Yosef Harish (; ‎15 September 1923 – 6 November 2013) was an Israeli jurist who served as the country's

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

between 1986 and 1993.

Biography

Born in Jerusalem on 15 September 1923, Harish was educated in a

yeshiva A yeshiva (; ; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are studied in parallel. The stu ...

. He joined the

Haganah Haganah ( , ) was the main Zionist political violence, Zionist paramilitary organization that operated for the Yishuv in the Mandatory Palestine, British Mandate for Palestine. It was founded in 1920 to defend the Yishuv's presence in the reg ...

, and volunteered for the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He was arrested during

Operation Agatha Operation Agatha (Saturday, June 29, 1946), sometimes called Black Sabbath () or Black Saturday because it began on the Jewish sabbath, was a police and military operation conducted by the British authorities in Mandatory Palestine during the J ...

in 1946 and spent six months in an internment camp, before later serving as an officer in 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 studied for bachelor's and master's degrees in law 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. ...

, and began working as a magistrate. He became a judge in the

Tel Aviv District The Tel Aviv District (; ) is the geographically smallest yet also the most densely populated of the six administrative districts of Israel, with a population of 1.35 million residents. It is 98.9% Jewish and 1.10% Arab (0.7% Muslim, 0.4% Chris ...

court in 1969, and later became its vice-president. In 1986 Harish was appointed Attorney General. His predecessor Yitzhak Zamir had resigned after refusing to abandon an investigation into the activities of the head of Israel's GSS.Israel replaces attorney general
Anchorage Daily News, 2 June 1986 A year later Harish set up the Landau Commission to investigate methods used by the GSS. He left the post on 1 November 1993 and was replaced by

Michael Ben-Yair Michael Ben-Yair (; born 1 September 1942) was raised in Sheikh Jarrah until 1948, is a former Attorney General of Israel, a position he held between 1993 and 1996, and former acting judge at the Supreme Court of Israel. In 1994, whilst Attorney ...

. Harish died on 6 November 2013. At the time of his death, he resided in the

Ramat Aviv Ramat Aviv Alef or Ramat Aviv HaYeruka, and originally plainly Ramat Aviv (, ''lit.'' Spring Heights), is a neighborhood in northwest Tel Aviv, Israel. History Ramat Aviv was founded in 1950s following the great influx of immigrants from Eastern ...

area of Tel Aviv.

References

1923 births 2013 deaths Lawyers from Jerusalem Jews from Mandatory Palestine Haganah members British Army personnel of World War II Israeli military personnel of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War Israeli soldiers Hebrew University of Jerusalem Faculty of Law alumni 20th-century Israeli judges Attorneys general of Israel Burials at Har HaMenuchot Prisoners and detainees of Mandatory Palestine {{Israel-law-bio-stub