Yoram Dinstein (; 2 January 1936 – 10 February 2024) was an Israeli scholar and professor emeritus at

Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) is a Public university, public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Located in northwest Tel Aviv, the university is the center of teaching and ...

. He was a specialist on

international law International law, also known as public international law and the law of nations, is the set of Rule of law, rules, norms, Customary law, legal customs and standards that State (polity), states and other actors feel an obligation to, and generall ...

and an authority on the laws of war. He served as President of Tel Aviv University from 1991 to 1998 and won the 2023

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 research.

Biography

Yoram Dinstein was born in Tel Aviv on 2 January 1936. He received his legal education from

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. ...

, where he graduated summa cum laude, and New York University Law School. Dinstein died on 10 February 2024, at the age of 88.

Legal and academic career

Dinstein began teaching at the Hebrew University in 1964. From 1966 to 1970, he was a member of the Israeli delegation to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

and the Israeli Consul-General in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. Dinstein was Dean of the Faculty Law at

from 1978 to 1980. From 1980 to 1985 he was the Rector of Tel Aviv University (1980–85), and he served as its president from 1991 to 1998 (following Moshe Many, and succeeded by Itamar Rabinovich). Dinstein served twice as the Charles H. Stockton Professor of International Law at the U.S. Naval War College in

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is a seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Rhode Island, United States. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and nort ...

, from 1999 to 2000 and again from 2002 to 2003. He was also a Humboldt Fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law in

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

, Germany, a Meltzer Visiting Professor of Law at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

, and a visiting Professor of Law at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

. Dinstein was President of Israel's national branch of the International Law Association and of the Israel United Nations Association. He served as Chairman of the Israel national branch of

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...

and as a member of the Executive Council of the

American Society of International Law American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, ...

. He was a member of the Council of the San Remo International Institute of Humanitarian Law. He was the founder and Editor of the ''Israel Yearbook on Human Rights'' (40 volumes of which have been issued – in English – since 1971). Dinstein wrote on

human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

, and the laws of armed conflict.

Israel's chapter of Amnesty International

Yoram Dinstein headed Israel's chapter of Amnesty International from 1974 to 1976. During this time, Dinstein received money from the Israeli Foreign Ministry. Dinstein also told the Israeli Foreign Ministry about the internal activities and contacts of Amnesty International. Documents reveal how Israel made Amnesty's local branch a front for the Foreign Ministry in the 70s
Uri Blau, 18 March 2017, ''

Haaretz ''Haaretz'' (; originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , , ) is an List of newspapers in Israel, Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel. The paper is published in Hebrew lan ...

'', This has led Neve Gordon and Nicola Perugini to characterize Dinstein as an Israeli "spy" within Amnesty International. Dinstein used his position as “chairman of the Israel national section of Amnesty” to criticize the work of Felicia Langer, a lawyer who was advocating for rights of Palestinians in Israeli courts. Dinstein later said Amnesty International was "a populist organization very far from everything I believe in".

Notable opinions

Self-defense

Yoram Dinstein maintained that use of force in self-defence (under international law) was only permitted in response to an armed attack, or the "imminence of an armed attack". In order to reconcile Israel's surprise attack on Egypt in 1967 with his own stringent criteria for self-defence, he writes that "Egypt was bent on an armed attack, and the sole question was not whether war would materialize but when." Norman Finkelstein argues Dinstein's position is contradictory: "if, except for an armed attack, the only situation allowing for resort to force in self-defense is the “imminence” of a strike, wouldn’t the “sole question” of “when” Egypt was planning to attack be critical?" Finkelstein also writes that Dinstein based his opinion on a single article from the 1970s, and ignored "voluminous" historical records that show Egypt was not about to attack Israel, nor did Israeli leaders believe an attack was imminent.

Targeted killings

In 2004, the issue of

targeted killing Targeted killing is a form of assassination carried out by governments Extrajudicial killing, outside a judicial procedure or a battlefield. Since the late 20th century, the legal status of targeted killing has become a subject of contention wit ...

s of suspected Palestinian militants went before the Israeli supreme court. Critics argued that while it is legitimate to kill suspected terrorists while they pose a threat, many Israeli targeted killings happened when the suspected militants were sleeping at home or engaged in other activities that did not endanger anyone. Dinstein argued Israeli targeted killings were "almost always legitimate". Regarding Israeli settlements, Dinstein argued they were only illegal under the

Fourth Geneva Convention The Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War (), more commonly referred to as the Fourth Geneva Convention and abbreviated as GCIV, is one of the four treaties of the Geneva Conventions. It was adopted in August 1 ...

when they benefit from government subsidies or coordination, but that when Israeli settlers act on their own initiative without government help, then such settlements do not violate the Geneva Convention.

Published works

Books

*
The Conduct of Hostilities Under the Law of International Armed Conflict
', '',

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press was the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted a letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it was the oldest university press in the world. Cambridge University Press merged with Cambridge Assessme ...

(2nd ed., 2010) *
The International Law of Belligerent Occupation
',

, (2009) *
War, Aggression and Self-Defence
',

, (4th ed., 2005) (5th ed., 2011) *
War crimes in international law
', co-editor with Mala Tabory, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, (1996) *
Freedom of Religion and the Protection of Religious Minorities
', The Jacob Blaustein Institute for the Advancement of Human Rights (1991) *
The Release of Prisoners of War
',

International Committee of the Red Cross The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is a humanitarian organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, and is a three-time Nobel Prize laureate. The organization has played an instrumental role in the development of rules of war and ...

(1984) *
Models of Autonomy
', Transaction Publishers, (1981) *
The Laws of War at Sea
', (1980) *
The Defence of "Obedience to Superior Orders" in International Law
', A. W. Sijthoff (1965)

Articles

"Air and Missile Warfare Under International Humanitarian Law"
'' The Military Law and the Law of War Review.'' (2013)
"Comments on Protocol I
'' International Review of the Red Cross'' (2010)
"War, Aggression and Self-Defence"
''Commonwealth Law Bulletin'', Volume 32, Issue 4 (December 2006)
"Comments on War"
''Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy'' (2003)
"The Parameters and Context of International Criminal Law"
''Touro Journal of Transnational Law'' (1988)
"International Criminal Law"
'' The Israel Law Review'' (1985)
"Oil pollution by ships and freedom of the high seas"
''Journal of Maritime Law & Com.'' (1971)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dinstein, Yoram 1936 births 2024 deaths New York University School of Law alumni Academic staff of Tel Aviv University Israeli Jews Israeli lawyers Naval War College faculty New York University faculty Academic staff of the University of Toronto Amnesty International people Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law people Deans of law schools in Israel International law scholars Israeli academic administrators Presidents of universities in Israel Charles H. Stockton Professors of International Law Members of the Institut de Droit International Lawyers from Tel Aviv