Micha Lindenstrauss

(1937 - )

Micha Lindenstrauss was born in Berlin, Germany in 1937 and immigrated to Israel in 1939.

He graduated from the Faculty of Law at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 1965 as Master of Juris and served as Military District Prosecutor and Legal Advisor of the I.D.F. in Samaria (West Bank) during 1965-1970. In 1970 he was appointed Advisor to Minister Shimon Peres in matters of the territories and rehabilitation of Arab refugees. During 1970-1972 he served as Court Martial presiding judge.

In 1972, he was appointed as judge to the Magistrate Court in Haifa and in 1982 to the District Court. In 1995 he was appointed as Vice President of the District Court of Haifa and Head of the Court's Criminal Justice Department. In 1999 Justice Lindenstrauss was appointed as President of the Haifa District Court. He served as Chairman of the Israeli Association of Judges until July 2005.

During 2000-2005, he was the Chairman of the Advisory Committee to the Speaker of the Knesset for granting subventons to N.P.Os. He also served as Chairman of the Movement for a Better Israel" and of the Israel American Friendship Society. He represented the Israeli Judges in the European Association of Judges and has been active for over twelve years on the Board of Directors of the Justice for the World Foundation. He is a Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Law at the University of Haifa.

Justice Micha Lindenstrauss was sworn in as State Comptroller and Ombudsman in the Knesset on June 29, 2005, and began his seven-year term on July 4.

Retired Justice Lindenstrauss is the author of several books, including Arrests and Release on Bail by Order of the Courts in Israel, Selected Issues on the Presumption of Innocence in the Israeli and American Legal Systems, A Trial in my Heart (short stories) and Three Youngsters in Grey.

Sources: Israeli Foreign Ministry