Amnon Rubinstein ( he, אמנון רובינשטיין, born 5 September 1931) is an Israeli legal scholar, politician, and columnist. A member of the

Knesset The Knesset ( he, הַכְּנֶסֶת ; "gathering" or "assembly") is the unicameral legislature of Israel. As the supreme state body, the Knesset is sovereign and thus has complete control of the entirety of the Israeli government (with ...

between 1977 and 2002, he served in several ministerial positions. He is currently dean of the

Interdisciplinary Center Reichman University ( he, אוניברסיטת רייכמן) is Israel's only private university, located in Herzliya, Tel Aviv District. It was founded in 1994 as the IDC Herzliya private college, before being rebranded in 2021. It receives no ...

(IDC) in

Herzliya Herzliya ( ; he, הֶרְצְלִיָּה ; ar, هرتسليا, Hirtsiliyā) is an affluent city in the central coast of Israel, at the northern part of the Tel Aviv District, known for its robust start-up and entrepreneurial culture. In it h ...

and a patron of

Liberal International Liberal International (LI) is a worldwide organization of liberal political parties - a political international. It was founded in Oxford in 1947 and has become the pre-eminent network for liberal parties, aiming to strengthen liberalism around ...

Early life

Rubinstein was born in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

during the Mandate era. His family belonged to the

Revisionist Zionist Revisionist Zionism is an ideology developed by Ze'ev Jabotinsky, who advocated a "revision" of the "practical Zionism" of David Ben-Gurion and Chaim Weizmann which was focused on the settling of ''Eretz Yisrael'' ( Land of Israel) by independent ...

movement. Rubinstein would later split from Revisionism but remain impacted by the

classical liberalism Classical liberalism is a political tradition Political culture describes how culture impacts politics. Every political system is embedded in a particular political culture. Definition Gabriel Almond defines it as "the particular patt ...

that influenced Revisionist founder

Ze'ev Jabotinsky Ze'ev Jabotinsky ( he, זְאֵב זַ׳בּוֹטִינְסְקִי, ''Ze'ev Zhabotinski'';, ''Wolf Zhabotinski'' 17 October 1880 – 3 August 1940), born Vladimir Yevgenyevich Zhabotinsky, was a Russian Jewish Revisionist Zionist leade ...

. Sheffer, Gab
A good old-fashioned liberal
''Haaretz'', 4 January 2002 After serving as a captain in the IDF, he studied

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...

, international relations, and law at the

Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Dr. Chaim Weiz ...

and was called to the bar in 1963. He received a PhD in law from the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

in 1966. Between 1961 and 1975 he worked as a professor of law at

Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) ( he, אוּנִיבֶרְסִיטַת תֵּל אָבִיב, ''Universitat Tel Aviv'') is a public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Locate ...

, serving as faculty dean from 1968 until 1973.

Political career

Rubinstein's political career began when he founded

Shinui Shinui ( he, שִׁינּוּי, lit. ''Change'') was a Zionist, secular, and anti-clerical free market liberal party and political movement in Israel. The party twice became the third-largest in the Knesset, but both occasions were followed by a ...

after the

Yom Kippur War The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was an armed conflict fought from October 6 to 25, 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Egy ...

. Shinui joined

Yigael Yadin Yigael Yadin ( he, יִגָּאֵל יָדִין ) (20 March 1917 – 28 June 1984) was an Israeli archeologist, soldier and politician. He was the second Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces and Deputy Prime Minister from 1977 to 1981. B ...

Democratic Movement A democracy is a political system, or a system of decision-making within an institution or organization or a country, in which all members have an equal share of power. Modern democracies are characterized by two capabilities that differentiate ...

to form

Dash The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...

. In the 1977 elections, Dash won 15 seats in the

. Dash's victory came at the expense of the

Alignment Alignment may refer to: Archaeology * Alignment (archaeology), a co-linear arrangement of features or structures with external landmarks * Stone alignment, a linear arrangement of upright, parallel megalithic standing stones Biology * Structu ...

; for the first time in the 29 years since the founding of the modern state of Israel, the right wing formed the government. However, Rubinstein opposed Dash's participation in

Menachem Begin Menachem Begin ( ''Menaḥem Begin'' (); pl, Menachem Begin (Polish documents, 1931–1937); ''Menakhem Volfovich Begin''; 16 August 1913 – 9 March 1992) was an Israeli politician, founder of Likud and the sixth Prime Minister of Israel. B ...

Likud Likud ( he, הַלִּיכּוּד, HaLikud, The Consolidation), officially known as Likud – National Liberal Movement, is a major centre-right to right-wing political party in Israel. It was founded in 1973 by Menachem Begin and Ariel Sharon ...

government

coalition A coalition is a group formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political or economical spaces. Formation According to ''A Gui ...

, and Shinui broke away from Dash. Rubinstein retained his seat in the 1981 elections, though Shinui was reduced to two seats. After winning three seats in the 1984 elections Shinui were invited into the governing coalition, and Rubinstein was appointed Minister of Communications. Rubinstein was re-elected again in 1988, but Shinui were left out of the government. Prior to the 1992 elections

merged with

Shulamit Aloni Shulamit Aloni ( he, שולמית אלוני; 29 December 1928 – 24 January 2014) was an Israeli politician. She founded the Ratz party, was leader of the Meretz party, Leader of the Opposition from 1988 to 1990, and served as Minister of Ed ...

's Ratz and

Zionist Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after ''Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Je ...

