Eastern Europe) Polish emigrants to Mandatory Palestine Israeli people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent Haganah members Mapai politicians Alignment (Israel) politicians Israeli Labor Party politicians Ministers of development of Israel Ministers of justice of Israel Ministers of religious affairs of Israel Israeli lawyers Jewish socialists Members of the Assembly of Representatives (Mandatory Palestine) Members of the 3rd Knesset (1955–1959) Members of the 4th Knesset (1959–1961) Members of the 5th Knesset (1961–1965) Members of the 6th Knesset (1965–1969) Members of the 7th Knesset (1969–1974) Members of the 8th Knesset (1974–1977) Members of the 9th Knesset (1977–1981) Solomon Bublick Award recipients 20th-century Israeli lawyers Immigrants of the Fifth Aliyah