Rubinstein, Amnon (1931–)

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RUBINSTEIN, AMNON (1931–)

Israeli law professor and politician. Amnon Rubinstein was born in Tel Aviv and studied at the Hebrew University and the London School of Economics. In 1974 he founded the Shinui Party, a liberal, secular Zionist party that advocated electoral reform and the formulation of a written constitution. In 1992 Shinui joined MAPAM and the Citizens' Rights Party to form the Meretz Party, which won twelve seats in the Knesset. Rubinstein was a member of the Knesset from 1977 to 2002, serving on key committees, including foreign affairs and defense, economy, and ethics. In the National Unity government (1984–1988) he was minister of communications. From 1992 to 1996 he served as minister of education and culture and was responsible for the introduction of major legislation leading to educational reform. He retired from politics in 2002 to become dean of the law school of the Herzliya Interdisciplinary Centre.

SEE ALSO Knesset;MAPAM;Meretz Party;Shinui Party.

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