Moshe Landau (; 29 April 1912 – 1 May 2011) was an Israeli judge. He served on the
Supreme Court of Israel from 1953 until his retirement in 1982. Landau was the fifth President of the Supreme Court, from 1980 to 1982.
Described as one of Israel's greatest judges and as one of the founders of Israeli law,
Landau was credited with presiding over the
Eichmann Trial, a landmark case related to the prosecution of
Adolf Eichmann, a key figure in
The Holocaust
The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...
, in an "objective and stately manner".
He played a crucial role in limiting government censorship and safeguarding civil rights through his legal decisions.
Landau's rulings sometimes obscured his personal political stance, yet he consistently opposed
judicial activism, emphasizing the importance of judges avoiding political agendas to maintain public trust in the judicial system; those positions of his own are used until today as arguments in support of
reform in the judiciary of Israel.
Historians have praised his independence and openness to new ideas, highlighting his uncommon willingness to evolve and adapt his perspectives.
Early life and education
Landau was born in
Danzig,
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 ...
(modern Gdańsk, Poland) to Isaac Landau and Betty née Eisenstädt. His father was a leading member of the
Jewish Community of Danzig. In 1930, he finished high school in the
Free City of Danzig
The Free City of Danzig (; ) was a city-state under the protection and oversight of the League of Nations between 1920 and 1939, consisting of the Baltic Sea port of Danzig (now Gdańsk, Poland) and nearly 200 other small localities in the surrou ...
and in 1933 he graduated cum laude from the
University of London
The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...
School of Law. That year, he
immigrated to the
British Mandate of Palestine.
Judicial career
Having been admitted to the Palestine Bar in 1937, Landau attained the position of a judge in the Haifa Magistrate’s Court in 1940. He subsequently progressed to the District Court in 1948 before being appointed to the
Supreme Court
In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
in 1953.
In 1957, Landau contributed significantly to the court-martial of the Criminal Court of Appeals, addressing the issue of lawful orders in a case involving the killing of 48 Arabs in
Kafr Qasim.
In 1961, Landau presided over the landmark
Eichmann trial. According to Israeli historian
Tom Segev, Landau was dedicated to preserving order and fairness during the trial, even if it led to conflicts with those who aimed to use the trial for
Holocaust education and
Israeli nationalism. Landau, in an effort to maintain a genuine trial atmosphere, restricted testimony and evidence unrelated to Eichmann's role, minimizing dramatic elements and emphasizing the trial's prestige and respectability.
In 1962, he set a precedent by overruling a censor decision, impacting the freedom of information landscape.
His involvement in politics included chairing the
Israeli Central Elections Committee in 1965, where he notably disqualified a "subversive" list from running for 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 ...
.
In 1974, he became a member of the
Agranat Commission, tasked with investigating intelligence and security failures leading to the Yom Kippur War.
Progressing in his judicial career, Landau became Deputy President of the Supreme Court in 1976 and ascended to the position of President of the Supreme Court from 1980 to 1982.
In 1987, he headed the
Landau Commission, investigating
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 ...
's procedures. The commission found instances of
perjury and legal violations, acknowledging the use of "moderate physical pressure" in interrogations.
However, this drew criticism from human rights groups, who maintained that the practices authorized by the commission amounted to torture.
The commission's report faced legal challenges and was nullified in 1999 by a Supreme Court ruling.
Landau's rulings occasionally left his personal political stance unclear, but he consistently opposed
judicial activism, cautioning against judges pursuing political agendas to preserve public trust in the judicial system. Notably, he overturned a government decision to temporarily close two newspapers critical of the government, establishing an enduring free-press standard. However, in his role as head of the Central Election Committee, he disqualified an
Arab-Israeli Socialist party from elections, deeming its platform "subversive" and a threat to the state's existence.
Historian and senior fellow at the Israel Democracy Institute,
Anita Shapira, commended Landau for his independence and receptivity to novel ideas, noting that he demonstrated a rare willingness to evolve and alter his perspectives.
Other positions held
Landau was a member of the International Court of Justice.
He also served as chairman of the
World Zionist Congress
The Zionist Congress was established in 1897 by Theodor Herzl as the supreme organ of the World Zionist Organization, Zionist Organization (ZO) and its legislative authority. In 1960 the names were changed to World Zionist Congress ( ''HaKongres ...
tribunal and of the Advisory Commissions on Israel Land Laws Reforms, Criminal Procedures and Administrative Tribunals. He was the first chairman of the
Yad Vashem Commission for the Designation of the
Righteous Among the Nations
Righteous Among the Nations ( ) is a title used by Yad Vashem to describe people who, for various reasons, made an effort to assist victims, mostly Jews, who were being persecuted and exterminated by Nazi Germany, Fascist Romania, Fascist Italy, ...
.
From 1956 to 1962 and from 1965 to 1966, Landau served as chairman of the board of directors of the
Technion – Israel Institute of Technology
The Technion – Israel Institute of Technology is a public university, public research university located in Haifa, Israel. Established in 1912 by Jews under the dominion of the Ottoman Empire, the Technion is the oldest university in the coun ...
.
Awards and honours
Landau received honorary doctorates from the Technion in 1980 and from the
Hebrew Union College
Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and remained in regular use as a first language until ...
in 1997.
[
In 1991, he was awarded the ]Israel Prize
The Israel Prize (; ''pras israél'') is an award bestowed by the State of Israel, and regarded as the state's highest cultural honor.
History
Prior to the Israel Prize, the most significant award in the arts was the Dizengoff Prize and in Israel ...
for law. In 1993, he was made an honorary chairman of the Technion's board of directors.
Death
Landau died in Jerusalem
Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...
on 1 May 2011 after suffering a heart attack.
President Shimon Peres
Shimon Peres ( ; ; born Szymon Perski, ; 2 August 1923 – 28 September 2016) was an Israeli politician and statesman who served as the prime minister of Israel from 1984 to 1986 and from 1995 to 1996 and as the president of Israel from 2007 t ...
stated, "The State of Israel will remember Moshe Landau as a model for ideological and brave leadership." Former Supreme Court President Aharon Barak described him as "one of our greatest judges" and as one of the "founders of Israeli law."
See also
* List of Israel Prize recipients
This is an incomplete list of recipients of the Israel Prize from the inception of the Prize in 1953 - 2025.
List
For each year, the recipients are, in most instances, listed in the order in which they appear on the official Israel Prize website ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Landau, Moshe
1912 births
2011 deaths
Alumni of the University of London
Chief justices of the Supreme Court of Israel
Israel Prize in law recipients
Jurists from Gdańsk
People from West Prussia
Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to Mandatory Palestine
Adolf Eichmann
Burials at Har HaMenuchot
German Zionists