Yitzhak Zamir - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Yitzhak Zamir (born in Poland

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

on April 15, 1931) is a professor of public law and Dean of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Hebrew University of Jerusalem

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem ; ; abbreviated HUJI) is Israel's second-oldest university, after the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. The Hebrew University has three campuses in Jerusalem and one in Rehovot. The world's largest Jewish studies library is located on its Edmond J...

's Faculty of Law, a former Attorney General of Israel

Attorney General of Israel

The Attorney General of Israel stands at the head of the legal system of the executive branch and the head of the public legal establishment, in charge of protecting the rule of law and as such entrusted with protecting the public interest from possible harm by government authorities...

, first Dean of the University of Haifa

University of Haifa

The University of Haifa is a university in Haifa, Israel.The University of Haifa was founded in 1963 by Haifa mayor Abba Hushi, to operate under the academic auspices of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem....

's Law Faculty, and Judge in the Israeli Supreme Court.

Biography

Zamir was born in Warsaw

Warsaw

Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...

in Poland on April 15, 1931, and immigrated with his parents to Israel at the age of three. Zamir was educated in Herzliya

Herzliya

Herzliya is a city in the central coast of Israel, at the western part of the Tel Aviv District. It has a population of 87,000 residents. Named after Theodor Herzl, the founder of modern Zionism, Herzliya covers an area of 26 km²...

before serving in the Israeli Air Force

Israeli Air Force

The Israeli Air Force is the air force of the State of Israel and the aerial arm of the Israel Defense Forces. It was founded on May 28, 1948, shortly after the Israeli Declaration of Independence...

. When finishing his military service, Zamir went to study economics and political science. Later Zamir changed his major to law at the Hebrew University. Zamir did his internship at the Supreme Court

Supreme Court of Israel

The Supreme Court is at the head of the court system and highest judicial instance in Israel. The Supreme Court sits in Jerusalem.The area of its jurisdiction is all of Israel and the Israeli-occupied territories. A ruling of the Supreme Court is binding upon every court, other than the Supreme...

under the supervision of Justice

Judge

A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...

Yoel Zussman

Yoel Zussman also spelled Yoel Sussman was an Israeli jurist and the fourth President of the Supreme Court of Israel.-Biography:Zussman was born in 1910 in Kraków, Austria-Hungary . He received his LLB from the University of London and his PhD from Heidelberg University. He immigrated to the...

(later Chief Justice). In 1959 Zamir received his license to practice law. Zamir received his doctorate certificate from the University of London

University of London

-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...

.

Zamir taught public law at the Hebrew University, becoming Dean of the Law Faculty in the years 1975-1978.

In the Years 1978-1986 Zamir served as Attorney General

Attorney General of Israel

. During this period, Zamir is remembered for his fight to investigate the GSS during the Kav 300 affair

Kav 300 affair

The Bus 300 affair , also known as Kav 300 affair, was an affair in which Shin Bet members executed two Palestinian bus hijackers, immediately after the hostage crises incident ended and the two militants were captured....

, after two terrorists caught alive were secretly murder

Murder

Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...

ed by GSS officer Ehud Yatom

Ehud Yatom

Ehud Yatom , Shin Bet agent and former Israeli politician who briefly served as a member of the Knesset for Likud from 2003 until 2006.-Biography:Born in Netanya, Yatom worked in the Shin Bet, and was one of the agents involved in the Kav 300 affair in 1984...

(brother of Danny Yatom

Danny Yatom

Danny Yatom is a former Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset for Labour. Before that he was a Director of the Mossad security service.-Background:...

). Zamir demanded from Moshe Arens

Moshe Arens

Moshe Arens is an Israeli aeronautical engineer, researcher and former diplomat and politician. A member of the Knesset between 1973 and 1992 and again from 1999 until 2003, he served as Minister of Defense three times and once as Minister of Foreign Affairs. Arens has also served as the Israeli...

, then Minister of Defense, to appoint a committee to investigate the accusations. On May 18, 1986 Zamir demanded to prosecute Avraham Shalom

Avraham Shalom

Avraham Shalom Ben-Dor was head of GSS from 1981-1986. He resigned after being accused of ordering the killing of two Palestinian prisoners and organising the subsequent cover-up.-Early career:...

, head of the GSS. Prime Minister Shimon Peres

Shimon Peres

GCMG is the ninth President of the State of Israel. Peres served twice as the eighth Prime Minister of Israel and once as Interim Prime Minister, and has been a member of 12 cabinets in a political career spanning over 66 years...

refused and removed Zamir from office, replacing him with Joseph Harish

Yosef Harish

Yosef Harish was an Israeli jurist who served as the country's Attorney General between 1986 and 1993.-Biography:Born in Jerusalem in 1923, Harish was educated in a yeshiva...

.

In the Years 1988-1991 Zamir was president of the Journalist Council. In December 1991, Zamir quit his job claiming that he is not trusted and has not authority, as he had no power to place sanctions over journalists who broke the ethical code.

In 1991 Zamir was appointed as the first Dean of the newly established Faculty of Law in the University of Haifa

University of Haifa

, and served there until 1994.

In 1994 he was appointed as a Supreme Court Judge until the year 2001, when reached the age of 70.

In 2001 he was head of the Jerusalem Center for Ethics, and between 2003-2007 was head of the committee in charge of creating ethical rules for the Knesset members.

Awards

In 1986, Zamir was awarded the Tzeltner's Award for the research of law.
In 1986, he received the Emil Grunzweig Human Rights Award
Emil Grunzweig Human Rights Award
The Emil Grunzweig Human Rights Award is an award made annually by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel to "an individual or NGO that has made a unique contribution to the advancement of human rights in Israel"...

.
In 1997, he was awarded the Israel Prize
Israel Prize
The Israel Prize is an award handed out by the State of Israel and is largely regarded as the state's highest honor. It is presented annually, on Israeli Independence Day, in a state ceremony in Jerusalem, in the presence of the President, the Prime Minister, the Knesset chairperson, and the...

for law (1997).

Biography

Awards

See also