JUSTICE - No. 65

42 No. 65 JUSTICE oseph Roubache passed away at the age of 85 in the middle of summer, 2020. I will leave it to others to elaborate his qualities as a lawyer at the Paris Court (since 1955), where he was Secretary of the Internship Conference and winner of a prize for eloquence. A specialist in real estate law and, for a time, a teacher at the University of Paris 2 and at the National Tax School, Joseph Roubache's qualities have been recognized by the French public authorities, who ordained him, in 2012, to the rank of Commander in the National Order of the Legion of Honor, which is charged with awarding the highest French order of merit. For my part, having had the joy and pleasure of being at his side for half a century, I would like to mention his contribution to the protection of the Jewish community persecuted during the Second World War. He himself suffered directly from discrimination against the Jews in Algeria, his native province. He also worked on behalf of the cause of the Jews of the Soviet Union. Praiseworthy above all are his contributions towards the promotion of the State of Israel in all its aspects. He did all this with the concern to act on the international level. Thus, as a lawyer, he defended victims of antisemitic manifestations, but above all, he was an effective supporter of various initiatives to defend human rights. I note that he discreetly and financially supported a study that succeeded in breaking the scandal of the boycott of Israel by a major French cosmetics company in the 1990s. This study was, above all, concerned to make the State of Israel better known, as well as to strengthen Israel’s defense in the face of the many attacks to which it was subjected. Along the same lines, in 1985, he initiated a major exhibition on the Dead Sea Scrolls. Above all, however, Joseph Roubache staunchly worked towards increasing supporters for the State of Israel amongst the entire legal community, and not only within the Jewish world. Thus, as early as 1967, with the help of Maurice Rolland, President of the criminal division of the Court of Cassation, he created the France-Israel Association of Jurists, which even started a magazine. Unfortunately, the magazine did not quite succeed. Subsequently, he established permanent links with the Council of Europe. At the end of the 1990s, he organized a trip to Israel for senior French magistrates. In 1970, he took the initiative to create, in collaboration with René Cassin, Nobel Peace Prize winner of 1968, the International Association of Jewish Jurists, the forerunner, as it were, of the present International Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists, of which Joseph Roubache naturally became President of the French branch until the early 2000s. Roubache was given a place of honor in the organization of the world Association. This was an opportunity for him to establish links with jurists from many countries, during trips that brought together dozens of French participants. I remember the many contacts I was able to make on that occasion with counterparts in Switzerland, Italy and Greece. I also remember our emotional trip to Poland, the day after the fall of the Berlin Wall, when we travelled to Auschwitz and to the ruins of the Sobibor camp. We must not forget, either, the participation of the French branch under the guidance of Joseph Roubache in the colloquia organized in Israel by the“headquarters.”These few words could only partially highlight the immense loss which the international community of Jewish jurists has suffered with the passing of Joseph Roubache. n David Ruzié is Professor Emeritus of Universities, Former Vice- President of the French branch of AIJJ (Association Internationale de Juri st es Juifs). J IN MEMORIAM ByDavidRuzié Joseph Roubache Photo: Omer Levy