Editing Elyakim Rubinstein (section)

== Controversies ==
=== As Attorney General ===
Rubinstein gained a reputation for being somewhat of a liberal reformer, going up against the established might<!-- OK here: don't correct it--> of [[Orthodox Judaism]] in favor of religious pluralism to represent all factions of Judaism. His most important success in this endeavor came when [[Reform Judaism|Reform]] and [[Conservative Judaism]] gained seats on Jerusalem's religious council, previously controlled entirely by the Orthodox.<ref>{{cite web|title=Non-Orthodox Score New Victory in Struggle over Religious Councils|url=http://www.jta.org/2000/05/03/archive/non-orthodox-score-new-victory-in-struggle-over-religious-councils|accessdate=October 28, 2016}}</ref> He has proposed opening a section of the [[Western Wall]] for non-Orthodox religious services, but this has not yet been implemented.<ref>{{cite news|last=Ettinger|first=Yair|title=State Savaged in Court for Ignoring Agreement to Open Western Wall to Non-Orthodox|work=[[Haaretz]]|url=http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-1.741603|accessdate=October 28, 2016}}</ref>

In 1999, Rubinstein decided not to investigate former [[Sephardi]] [[Chief Rabbi]] [[Ovadia Yosef]], the founder and spiritual leader of the [[Haredi Judaism|ultra-Orthodox]] [[Shas]] party, for calling Supreme Court justices "evildoers", "empty-headed and reckless" and various other harsh epithets.<ref>{{cite news|last=Magen|first=Hadas|title=Rubinstein Decides Not to Investigate Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef Following Supreme Court Attack|url=http://www.globes.co.il/en/article-369193|work=[[Globes (newspaper)|Globes]]|date=February 22, 1999|accessdate=October 30, 2016}}</ref> A year later, however, he did order an investigation after Rabbi Yosef compared the secular education minister, [[Yossi Sarid]], to the [[Pharaoh]] of the [[Book of Exodus]] and said he should be "extirpated from the [[Earth]]" like [[Haman (biblical figure)|Haman]] in the [[Book of Esther]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Wilkinson|first=Tracy|title=Israeli Rabbi's Fiery Remarks Spark Criminal Investigation|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-mar-28-mn-13517-story.html|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=March 28, 2000|access-date=October 30, 2016}}</ref>

In January 2000, Rubinstein asked [[President of Israel|President]] [[Ezer Weizman]] to hand over financial documents after it was disclosed in the press that he failed to report $450,000 he received as a "gift" from a friend to the [[Knesset]] and tax authorities.<ref>{{cite news|last=Sontag|first=Deborah|title=Israel names new Supreme Court judges|url=http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2000-01-04/news/0001040106_1_president-ezer-weizman-gen-elyakim-rubinstein-personal-gift|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121017085534/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2000-01-04/news/0001040106_1_president-ezer-weizman-gen-elyakim-rubinstein-personal-gift|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 17, 2012|work=[[Chicago Tribune]]|date=January 4, 2000|accessdate=October 31, 2016}}</ref> Weizman ultimately resigned six months later.

Despite this, Rubinstein was often criticized for being too hesitant or indecisive in cases involving powerful Israeli officials, in particular for moving too slowly on those corruption charges involving [[Prime Minister of Israel|Prime Minister]] [[Ariel Sharon]] and his son Gilad. In the weeks following the end of his term as Attorney General, the State Attorney, [[Edna Arbel]], was quick to recommend that Sharon be indicted on bribery charges. Rubinstein's initial hesitancy, however, was subsequently vindicated by his replacement, [[Menachem Mazuz]], who decided not to press charges of corruption against Sharon and his son due to insufficient evidence.<ref name="cnn.com"/>

In the midst of the Sharon investigation Rubinstein suspended a state [[prosecutor]] for leaking to a ''[[Haaretz]]'' reporter a document that outlined corruption allegations against Sharon and his son while the matter was ''[[sub judice]]''.

