Norman Bentwich
Encyclopedia
Norman De Mattos Bentwich (originally Bentwitch) OBE
MC
(28 February 1883 – 8 April 1971) was a British
barrister
and legal academic who served as Legal Secretary and the first Attorney-General of Mandatory Palestine from 1918 to 1931. A lifelong Zionist, Bentwich was close to the moderate wing of the movement. As the Arab-Jewish conflict in Palestine escalated, his presence in the mandatory government became an embarrassment to the British. In 1929 he was slightly wounded in an assassination attempt. In 1930 he went on leave to England and a year later his appointment was "terminated."
From 1932 to 1951 he occupied the Chair of International Relations at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
. He was also President of the Jewish Historical Society.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
MC
Military Cross
The Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....
(28 February 1883 – 8 April 1971) was a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
barrister
Barrister
A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...
and legal academic who served as Legal Secretary and the first Attorney-General of Mandatory Palestine from 1918 to 1931. A lifelong Zionist, Bentwich was close to the moderate wing of the movement. As the Arab-Jewish conflict in Palestine escalated, his presence in the mandatory government became an embarrassment to the British. In 1929 he was slightly wounded in an assassination attempt. In 1930 he went on leave to England and a year later his appointment was "terminated."
From 1932 to 1951 he occupied the Chair of International Relations 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...
. He was also President of the Jewish Historical Society.
Education
- St. Paul's School
- Trinity College, CambridgeTrinity College, CambridgeTrinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...
: First class in both parts of classical tripos, 1903-5; Members' Essay Prize, Whewell Scholarship for International Law and Yorke PrizeYorke PrizeThe Yorke Prize is awarded annually by the Faculty of Law at the University of Cambridge for an essay of between 30,000 and 100,000 words on a legal subject, including the history, analysis, administration and reform of law....
.
Career
- Called to the bar (Lincolns Inn), 1908
- Ministry of Justice, CairoCairoCairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
, 1912–1915 - Major, Camel Transport, 1916–1918
- Legal secretary to military administration, PalestinePalestinePalestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
, 1918–22 - First attorney-general in mandatory government of Palestine, 1922-9
- Recalled to Colonial Office, 1929–31
- Professor of International Relations, Hebrew University of JerusalemHebrew University of JerusalemThe 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...
, 1932 and 1945–1951 - Director of League of NationsLeague of NationsThe League of Nations was an intergovernmental organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. It was the first permanent international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace...
High Commission for Refugees from GermanyGermanyGermany , 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...
, 1933–1935 - British Ministry of Information and Air Ministry, 1939–45
Other positions
- Co-editor of the Jewish Review, 1910–1913 and 1932–1934
- Lecturer at Hague Academy of International Law, 1929, 1934 and 1955
- Vice-President, Jewish Committee for Relief Abroad
- Chairman, National Peace Council, 1944–1946
- Chairman, United Restitution Office, 1948–1971
- Foreign Office Committee on Restitution in British Zone of Germany, 1951
- President, Jewish Historical Society, 1960–1962
- Chairman, Friends of Hebrew University
- President of London North-Western Reform Synagogue, 1958–71
External links
- Norman Bentwich, The Law of Private Property in War, with a Chapter on Conquest (London: Sweet & Maxwell, 1907)] -- his Yorke prize essay from 1906.