Lansky, Meyer

(b. 1902)

   US alleged gangster. After an alleged association with American gambling syndicates over a long period, Lansky took up residence in Israel in 1970, at a time when he faced criminal charges in the United States. His application to remain permanently in Israel under the Law of Return was rejected by the minister of the interior. The Law of Return, 1950, laid down the fundamental principle that every Jew had a right to settle in Israel. However, the minister was authorized by the law to refuse an immigrant’s visa on several grounds, one of them being that the applicant had a criminal past likely to endanger the public welfare. Acting on this provision, the minister rejected Lansky’s application. The Supreme Court upheld his decision and in a lengthy judgement laid down that the phrase ‘criminal past’ was not confined to actual convictions, but could take account of other factors, such as investigation by a Congressional Committee. As Lansky’s American passport had been withdrawn, he was issued with a laissez passer, a travel document which would allow him to leave Israel for any country that would admit him. In November 1972, he left for South America, and, unable to find a country that would accept him, returned to Miami where he was arrested by the FBI.