‘Bennett and Shaked are a disaster,’ says Nobel laureate Robert Aumann

“I am definitely against a situation in which a government is dependent on the vote of [Mansour] Abbas,” said Professor Aumann.

By Lauren Marcus, World Israel News

Professor Israel (Robert) Aumann, winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics, slammed Yemina party head Naftali Bennett and his number two, Ayelet Shaked, for announcing their intention to create a unity government coalition.

Aumann, 90, is an observant Jew and professor at the Center for the Study of Rationality of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. A staunch advocate for the Israeli right, he had previously recorded a video in which he endorsed the Yemina party.

“Bennett and Shaked’s move is a disaster,” he told Channel 20 in a Sunday night interview.

“I am disappointed about what happened, that they’re intending to create a…government that contains elements like Meretz and what’s left of the Labor party…and Ra’am. It’s not good.

“I am definitely against a situation in which a government is dependent on the vote of [Ra’am party head] Abbas, and that’s the current situation…the government we’re talking about now can’t be supported from outside by Abbas…there is a need for him to actively vote.”

Calling the coalition a “distortion of democracy,” Aumann pointed out that the majority of Israelis voted for right-wing parties.

“The ‘just not Bibi’ camp won,” he said. “We don’t want fifth, sixth, seventh elections – it’s just not possible.”

Aumann said he believes Netanyahu should have stepped aside in order to allow the formation of a right-wing government headed by a different member of the Likud party.

Because Netanyahu remained in place and right-wing parties like New Hope and Yisrael Beitenu had pledged not to join a government with him, he made the formation of a right-wing government impossible, Aumann said.

“I already wrote [articles] saying that Netanyahu has to leave the stage and let other right-wingers take the reins…He did many great things…but he needed to make a right-wing government possible, and that could only happen by him [leaving.]”

Aumann praised New Hope head Gideon Sa’ar for refusing to cooperate with Netanyahu even after he was offered a last-minute rotation agreement.

“Sa’ar promised he wouldn’t enter a government under Netanyahu, and it seems like unlike most politicians, he actually stands behind his words,” Aumann said.

“I don’t agree with what he did, but I respect the fact that he stands behind what he says.”

Speaking about widespread Arab rioting throughout Israel, Aumann said, “What happened in Lod, Acre, and Haifa, is horrible…we’re not in 1929 Hebron…this is the State of Israel, and the police stood on the side and did nothing.

“The reason for that is because they’re scared to act…a police officer who shoots gets charged, his life is ruined…we see what’s happening in the justice system.”

He said Israel needs judicial reform but knows “that won’t come from a left-wing government.”

2021 Israel electionsIsraeli politicsRa'am partyunity governmentYemina