Aliza Goldman, a Holocaust survivor and translator who assisted in the translation of the highly publicized trial of Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann, passed away on Tuesday at the age of 94.
Goldman also did translation work on other major events, such as the trial of Nazi collaborator John Demjanjuk, the peace treaty between Israel and Jordan, and the state inquiry into the assassination of former prime minister Yitzhak Rabin.
Goldman was born and raised in Serbia and immigrated to Israel in 1950. She and her husband Yochanan established together Hever Translations in 1958 — the first translation agency in Israel. The couple was requested to record, transcript, and translate the Eichmann trial into several languages.
The Goldmans then continued to work on many other similar projects in a wide array of fields, including meetings of the Israeli Cabinet.
When the Agranat Commission was established in 1973 to investigate the failings of the IDF in the prelude to the Yom Kippur War, the couple was again hired to record and transcribe some of the discussions. They later did the same for the peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan.
When the couple was chosen to work for the documentation of the state inquiry into the 1995 assassination of former prime minister Yitzhak Rabin, their company was granted the highest security clearing approvals due to the sensitivity of the case.
The Goldmans' translation agency was also chosen to accompany Pope Benedict XVI on his visit to Israel in 2009, as well as then-U.S. president Barack Obama in 2013. In 2021, the agency was hired to provide recording and transcription services to the state inquiry into the Mount Meron stampede.
Uri Goldman, Aliza’s grandson, said that as a Holocaust survivor herself, she was overwhelmed by Eichmann's harrowing accounts but managed to soldier through nonetheless. The highly publicized trial subsequently attracted more job offers for the firm.
“She transcribed all of the government’s Cabinet meetings and knew prime ministers personally. She told me once that she forgot to record a part of a meeting held by Moshe Sharet and felt bad about it, so she summarized the entire meeting. They later thanked her for her professionalism.”
“She wasn’t only a grandmother, everybody loved her,” Uri said. “She was always optimistic and caring and would bring cake to the cleaning staff. She knew personally every employee in the company and continued working until 2020. I had the privilege of living and working with her for the past five years.”