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= Israel (“Isie”) Maisels =

Israel Aaron (“Isie”) Maisels (15 November 1905 – 8 December 1994) was a South African born lawyer, judge of the High Court of Rhodesia and Judge President (Chief Justice) of Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland. He practiced law in South Africa from 1928 until his retirement in 1992 and was widely regarded as “pre-eminent among his generation of advocates” and “one of the country’s most formidable legal minds.” (1). In addition to a legal practice that covered almost every area of criminal and civil law, he is best known for his defense of those prosecuted for their political beliefs and “as a man whose life and interests reflected a deep concern for human rights and civil liberty.” (1). He was the leader of the defense team in the famous South African Treason Trial of 1956 to 1961 in which the accused, including Nelson Mandela, were all acquitted as well as numerous other cases in which he represented individuals adversely affected by the apartheid government’s oppressive legislation. (2,3) Contents Early Life and Education Legal Career Service to the Jewish Community Honors Tributes Personal Life References

Early life and education Maisels was born in November 1905 in Johannesburg, just 10 months after his parents were married there in January of that year. His father, Henry, had come with his siblings and parents in the 1890s from Pokroy, a small village in Lithuania and his mother from Lodz in Poland. He attended the Marist Brothers’ preparatory and high school and received his undergraduate and graduate degrees at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, graduating from the law school in 1927. Legal Career Following his graduation, he served in a firm of attorneys for two years as an “articled clerk” and was admitted to the Bar as an advocate of the Supreme Court of South Africa in 1930. In May 1940 he volunteered for the South African Armed Forces and was assigned to the Air Force Intelligence and dispatched to Nairobi, Kenya. He returned to South Africa in 1941 and was discharged from the Army with the rank of Major in October 1944. Prior to his discharge, he declined an offer of the position of Judge Advocate of the Armed Forces. (4) His law practice grew rapidly, and he was appointed a King’s Counsel (KC) in 1948 and Queen’s Counsel (QC) following the death of King George VI. He served as chairman of the Johannesburg Bar Council from 1952 -1960 and was vice-chairman and acting chairman of the General Council of the South African Bar from 1954 – 1960. In his position as leader of the Johannesburg Bar, he opposed several pieces of oppressive legislation enacted by the government, including the Suppression of Communism Act which led to the persecution and imprisonment of many, but his commercial practice flourished. In 1956, a Vickers Viscount airplane operated by the Central African Airways (CAA) disintegrated over Tanzania, killing all passengers and crew. Maisels represented the CAA and was able to demonstrate that the crash was the result of metal fatigue due to faulty material. Vickers Armstrong paid all of the damages claimed as well as the legal costs. (5) In 1960 David Pratt attempted to assassinate Hendrik Verwoerd, South Africa’s Prime Minister, who survived the attack. Maisels defended Pratt who was found guilty but insane and committed to a mental institution where he committed suicide one year later. (6) Maisels represented the Consolidated Diamond Mines of South West Africa (CDMSWA) in what came to be known as “the great Southwest African Diamond Case.” (7,8)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       The CDMSWA was owned by the Anglo-American Corporation of which Sir Ernest Oppenheimer was the chairman. The case involved an area of some 10,000 miles of the West Coast of South West Africa (now Namibia) and the question of the rights to prospect for diamonds between the high and low water marks along the beaches. In a case that lasted more than one year, Maisels was successful in securing the sole and exclusive rights for CDMSWA. Maisels is perhaps best known for his role as the leader of the defense team (that included Bram Fischer and Sydney Kentridge), in the South African Treason Trial in which 156 people of all races, including Chief Albert Luthuli, president of the African National Congress (ANC), Oliver Tambo, the ANC vice president and Nelson Mandela were arrested in December 1956 and charged with treason. (9)

