Dov Levin (December 1, 1925 – June 27 or 28, 2001) was an Israeli jurist and

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 ...

justice in 1982–1995. He served, most notably as one of the judges in the trial of

John Demjanjuk John Demjanjuk (born Ivan Mykolaiovych Demjanjuk; uk, Іван Миколайович Дем'янюк; 3 April 1920 – 17 March 2012) was a Ukrainian-American who served as a Trawniki man and Nazi camp guard at Sobibor extermination camp, ...

Biography

Dov Levin was born in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

to Eliyahu and Dvora Levin, His father was born in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...

and

immigrated Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

to Palestine with his family as a child, and his mother was born in Palestine to a family of rabbis and scholars, descendants of the

Vilna Gaon Elijah ben Solomon Zalman, ( he , ר' אליהו בן שלמה זלמן ''Rabbi Eliyahu ben Shlomo Zalman'') known as the Vilna Gaon ( Yiddish: דער װילנער גאון ''Der Vilner Gaon'', pl, Gaon z Wilna, lt, Vilniaus Gaonas) or Elijah of ...

and residents of Palestine since the mid-19th century. Levin joined 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 ...

while at the same time working at the British Mandate police headquarters. He also went to law school, and continued studying law upon his return to Tel Aviv in 1945. During the 1948 Arab–Israeli War he served in the Israel Defense Forces as an officer in the

Alexandroni Brigade The Alexandroni Brigade (3rd Brigade) is an Israel Defense Forces brigade that has fought in multiple Israeli wars. History Along with the 7th Armoured Brigade both units had 139 killed during the first battle of Latrun (1948), Operation Ben Nu ...

's 35th Battalion. In the reserves, he served in the Adjutant Corps. Levin had two sons, Eliyahu and Assaf, both of them lawyers. He was also the uncle of poet and translator Amasai Levin.

Legal career

In 1951 Dov Levin joined the

Israel Bar Association Israel Bar Association (; IBA) is the bar association for all Israeli lawyers. History The Israel Bar Association is organized as a corporation, with a Central Committee, a National Assembly and five districts. Membership is mandatory for law ...

. In September 1966, he became a judge. He also served in that capacity in the

Military Court of Appeals The Israeli Military Court of Appeals is the supreme military court of the Israel Defense Forces. It considers and judges over appeals submitted by the Military Advocate General which challenge decisions rendered by the District Military Tribuna ...

as part of his reserve service. Levin presided as a judge in the Tel Aviv magistrate court until May 1972, when he was promoted to the district court. In 1979 he became vice-president of the court. In March 1981, he became a provisional Supreme Court justice and was given a permanent tenure on February 15, 1982. In 1988, he presided over a special court that judged

and in the same year was responsible for disqualifying the Kach party from running 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 ...

. Levin was head of the National Council for Prevention of Road Accidents and the

Israel Football Association The Israel Football Association (IFA; he, ההתאחדות לכדורגל בישראל, ''HaHit'aḥdut leKaduregel beIsrael'', literally "The Association of Football in Israel") is the governing body of football in Israel. It organizes a varie ...

refereeing departments. After retiring from the bench in 1995, he became an arbitrator.

Awards and recognition

In 1997, Levin received the Yakir Tel Aviv prize.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Levin, Dov 1925 births 2001 deaths Judges of the Supreme Court of Israel Israeli people of Russian-Jewish descent 20th-century Israeli judges