{{Blockquote|text=I am not a disciple of investigations into leaks, mainly because in the past they have not shown results. Two reasons led me to decide upon the investigation: ... the obstruction and damage caused to the investigation by the leak, and the suspicion, which unfortunately came true, that a source from the government made a political move in this sensitive period prior to the elections.|sign=Elyakim Rubinstein|source=''[[Los Angeles Times]]''<ref>{{cite news|last=Stack|first=Megan K.|title=Prosecutor in Israel Suspended for Leak| url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-jan-23-fg-izpol23-story.html|date=January 23, 2003|access-date=October 28, 2016}}</ref>}}

During the [[2003 Israeli legislative election|2003 legislative election]] campaign, Attorney General  Rubinstein supported the Central Election Committee's decision to ban the [[Anti-Zionism|anti-Zionist]] [[Balad (political party)|Balad]] party and its leader, [[Azmi Bishara]], as well as [[Baruch Marzel]] of the right-wing [[Yamin Yisrael]] party from running, but he objected to its decision to disqualify [[Ahmad Tibi]] on account of his public support for [[Yasser Arafat]], which it viewed as tacit support for terrorism. The Committee based its opinion on  Article 7 of the [[Basic Law: The Knesset|Basic Law on the Knesset]], which states that candidates for Knesset cannot oppose the Jewish and democratic character of the state, preach racism or support armed attacks by an enemy state or terrorist organization. Rubinstein even submitted to the Court information gathered by the [[Shin Bet]] to support the ban on Bishara (who subsequently fled the country before he was charged with treason and espionage for advising Hezbollah during the [[2006 Lebanon War]]<ref>{{cite news|last1=Lis|first1=Jonathan|last2=Ilan|first2=Shahar|title=Court lets Bishara, Tibi and Marzel run for Knesset|url=http://www.haaretz.com/news/ex-mk-bishara-suspected-of-treason-passing-data-to-hezbollah-1.219564|work=Haaretz|date=May 2, 2007|accessdate=October 30, 2016}}</ref> and stealing millions of [[Israeli new shekel|shekels]] from [[Arabs|Arab]] aid organizations).<ref>{{cite news|last=HaLevi|first=Ezra|title=Israeli Arab MK Bishara Accused of Treason, Espionage and More|url=http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/122317|work=[[Arutz Sheva]]|date=May 2, 2007|accessdate=October 30, 2016}}</ref> Balad, Bishara, and Marzel, however, were  ultimately allowed to participate in the elections when the decisions against them were overturned by the Supreme Court.<ref>{{cite news|last=Reinfeld|first=Moshe|title=Court lets Bishara, Tibi and Marzel run for Knesset|url=http://www.haaretz.com/news/2.222/court-lets-bishara-tibi-and-marzel-run-for-knesset-1.22589|date=January 10, 2003|accessdate=October 30, 2016}}</ref>

=== On the Supreme Court ===
In 2012, Rubinstein, who is regarded by many as a "relative conservative" on the Court,<ref>{{cite news|title=Supreme Court Justice Zilbertal announces early retirement|url=http://www.timesofisrael.com/supreme-court-justice-zilbertal-announces-early-retirement/|work=The Times of Israel|date=March 16, 2016|accessdate=October 31, 2016}}</ref> openly supported the right of his [[Arab Christians|Arab-Christian]] colleague, Justice [[Salim Joubran]], not to sing the [[national anthem]], [[Hatikvah]], at an official ceremony:

{{Blockquote|text=Non-Jewish citizens must respect the anthem by standing for it… but one cannot demand that Arab citizens sing words that do not speak to their hearts and do not reflect their roots… Of course whoever wants to join in the singing of the anthem is welcome to do so, but the decision is personal.|sign=Elyakim Rubinstein|source=''[[The Times of Israel]]''<ref>{{cite news|last=Zaken|first=Hillary|title=Supreme Court Justice Rubinstein: Arabs not required to sing national anthem|work=The Times of Israel|url=http://www.timesofisrael.com/supreme-court-justice-rubinstein-arabs-not-required-to-sing-national-anthem/|date=March 1, 2012|accessdate=October 28, 2016}}</ref>}}

In his capacity as chairman of the 2013 Knesset election committee, Rubinstein forced the removal of several television ads, one from Shas, which he viewed as insulting to [[Russian Jews in Israel|Russian-speaking immigrants]], and the others from [[Otzma Yehudit|Otzma LeYisrael]], which he viewed as racist against Arabs.<ref>{{cite news|last=Sterman|first=Adiv|title=Shas to shelve racially loaded ad about conversion to Judaism|work=Times of Israel|url=http://www.timesofisrael.com/shas-party-to-shelve-racially-loaded-ad-about-conversion-to-judaism/|date=January 9, 2013|accessdate=October 30, 2016}}</ref>