COHN, Haim H(erman) 1911-2002

(Haim Cohen)

OBITUARY NOTICE—See index for CA sketch: Born March 11, 1911, in Lübeck, Germany; died April 10, 2002, in Jerusalem, Israel. Attorney, judge, and author. Cohn was a former Israeli Supreme Court justice who was a staunch advocate of human rights. He studied at the universities of Hamburg and Frankfurt, as well as at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Rabinical College, during the early 1930s. Attending the Palestine Government Law School, he received his degree in 1937, the same year he was admitted to the Bar in Palestine. After graduation Cohn entered private practice in Jerusalem for ten years. He became a state attorney in 1948 and was director-general of the Ministry of Justice from 1949 to 1950 and attorney general from 1950 to 1960. As a supreme court justice from 1960 to 1981 Cohn became noted for his insistence that Israeli law be based on secular, not religious, principles. His desire that justice apply to everyone equally sometimes resulted in his unpopular siding with Arabic people; he was often in the minority opinion regarding such things as the right of extremist Arab party members to run for office. Cohn also defended Rudolf Kastner, who had been accused of being a Nazi collaborator but who was later vindicated, and he opposed the death penalty absolutely, even for convicted Nazi Adolf Eichmann. Cohn's work was recognized in 1980 when he received the Israel Prize. He was the author of many books, including Jewish Law in Israeli Jurisprudence (1968), The Trial and Death of Jesus (1971), Human Rights in Jewish Law (1984), and Selected Essays (1992).

OBITUARIES AND OTHER SOURCES:

BOOKS

International Who's Who, 63rd edition, Europa Publications (London, England), 2000.

PERIODICALS

Los Angeles Times, April 11, 2002, p. B13.

New York Times, April 13, 2002, p. A16.

Times (London, England), April 26, 2002.

Washington Post, April 13, 2002, p. B6.