Shoshana Netanyahu
Encyclopedia
Shoshana Netanyahu is an Israel
i lawyer
and judge
, a former justice at the Supreme Court of Israel
. She is a widow of mathematician
Elisha Netanyahu
(1912–1986), uncle of Benjamin Netanyahu
, current Prime Minister of Israel
.
(now Gdańsk
, Poland
). She immigrated to Palestine
with her family in 1924, and settled in the Bat Galim
neighborhood of Haifa
. She graduated from the Reali High School
in Haifa 1941, and took British mandate-operated legal classes.
She worked at the law firm of S. Horowitz, and then spent a year serving as assistant prosecutor in the Israel Air Force. She returned to her previous position, and two years later moved to the advocate firm, Friedman and Komisar.
She married professor Elisha Netanyahu in 1949; their eldest son was born in 1951. In 1953 the family left for a sabbatical at Stanford university
, where their second son was born.
In 1960 she returned to Friedman and Komisar. In 1969 she was appointed a judge on the Magistrates Court in Haifa and from 1974 to 1981 she served as a Haifa District Court judge. In 1981, she became the second female Israel Supreme Court justice, after Miriam Ben-Porat
's retirement. She retired from the Supreme Court in 1993. During her tenure, she also headed a national committee on health care in Israel
from 1988 to 1990, which led to major legislative changes.
After her retirement, Netanyahu was an adjunct lecturer at the University of Haifa
(1993–1998) and at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
(1993–2002). In 1993, she received the Women’s League for Conservative Judaism
award. She received an honorary doctorate from the University of Haifa in 1997. In 2002 she was made an honorary citizen of Jerusalem.
Netanyahu has two children: Nathan (b.1951), a professor of computer science
at Bar-Ilan University
, and Dan (b.1954), an information systems
auditor.
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
and judge
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...
, a former justice at the Supreme Court of Israel
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...
. She is a widow of mathematician
Mathematician
A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with quantity, structure, space, and change....
Elisha Netanyahu
Elisha Netanyahu
Elisha Netanyahu was an Israeli mathematician specializing in complex analysis. Over the course of his work at the Technion he was the Dean of the Faculty of Sciences and established the separate Department of Mathematics...
(1912–1986), uncle of Benjamin Netanyahu
Benjamin Netanyahu
Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu is the current Prime Minister of Israel. He serves also as the Chairman of the Likud Party, as a Knesset member, as the Health Minister of Israel, as the Pensioner Affairs Minister of Israel and as the Economic Strategy Minister of Israel.Netanyahu is the first and, to...
, current Prime Minister of Israel
Prime Minister of Israel
The Prime Minister of Israel is the head of the Israeli government and the most powerful political figure in Israel . The prime minister is the country's chief executive. The official residence of the prime minister, Beit Rosh Hamemshala is in Jerusalem...
.
Biography
Netanyahu was born Shoshana Shenburg in 1923, in Danzig, GermanyGermany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
(now Gdańsk
Gdansk
Gdańsk is a Polish city on the Baltic coast, at the centre of the country's fourth-largest metropolitan area.The city lies on the southern edge of Gdańsk Bay , in a conurbation with the city of Gdynia, spa town of Sopot, and suburban communities, which together form a metropolitan area called the...
, 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...
). She immigrated to Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
with her family in 1924, and settled in the Bat Galim
Bat Galim
Bat Galim is a neighborhood of Haifa, Israel, located at the foot of Mt. Carmel on the Mediterranean coast. Bat Galim is known for its promenade and sandy beaches.-History:...
neighborhood of Haifa
Haifa
Haifa is the largest city in northern Israel, and the third-largest city in the country, with a population of over 268,000. Another 300,000 people live in towns directly adjacent to the city including the cities of the Krayot, as well as, Tirat Carmel, Daliyat al-Karmel and Nesher...
. She graduated from the Reali High School
Hebrew Reali School
The Hebrew Reali School of Haifa , located in Haifa, Israel, is one of the country's oldest private schools.-History:...
in Haifa 1941, and took British mandate-operated legal classes.
She worked at the law firm of S. Horowitz, and then spent a year serving as assistant prosecutor in the Israel Air Force. She returned to her previous position, and two years later moved to the advocate firm, Friedman and Komisar.
She married professor Elisha Netanyahu in 1949; their eldest son was born in 1951. In 1953 the family left for a sabbatical at Stanford university
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
, where their second son was born.
In 1960 she returned to Friedman and Komisar. In 1969 she was appointed a judge on the Magistrates Court in Haifa and from 1974 to 1981 she served as a Haifa District Court judge. In 1981, she became the second female Israel Supreme Court justice, after Miriam Ben-Porat
Miriam Ben-Porat
Miriam Ben-Porat , née Shinezon is an Israeli jurist. She was a Supreme Court of Israel judge and the State Comptroller of Israel.-Early life:...
's retirement. She retired from the Supreme Court in 1993. During her tenure, she also headed a national committee on health care in Israel
Health care in Israel
Health care in Israel is universal and participation in a medical insurance plan is compulsory. Health care coverage is administered by a small number of organizations, with funding from the government...
from 1988 to 1990, which led to major legislative changes.
After her retirement, Netanyahu was an adjunct lecturer at 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....
(1993–1998) and at 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...
(1993–2002). In 1993, she received the Women’s League for Conservative Judaism
Conservative Judaism
Conservative Judaism is a modern stream of Judaism that arose out of intellectual currents in Germany in the mid-19th century and took institutional form in the United States in the early 1900s.Conservative Judaism has its roots in the school of thought known as Positive-Historical Judaism,...
award. She received an honorary doctorate from the University of Haifa in 1997. In 2002 she was made an honorary citizen of Jerusalem.
Netanyahu has two children: Nathan (b.1951), a professor of computer science
Computer science
Computer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...
at Bar-Ilan University
Bar-Ilan University
Bar-Ilan University is a university in Ramat Gan of the Tel Aviv District, Israel.Established in 1955, Bar Ilan is now Israel's second-largest academic institution. It has nearly 26,800 students and 1,350 faculty members...
, and Dan (b.1954), an information systems
Information systems
Information Systems is an academic/professional discipline bridging the business field and the well-defined computer science field that is evolving toward a new scientific area of study...
auditor.
External references
- Martin Edelman, "The Judicial Elite of Israel", International Political Science Review, Vol. 13, No. 3 (July 1992), pp. 235-248.
- Shmuel Penchas, Mordechai Shani, "Redesigning a national health-care system: the Israeli experience", International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance, volume 8 (1995), issue 2, pp. 9-17.