Amnon Rubinstein – prominent jurist, Israel Prize recipient, and former minister, has passed away at 92.
Rubinstein was born to a family of contractors. After serving in the military, he studied law at Hebrew University, received his law license, and continued on to get a doctorate at the London School of economics. He interned at the State Attorney’s Office and later Justice Minister Haim Tzadok.
After the Yom Kippur War, he founded the Shinui political movement and joined Yigal Yadin’s centrist and reformist Dash party, which won 15 seats in the 1977 elections. He refused to enter the subsequent government led by Menachem Begin, splitting the party and remaining the head of the Shinui party which was part of the left bloc for years.
During the Shamir-Peres unity government, he was appointed Communications Minister. In the 92 elections, he joined the Mapam and Ratz Parties to form Meretz, which won 12 seats. Rubinstein was made Minister of Science and Energy, and after the resignation of fellow Meretz member Shulamit Aloni, he was made Education Minister.
In each of these ministerial positions, he initiated things such as the Electricity Law, the cable TV revolution, and changes in the high school matriculation exam system.
During the 1996 elections, he was appointed Chairman of the Knesset Economic Affairs Committee. After the 1999 elections, he was appointed Chairman of the Knesset Constitution Committee. After the 2001 elections, he was made Chairman of the State Control Committee.
He is most remembered among the general public when then-Knesset Chairman Avrum Burg received an erroneous statement announcing his death. Burg eulogized him and even said kadish in his memory, when it turned out he was alive and well. Burg later stated that “MK Amnon Rubinstein, to our joy, is alive.”
At the end of 2002, Rubinstein resigned from political life and went back into politics. For his studies in law and especially constitutional law, he received the Israel Prize of 2006.