Professor Robert Israel Aumann is a mathematician who received the 2005 Nobel Prize in Economics for his work on game theory. In supporting the current government’s efforts toward judicial reform, he refers to the judicial revolution implemented by former Chief Justice Aharon Barak three decades ago, which greatly expanded the powers of the Supreme Court.

“The current effort is intended to restore the situation to what it was before Barak’s revolution, when he greatly expanded powers in many ways,” Aumann explained. “Barak introduced the concept of ‘reasonableness,’ which states that if the Supreme Court finds a government action or Knesset law unreasonable, it can simply say that it is unreasonable and therefore reverse it.” Aumann noted that Barak once told Yoni Kempinski, editor of Israel National News, that the Supreme Court justices are like the sages who wrote the Talmud. Barak believes they are both legislators and judges.

“Indeed, he is right that our Talmudic sages were both legislators and judges, but the thing is, here in Israel we don’t have theocracy, we don’t have the kind of government that existed in Talmudic times. We have a democracy, and in a democracy it is the elected officials who make the laws, and the judges who administer those laws,” stressed the Nobel laureate.

As protesters warn of a “dictatorship,” Aumann insists the situation is exactly the opposite. “Proponents of judicial reform say, ‘We’re done with the judiciary interfering in contentious, ideological issues,'” said the professor. “The Supreme Court should not rule on ideological issues. The Supreme Court is there to judge according to the law.”

Meeting with Israeli academics who have won a Nobel Prize in the last decade. The other three Nobel laureates are all against the judicial reform. Photo: Gil Yohanan/FLASH90

Aumann also downplayed claims by senior Treasury officials that the legal reforms will hurt the economy, saying their public predictions of Israel’s economic demise, rather than the reform itself, are more likely to provoke public concern that will lead to a downturn in the economy becomes. “The discussion in Israel is unique because nobody talks about the actual content of the judicial reform, about the legislation,” said Aumann. He wonders why the people who claim the economy is being hurt never address specific reforms that they claim are hurting the country financially.

“In the short term, the economy will suffer, but that is not due to judicial reform. It’s because people are saying the economy is going to suffer and the economy is very vulnerable. When people have to look to the future to decide whether to invest, and when economists are predicting a downturn in the economy, people will not invest. It’s not because of the reform, it’s because of what they hear from economists,” he pointed out, adding that the economists’ dire predictions are “irresponsible and unfounded.”

“They are irresponsible because the prediction will lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy, and it may actually happen. But I think smart investors will wait until they think the economy has bottomed and then they will invest, and there will be another big boom in Israel’s economy because the prophecies are completely unfounded and the economy itself is resilient . If the reform has an impact on the economy, it will be positive, because the Supreme Court is very activist,” Aumann added. He noted that the Supreme Court over the years has contested and overturned not only Knesset legislation and government decisions, but also private contracts.

Aumann predicts that once the judicial reforms are passed, the economy will experience a period of growth. “I’ve been saying this for years: an activist court system, an activist judiciary, is bad for the economy. I think people will see that the economy has not been damaged and they will invest again and there will be a big recovery.”

You Might Also Like

Republican Party, or Jewish Heritage – What’s Guiding Israel’s Judicial Reform?

Netanyahu: IDF Refusals the Real Threat to Democracy

Supreme Court-Knesset showdown as justices put Basic Law in crosshairs

The coalition and the opposition both have to lose in order to save the nation

Can Israelis be trusted with democracy?

Why there will be no civil war in Israel

President Herzog issues Tisha B’Av plea to Israelis: Tone down the protests!

Israel’s military intelligence warns Benjamin Netanyahu

How good are US-Israel relations?

Israel’s Reformers Look to US as Model for Selecting Judges

A ‘Resistance’ Coup Just Defeated Israeli Democracy

Tachles with Aviel – Everyone thinks they are doing the nation a favor

President Herzog Says Israel Needs Judicial Reform

Professors Condemn Anti-Reform ‘Revolutionaries’ for Rending Israel’s Social Fabric

Supreme Court’s power waxing as judicial reform falters

Rabbi harassed on Tel Aviv streets; Barak: “There will be blood”

Violence in the Name of Democracy?

‘March of the Million’ Shatters Opposition Claim Nation Opposes Judicial Reform

Israeli FM Slams Kamala Harris: “She Can’t Name Even One Thing”

Will Netanyahu Resume a Judicial Reform That’s Tearing Israel Apart?

Are the Protests Against Judicial Reform Escalating in Israel?

‘Don’t trample our vote’: Reform supporters rally outside Supreme Court

Tachles with Aviel – Everyone wants to be right, but nobody seeks justice

Day of high drama in the Knesset

What Is the Kohelet Forum, the Organization Behind Israel’s Judicial Reform?

The day after

“Bibi, Don’t Be Afraid of the Left!”

Upside down: Judicial reform supporters gather in Tel Aviv, opponents in Jerusalem

Knesset Advances Bill to Nix ‘Reasonableness’ Standard

Paradox of Laws & Outlaws, and a Prophesied Solution

Security group to IDF: Take tougher stand against refusal to serve

One of Israel’s darkest nights, but the testing has just begun

My neighbor, the Minister of Justice

How the West misperceives Israel’s judicial reform

Where does Netanyahu really stand on judicial reform?

‘Barak detailed plans to bring down government three years ago’

Genuine crisis, or media hype? Is Israel’s military unfit for action?

Even in the Bible, Reform-Minded Israeli Leaders Were Unpopular

ANALYSIS: The Iranian resistance axis and the unrest in Israel

Protest Movement Fails Netanyahu’s ‘Reasonableness’ Test

Typically Thought a ‘Silent Majority,’ Government Supporters Rally in Tel Aviv

A little perspective, please: Israel did not cancel judicial review

NYT admits the problem isn’t Israel’s judicial reform, it’s who’s doing it

Tachles with Aviel – Conscription or judicial reform?

“Jewish and Racist”: Anti-Government Protests Shift Focus to “Occupation”

The other side of the reform struggle that nobody reports on

S&P Maintains Israel’s High Credit Rating

Netanyahu assures Americans that Israel is still a democracy

Estimated 600,000 Supporters of Judicial Reform Gather Outside Knesset

Modiin Is No Longer a Bedroom Community

What Orthodox Jews Think of the Controversial Supreme Court Reforms

Netanyahu, Levin reportedly seeking to halt judicial reform

Tachles With Aviel – Hear Your Neighbor as Yourself

The Struggle for Judicial Reform in Israel Continues

Protests in Jerusalem ahead of final votes on ‘reasonableness’ bill

Load more