LANDAU, MOSHE

LANDAU, MOSHE (1912–2006), jurist, president of Israel Supreme Court. Born in Danzig, he studied in London and went to Palestine in 1933, engaging in private law in practice until 1940. From 1940–48 he was a judge in the Haifa Magistrates Court, and after the establishment of the State became a district court judge. In 1953 he was appointed to the Supreme Court and moved to Jerusalem. He was the presiding judge at the eichmann trial. He was also one of the members of the commission of inquiry appointed by the government following the Yom Kippur War. He was active on the board of various cultural institutions, including the Haifa Technion and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and was also chairman of the Israel Council of the Hadassah Medical Organization. From 1980 to 1982 he was president of the Supreme Court after having been permanent substitute for the president since 1976. He was awarded the Israel Prize in law for 1991. (Alexander Zvielli)