David Bartov | |
|---|---|
דוד ברטוב | |
 | |
| Born | David Gutensky (1924-02-01)1 February 1924 |
| Died | 29 March 2018(2018-03-29) (aged 94) |
| Nationality |  Israel |
| Occupation | Judge |
| Known for | Head ofNativ (1986–1992) |
| Head of Nativ | |
| In office 1986–1992 | |
David Bartov (Hebrew:דוד ברטוב; 1 February 1924 – 29 March 2018[1]) was an Israeli judge[2] and the head ofNativ from 1986 to 1992.[3]
Bartov was born as David Gutensky in the town ofMotal, in present-day Belarus. He studied inTarbut school inPinsk, graduating in 1939. In 1941, duringWorld War II, he wasdeported to alabor camp inSiberia. In 1946, he left forPoland and was active in aZionistyouth movement in Poland and Germany.
In 1949 he immigrated to the newly established state ofIsrael, where heHebraized his surname to Bartov. He settled inJerusalem, and was appointed chief secretary in the bureau ofChaim Weizmann, firstPresident of Israel. In 1952, he was appointed head of bureau for the second president,Yitzhak Ben-Zvi. In 1959 he graduatedlaw school at theHebrew University of Jerusalem, and in 1960 acquired hisMaster of Laws. After qualifying as lawyer in 1961, he was appointed by President Ben-Zvi as his legal advisor.
In 1964 he was sent to theSoviet Union, serving as First Secretary at the Embassy of Israel in Moscow and de facto acting as a Nativ team member. When the Soviet Union severed itsdiplomatic relations with Israel in 1967, Bartov returned to Israel. He was appointed judge at the JerusalemMagistrate Court and served as registrar of theSupreme Court of Israel. In 1979 he was appointed deputy president of the JerusalemDistrict Court. He served as secretary for theAgranat Commission investigating the failings ofIsrael Defence Forces in theYom Kippur War in 1973, and for theKahan Commission investigating the events that led to theSabra and Shatila massacre in 1982.
From 1986 to 1992 he was head of Nativ – the Israeli liaison organization for maintaining contact with theJews living in theEastern Bloc. From 1992 to 1994 he headed the Nativ mission to the former Soviet Union countries, based in Moscow. After retirement, he continued with voluntary work for the benefit of former Soviet Union jewry, and from 1997 to 2003 was Chairman of the Executive Committee ofYad Ben Zvi research institute.
Bartov's younger brother wasHaim Yisraeli, senior advisor to several IsraeliMinisters of Defence.
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