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Tribute to Justice Gabriel Bach

7 March 2022

We are saddened to hear of the passing of Justice Gabriel Bach, alumnus (1950) and Honorary Fellow (1998) at UCL Laws.

Justice Gabriel Bach

Gabriel Bach, who served for 15 years as justice in the Israeli Supreme Court passed away on February 18, 2022. He was a proud UCL Laws alumnus and represented the university on the selection committee for the annual scholarship awarded by the Leonard Sainer Foundation.

Born in Germany in March 1927, Bach fled the country with his family in 1938, to Amsterdam and then to British Mandate for Palestine in 1940. He received a scholarship to study Law at UCL, completing his LLB, before returning to Israel for military service and subsequently a 46-year career in the public sector.

In 1953, Bach started working in the State Attorney’s Office and in 1961, was appointed Deputy Attorney General. While working in the State Attorney's Office, he handled two major cases associated with the Holocaust, including the case of Adolf Eichmann, which became one of the most iconic legal cases in Israeli jurisprudence. Eichmann, a senior official in the Nazi regime, was prosecuted and convicted in Israel for his actions during the Holocaust, and subsequently executed. During the trial, Bach allowed dozens of Holocaust survivors to tell the horrors they went through. Through this Bach raised awareness of the magnitude of the crimes committed during the war and started the process whereby survivors of the Holocaust gave public voice for the first time of their experiences. Thereafter Bach was appointed as the State Attorney and later a Supreme Court Justice.

Justice Bach was founding Chair of the UCL Israel Alumni Association. Over the past 22 years, he shared his valuable time to connect our university’s community in Israel, supporting activities such as the Chevening-UCL Israel Alumni-Chaim Herzog Award and other events that fostered connections between UCL graduates and their shared alma mater.

Professor Piet Eeckhout, Dean of UCL Laws, said:

‘We were deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Justice Gabriel Bach, but also grateful for the immense contribution he made to the pursuit of justice and the protection of human rights. UCL Laws is incredibly proud of his achievements. They show that justice is able to catch up with acts of genocide and crimes against humanity. His passing coincides with a war in Europe that again crosses the boundaries of justice and civilisation. We will all bear Justice Bach’s legacy in mind in the act of, again, restoring justice on our continent.’

Zvi Geffen and Jennifer Janes, who founded the UCL Israel Alumni Association, said:

‘Justice Bach was Chair of the Association for 22 years, from its establishment until last year, when he decided it was time to retire. During that period, we established the Chevening - UCL Israel Alumni - Chaim Herzog Award, which has so far enabled 16 Israeli graduates to obtain Master’s degrees at UCL. We were honoured to be led by him, and were inspired by his enthusiasm and energy. He will be greatly missed.’

Ashly Eckerling, Leonard Sainer Scholar and LLM student at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, paid tribute to Gabriel: 

‘Bach gave great weight to human rights and justice during his professional career, representing the highest standards for a judge and a jurist. As a judge, Bach was known for his liberal and humane approach. Bach praised the right of freedom of expression in his decision not to ban interviews with supporters of the Palestine Liberation Organization but recognised that restrictions on the right of expression may be required to prevent incitement to racism. May his memory be a blessing.’

UCL Laws would like to extend our condolences to Gabriel’s family, friends and colleagues at this difficult time.

Image: Justice Bach pictured at the end of 2021 with a print of the UCL Portico. The print was sent by UCL as a gift to express appreciation of his contribution as Chair of the Israel Alumni Association throughout the years, which Jennifer and Zvi presented him with. The original watercolour was painted by Mark Cleary, President of the UCL Friends and Alumni Association in the USA.