Following a preparatory examination which ended in January 1958, the charges against Luthuli, who gave evidence as a witness in the trial (9,11,) and Tambo were withdrawn and 91 individuals, including Nelson Mandela, were committed for trial. The trial which attracted much international attention, was in two parts - the First and Second Indictment. The First Indictment commenced on 1 August 1958. The State’s case was cumbersome and vague and, on 13 October 1958, it was withdrawn by the State after being picked apart by Maisels and his team. The State rallied, however, and the same trial, this time with fewer defendants (but including Mandela), commenced in August 1959. Following the Preparatory Examination, when Maisels was approached by the accused to take charge of their defense, he insisted that the defense in this case be conducted strictly on legal, and not political, grounds. (12) Although the defendants initially opposed this, it subsequently was proven to be the appropriate strategy. This Second Indictment was more specific than the First and alleged that the defendants intended a violent overthrow of the Apartheid government. The trial finally ended in March 1961 with the acquittal of all the accused. During the trial, Maisels cross-examined professor Andrew Murray who was called by the Crown as an expert on communism. In the cross-examination, Maisels enumerated the multiple discriminatory laws that had been passed for decades against the non-whites of South Africa and became increasingly harsh and more pervasive following 1948 when the Nationalist Party government came to power. Following this exchange, Maisels was approached by Duma Nokwe, a black lawyer who had been one of the initial accused, but dismissed following the preparatory examination. He asked Maisels whether he had notes on his cross examination and, when asked why, he said “I would like to get those notes because I did not know things were quite so bad.” (13). Following the Treason Trial, Maisels moved to Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia (now Harare, Zimbabwe) in 1961 where he served as a judge of the high court. Soon after his arrival, however, Northern Rhodesia withdrew from the Rhodesian Federation, and the Southern Rhodesian government was replaced by a right-wing party which led to the passage of increasingly harsh legislation which Maisels could not condone. (14) He resigned his position in 1963 and returned to South Africa becoming an executive director of the OK Bazaars, the largest South African retail company of its time, where he worked for 7 years before returning to the Bar in 1970 where he rapidly resumed a busy practice. In 1966 he was appointed as a Justice of the Appeal Courts of the former British Protectorates, Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland. As these courts only sat for 2-3 months of the year, he continued his law practice at the Johannesburg Bar. He was subsequently appointed Judge President (Chief Justice) of all three countries and served until his retirement in 1987. In 1974 he represented the Rhodesian African National Congress in their talks with the then Rhodesian government at the Victoria Falls. In 1977 he served on a two-person commission of the Medical Association of South Africa to investigate the death in detention of Black consciousness leader Steve Biko. Service to the Jewish Community Maisels was an observant Jew and deeply involved in Jewish and Zionist causes for his entire life. (15) He served as the president the United Hebrew Congregation and president of the South African Jewish Board of Deputies, the South African Zionist Federation and the Israel United Appeal. He was a member of the Board of Governors of Israel’s Jewish Agency for 10 years and a Trustee of the Weizmann Institute. Israeli Prime Ministers whom he hosted, or who enjoyed the hospitality of his home, included Menachem Begin (at the time a member of Israel’s opposition party), Moshe Sharett, Yitzchak Rabin and Ben Gurion (following his retirement).

Honors 1978 Honorary Doctor of Laws, University of the Witwatersrand 1984 Commander of the Order of Mohlomi, by King Moshoeshoe ll, Kingdom of Lesotho 1990 Presidential Order of Honour, Republic of Botswana 1999 “They Shaped our Century. The Most Influential South Africans of the 20th century. Human and Rousseau, Cape Town 2003, pp472-476 2003 “Maisels Chambers” an office building for Johannesburg barristers, built and named for Isie Maisels and opened by President Mandela in 2003.

Tributes Maisels was recognized nationally and internationally as “a legal giant,” (17) “probably the most brilliant advocate in history never to have been elevated” to chief justice of the South African Supreme Court (18) and for “his deep concern for human rights and civil liberty.” (1) The accused in the Treason Trial, after learning that Maisels had accepted an appointment as a judge of the Rhodesian High Court, wrote a letter on February 22, 1961 which was handed to him in court. (19)	“We, the accused in a treason trial, want to express our congratulations on the high honour which has been conferred upon you in your appointment as a Judge of the High Court in Rhodesia, an honour which should have been conferred on you long ago in your own country. It is indeed a further measure of South Africa’s shameful discrimination against all who oppose the vicious policies of the present government that this recognition of your unsurpassed contribution to our system of law should have to be made by another country. … We have been proud to have been defended by you, not only because we know that in you we had the best defense that this land could supply, but we have been proud because we know of the magnificent legal battles that you have fought to preserve the rule of law, to prevent it from being whittled away by the unscrupulous machinations of the government…We are proud of you and we shall wait for you one day to come back to South Africa which will honor you as you should be honoured.” (19) Nelson Mandela paid tribute to Maisels on several occasions. On Isie’s 80th birthday, Mandela, who was still a prisoner in the Pollsmoor Maximum Prison following his release from Robben Island, wrote Isie a personal congratulatory letter (in his own hand) (20). When Isie retired, President Mandela wrote thanking him for his many contributions and his defense in the Treason Trial (21) and, following Maisels’ death, the President said “ We fondly remember Advocate Maisels as an energetic and brilliant lawyer between 1958 and 1961 in the so-called treason trial, and as a person of profound knowledge with whom we consulted on a variety of issues, especially after our release from prison in 1990” (22) “Democrats in South Africa and Southern Africa shall sorely miss this outstanding son of our people. Our nation is the poorer without him.” (23) F.W. De Klerk, State President of South Africa 1989-1994, wrote on the occasion of Maisels’ 87th birthday and retirement from his legal practice. “It is a singular pleasure to be able to congratulate Adv I A Maisels QC on his 87th birthday which coincides with his retirement from an illustrious legal career spanning half a century. ……….. He is a shining example of a country’s proud traditions and legal eminence.” (24) Sydney Kentridge, in his foreword to Maisels’ autobiography, lists South African “great advocates” and writes “Isie Maisels is among these greats and, I suspect, as an all-around advocate the greatest of them all” He goes on to say “All in all I have never seen Isie’s equal as a cross examiner in any jurisdiction in which I have practiced (25) Chief Albert Luthuli, President of the ANC (1952) and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate in 1960 was one of the original accused in the treason trial but was released and subsequently testified as a witness for the defense. On Nov 15, 1960, during the treason trial, he wrote to Maisels saying: “I wish to merely express my deepest appreciation and admiration for the way you and your team have given yourself to this case and handling it most masterly and devotedly. ……. African opinion will always hold you in high esteem and feel indebted to you for your magnificent performance…… What would have happened to us without you!” (26) Mangosuthu Buthelezi, Chief Minister of Kwazulu and President of the Inkatha Freedom Party wrote to Maisels on his retirement. “in the final analysis it is not just brilliance of the trial lawyer; the meticulous attention to detail; the capacity for research or hard work that we honour, but the high code and ultimately the true purpose of law - a keen sense and feel for liberty and justice for all men regardless of their position in society. We salute a great son of South Africa, a true liberal humanist, and a champion of the down-trodden in every sense of those words.” (27) Ahmed Kathrada, one of the accused in the treason trial and subsequently a member of parliament and Parliamentary Counselor in the office of the President, wrote upon Maisels’ death. “Together with President Mandela, Walter Sisulu, Helen Joseph and others, I was among the 30 Treason Trial accused who were privileged to be defended by Mr. Maisels… By this time, he was already a legend, not only among the legal fraternity, but among all South Africans who were involved in the struggle for justice… We will always remember him as a brilliant and fearless upholder of justice, and a highly principled man who throughout his career refused to compromise his beliefs and values for the sake of self-aggrandisement. Isie Maisels was a giant, upright man, who would not bend to the whims and vindictiveness of petty tyrants.” (28)

