Rubinstein, Elyakim (Eli)

(1947- )

   One of Israel's most experienced public servants. Born in Tel Aviv, he graduated as a lawyer from Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and he served in the legal department and as deputy legal adviser in the Ministry of Defense from 1973 to 1977. From 1977 to 1981, he served as senior adviser to Foreign Minister Moshe Dayan. He was involved in the Camp David negotiations with Egypt, and from 1981 to 1985, he served as the Foreign Ministry's legal adviser. In 1986, he served briefly as political counselor at the Israeli embassy in Washington, DC. In November 1986, Rubinstein became secretary of the cabinet, a position he held for 7 years, serving under Likud prime minister Yitzhak Shamir and Labor prime ministers Shimon Peres and Yitzhak Rabin. In 1991, he was appointed by Shamir to head the early Washington rounds of negotiations with the joint Jordanian-Palestinian delegation ensuing from the Madrid Middle East Peace Conference; he was also involved in talks with the Jordanians after the Oslo Accords were signed. Rubinstein resigned as cabinet secretary in April 1994, reportedly because he was upset at having been left in the dark over the Oslo negotiations. However, in November 1994, he was appointed by Rabin to head a committee to oversee implementation of the Israel-Jordan Peace Treaty, a position he held until June 1995, when he was appointed a Jerusalem district court judge. From 1997 to 2003, Rubinstein was attorney general. He was made a justice of the Supreme Court of Israel in May 2004. He continues to serve on the Supreme Court.