The Unknown Eichmann Trial: The Story of the Judge

This essay analyzes the decisive role of the 1961 Eichmann trial and the pivotal judicial perspective of its presiding judge, Supreme Court Justice (later Chief Justice) Moshe Landau. Justice Landaufd’s part in the trial has been neglected in previous studies, and his own perspective on the trial has been—until now—utterly unknown. The article considers new historical materials—Landau’s private memoir—in the context of the “objective” legal facts as established in the trial transcripts and videotapes. The analysis focuses on Landau’s leadership in an extraordinary courtroom situation, as well as on the path-breaking decisions he made during the proceedings. The trial became the landmark that it was because of the presiding judge’s meticulous professionalism and his deep understanding of its potential significance for the state of Israel.