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

Mapam Mapam ( he, מַפָּ״ם, an acronym for , ) was a left-wing political party in Israel. The party is one of the ancestors of the modern-day Meretz party. History Mapam was formed by a January 1948 merger of the kibbutz-based Hashomer Hatz ...

to form Meretz, a

dovish Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaign ...

, social-democratic

liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

party. Meretz joined

Yitzhak Rabin Yitzhak Rabin (; he, יִצְחָק רַבִּין, ; 1 March 1922 – 4 November 1995) was an Israeli politician, statesman and general. He was the fifth Prime Minister of Israel, serving two terms in office, 1974–77, and from 1992 until h ...

's government in 1992, and Rubinstein was chosen as Minister of Energy and Infrastructure. However, early into his term he became Minister of Education instead, replacing

. As a legislator Rubinstein initiated and legislated the two basic laws that guarantee human rights in Israel ( Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty, Basic Law: Freedom of Occupation). As an Education Minister, Rubinstein lowered the bar for high school graduates to enter higher education and developed a system whereby high school students would be required to take fewer

matriculation Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term "matriculation" is seldom used now ...

exams: the subjects for the exams would be chosen each year by lottery. He also spoke out against the

standardized tests A standardized test is a test that is administered and scored in a consistent, or "standard", manner. Standardized tests are designed in such a way that the questions and interpretations are consistent and are administered and scored in a predete ...

which are required of Israeli university applicants (roughly equivalent to the

SAT The SAT ( ) is a standardized test widely used for college admissions in the United States. Since its debut in 1926, its name and scoring have changed several times; originally called the Scholastic Aptitude Test, it was later called the Schol ...

exams), claiming that if he had been required to pass these exams, he would not have been accepted to Law school. Following

's victory in the 1996 elections, Rubinstein and Meretz left the government. He was re-elected for a final time in 1999, and resigned from the Knesset at the end of October 2002. Rubinstein lived to hear his own obituary read in 2000, when due to a practical joke, Knesset speaker

Avraham Burg Avraham "Avrum" Burg ( he, אברהם בורג; born 19 January 1955) is an Israeli author, politician and businessman. He was a member of the Knesset, chairman of the Jewish Agency for Israel, Speaker of the Knesset, and Interim President of I ...

was led to believe that he had died. Rubinstein, who was hospitalized at the time for a minor complaint, saw his eulogy broadcast on television.

Academics and journalism

After retiring from politics Rubinstein returned to academia. He regularly writes opinion pieces for

Israeli newspapers This list of newspapers in Israel is a list of newspapers printed and distributed in the State of Israel. Most are published in Hebrew, but there are also newspapers catering to Arabic speakers, and newspapers catering to immigrants speaking a v ...

. Rubinstein's scholarship is highly respected. His articles and books in the sphere of law in general, and especially Israeli law, have enjoyed wide acclaim. His collection ''A Single Voice'' (2002) outlined his "moderate, humanistic liberalism", according to a review in ''

Haaretz ''Haaretz'' ( , originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , ) is an Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel, and is now published in both Hebrew and English in the Berliner f ...

''.

Awards

In 2006, Rubinstein won the

Israel Prize The Israel Prize ( he, פרס ישראל; ''pras israél'') is an award bestowed by the State of Israel, and regarded as the state's highest cultural honor. History The Israel Prize is awarded annually, on Israeli Independence Day, in a state cer ...

, for law. The Israel Prize award committee provided the following endorsement for its decision: Amnon Rubinstein is "the founding father of Israeli constitutional law. In both his profound academic writings and his diverse public activities, he advances the values of democracy, equality and human rights. In the legal and public arena in Israel, there are few who can equal Prof. Amnon Rubinstein’s contribution to the State of Israel, as a public figure, a member of the legislative and executive branches of government, and as a brilliant researcher and legal expert."

Published works

*'' Israel and the Family of Nations: The Jewish Nation State and Human Rights'', 2008 *''The Constitutional Law of the State of Israel'' *''Upholding morality'' *''From Herzl to Rabin: The Changing Image of Zionism'' *''Daat Yachid' *''Jurisdiction and Illegality: A Study in Public Law'' *''Absence of Government: How to Mend Israel's Broken System'' *''Academic Flaws – Freedom and Responsibility in Israeli Higher Education'' *''The Blanket'' *''Route no. 5'' *''The Sea Above Us'' *''The Black Sun : Kotarim International Publishing''
"The Curious Case of Jewish Democracy"
Azure: Ideas for the Jewish Nation 41 (Summer 2010)

References

External links

Official website
*
The right to democracyFathom: For a deeper understanding of Israel and the region
30 January 2013

* ttps://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/rubinstein.html Amnon Rubinstein at Jewish Virtual Library {{DEFAULTSORT:Rubinstein, Amnon 1931 births Scholars of constitutional law Living people Israeli educators Israeli Jews Israeli legal scholars Israel Prize in law recipients Alumni of the London School of Economics People from Tel Aviv Scholars of antisemitism Tel Aviv University faculty Reichman University faculty Shinui leaders Democratic Movement for Change politicians Meretz politicians Ministers of Education of Israel Members of the 9th Knesset (1977–1981) Members of the 10th Knesset (1981–1984) Members of the 11th Knesset (1984–1988) Members of the 12th Knesset (1988–1992) Members of the 13th Knesset (1992–1996) Members of the 14th Knesset (1996–1999) Members of the 15th Knesset (1999–2003) Ministers of Communications of Israel Deans of law schools in Israel