Joseph-Michael Lamm

Joseph-Michael Lamm was born in 1899 in Galicia

Lamm was born in 1899 in Galicia, then part of Austria, to a wealthy family. His parents, Sarah and Shimon, were active in public life. He later moved with his family to Vienna.

In Vienna he studied international trade and earned a doctorate in law from the University of Vienna in 1924. As a student he joined Tzeiri Zion and later Poalei Zion. He then trained and worked as a lawyer.

After Austria was annexed to Nazi Germany in 1938, he was held in the Dachau concentration camp. After his release he immigrated to the Land of Israel in 1939. In 1942 and 1943 he volunteered in the Palestine Volunteer Force.

He helped found New Working Immigration in 1944 and sat on the Assembly of Representatives. He became a magistrate judge in Tel Aviv in 1948 and was elected to the first Knesset for Mapai in 1949. In 1951 he resigned and became a judge of the Tel Aviv District Court, where he served until 1969.

He headed the Israel Football Association from 1955 to 1959 and chaired the Israeli Consumer Council from 1970 to 1974. He also led B'nai B'rith and the Freemasons in Israel. He died in 1976 and was buried in Nahalat Yitzhak Cemetery.