Personal Life In 1934 he married Muriel Freed (1912 – 1997). Like Isie, she had a life-long commitment to Israel and the South African Jewish community and served as President of the Women’s Zionist Organization of South Africa. They had 4 children and 5 grandchildren.

Notes and references 1.	McNeill, Richard. “The great champion before whom even the mighty have blanched” Sunday Times, December 11, 1994 2.	Maisels, Keith DH. Isie Maisels in “They Shaped our Century, the Most Influential South Africans of the 20th century” Human & Rousseau, Cape Town,1999) 3.	Maisels IA. A Life at Law, The Memoirs of IA Maisels, QC Jonathan Ball Publishers, Johannesburg 1998 4.	Maisels 1998, p. 56 5.	Maisels 1998, p. 86-91 6.	David Pratt South African History      online.https://www.sahistory.org.za/people/david-beresford-pratt Retrieved July 23, 2018. 7.	Hahlo H “The Great Southwest African Diamond Case: a discourse,” South African Law Journal 1959; vol 76: p151-186 and 1958 (1) South African Law Reports 572 - 574). 8.	Maisels 1998, p.108-124 9.	Maisels 1998, pp 129-216

10.	 Maisels 1988, p181 11.	 Joseph 1963, p 12 12.	 Maisels 1998, pp 74-75 13.	 Maisels 1998, pp 235-236 14.	 Maisels 1998, pp 280-306 15.	 Joseph 1963 pp184-185 16.	 The Citizen, December 9, 1994 17.	 McNeill R “The best Chief Justice we never had” Sunday Times November 15, 1992 18.	 Joseph 1998, pp184-185 19.	 Mandela, Nelson November 26, 1985, Letter to IA Maisels from Pollsmoor Prison, Tokai 20.	 Mandela, 1992, letter to Schalk Burger S.C., Chairman Johannesburg Bar Council 21.	 Mandela 1994, “Mandela pays tribute to brilliant lawyer”. The Citizen, Dec 10, 1994 22.	 Mandela, 9 Dec 1994, Issued by The Office of the President 23.	 Letter from the State President, FW De Klerk Nov 19, 1992 24.	 Maisels 1998, pp vii-viii 25.	 Luthuli A, Nov 15, 1960, letter to IA Maisels 26.	Buthelezi M, 10 November 1992, Tribute to IA Maisels on his retirement. 27.	Kathrada A 1984, letter to Maisels family on death of IA Maisels

Legend End of the Treason Trial 29 March 1961. Isie is carried by the accused and colleagues. Note that Isie emerged from the Non-European (Nie Blankes = non-white) entrance. (The Star, Friday December 9, 1994. And Maisels IA p 116D Picture Alf Kumalo). Israel Aaron Maisels QC Born 			15 November 1905 Johannesburg, South Africa Alma mater		University of the Witwatersrand (graduated 1927) Occupation		Barrister, judge and Community leader Years active		1928 – 1992 Known for 		Apartheid era political and civil rights trials Spouse			Muriel Maisels (nee Freed, m. 1934) Children			4