David Libai

David Libai (; 22 October 1934 – 23 December 2023) was an Israeli jurist and politician. He was a member of the Knesset for Labor from 1984 to 1996 and served as minister of justice from 1992 to 1996.

Biography David Libai was born on 22 October 1934 in Tel Aviv. He attended Ironi Alef High School and studied law at the Hebrew University in the academic reserve program of the Israel Defense Forces. He received his MA from the Institute of Criminology and Criminal Law in Tel Aviv University (where he served as dean of students) and his PhD from University of Chicago Law School. He served as deputy chief military prosecutor and was discharged as a major.

Libai was married and was the father of Daniel and Daphne.

Political and public career Libai began his professional career in the office of Minister of Justice Pinchas Rosen, in charge of the amnesty department and as spokesman for the Ministry. In 1960 he was certified as a lawyer. He was appointed chief assistant to attorney-general Colin Gillon and chief prosecutor of the state workers' disciplinary court. He successfully convinced the Israeli Supreme Court that Sheinbein was entitled to the protections of Israeli citizenship and could thus not be extradited to the United States. After the Supreme Court's decision in February 1999, Libai stated, "Our Supreme Court once again proved that it is independent and did not yield to political pressure from the United States", before adding that Israel's extradition laws were flawed and should be amended.

In 2006, he represented former Comverse Technology CEO Kobi Alexander. He also represented former Israeli President Moshe Katsav against rape charges, but later resigned as his attorney, claiming he had taken the case only when he believed it was a blackmail attempt.

Awards and recognition Libai was the recipient of the Pinchas Rosen Award for his legal studies. In 2005, he received an ethics awards from Minister of Justice Tzipi Livni.