Leah Levin

Leah Levin
Born
Sarah Leah Kacev

(1926-04-01)1 April 1926
Mažeikiai, Lithuania
Died25 May 2024(2024-05-25) (aged 98)
Alma materUniversity of Cape Town
University of Zimbabwe
OccupationHuman rights activist
Children3

Leah Levin OBE (1 April 1926 – 25 May 2024) was a Lithuanian-born British human rights activist.

Biography

Levin was born Sarah Leah Kacev on 1 April 1926 in Lithuania and grew up as Leah Katzeff in Piketberg, South Africa.[1]

Levin attended University of Cape Town and the University of Zimbabwe. Levin was director of the Justice organisation from 1982 to 1992.[2] Under her tenure the organisation helped to free the Birmingham Six.[3]

She was an honorary graduate at the University of Essex.[4] She was the author of UNESCO's Human Rights: Questions and Answers, which is one of the world's most widely disseminated books on human rights.[5][6][7]

Personal life

Her sons Jeremy Levin and David Levin are businessmen.

References

  1. ^ "The Times". Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards. Archived from the original on 5 January 2025. Retrieved 5 January 2025.
  2. ^ Obituaries, Telegraph (24 June 2024). "Leah Levin, leading campaigner on human rights – obituary". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 5 January 2025.
  3. ^ "Leah Levin obituary". www.thetimes.com. 20 June 2024. Retrieved 5 January 2025.
  4. ^ "Honorary Graduates – Honorary Graduates – University of Essex". www.essex.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 16 July 2019. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
  5. ^ Says, Tineke Van Roozendaal (7 June 2024). "Obituary of Leah Levin: 1926 – 2024". Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards. Retrieved 5 January 2025.
  6. ^ Murphy, Brian (26 June 2024). "Leah Levin, international human rights advocate, dies at 98". Washington Post.
  7. ^ Tessler, Gloria (25 October 2024). "Leah Levin: Lifelong campaigner for international human rights and legal reform". The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 2 December 2025 – via PressReader.