Speaking on Israel National Radio, Prof. Aumann elaborates on how to apply his highly-acclaimed game theory to the current Israeli political reality. He believes that Israel’s greatest problem today lies in its own lack of clarity in defining its national goals.
Aumann was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics for his groundbreaking work in game theory, which he explains as follows: "Typical games are situations where you have several players, each striving for a different goal. Each player wants to win and, they know they all cannot win. They must take into account that there are other people out there who are striving towards different goals from their own. We provide logical analysis of interactive situations; how to play strategically in situations where people have disparate goals. Game theory can be applied to more serious activities like commercial interactions, politics, international relations and war," Aumann explains.
Aumann strongly voices his opposition to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's unilateral withdrawal from Gush Katif this summer. "It was crazy," claims Aumann, adding, "That was reinforcing behavior that you don’t want to reinforce; its standard psychology. What we are doing is reinforcing terrorist behavior and intransigent bargaining stances by unilaterally pulling out. It is counterproductive from a psychological viewpoint and also from a game theoretical viewpoint. It is giving the signal that all you have to do is apply some more pressure or get involved in some more terrorist activity, and we'll pull out some more."
The Nobel citation was awarded to Aumann specifically for his work related to the area of repeated games. "In repeated interaction you’re more likely to reach a cooperative outcome than in a one-shot game. But for that, it is necessary to be patient. What we are missing here in Israel is staying power. The Israeli economy is doing quite well, there are a lot of wealthy people out there; there's a lot of consumerism. People don’t want to hear about struggle, about terror. Of course, they are going to get more of it than they want to. They think incorrectly that by taking these steps, they can run away from it," says Aumann. He states emphatically, "France can run away from Algeria, and the U.S. can run away from Iraq. But as an Israeli, you cannot run away from Israel. If you want to stay in Israel, there’s no running away. People are fooling themselves, thinking that by making these concessions they can buy quiet, but they can't. On the contrary, what they are buying is trouble."
Aumann claims that Israel needs to clearly redefine its national goals before any real compromise in the Arab Israeli conflict could take effect. "There could well be a compromise. But before that is possible, a necessary condition is to make clear to ourselves and then to our cousins [the Arabs] that we are here to stay. That is by no means clear at the moment. We don’t have clearly defined goals. We used to, but we don’t anymore. It’s all very vague, and we have nothing to stick to. Because of that, I am pessimistic that we can convince our neighbors of what we want, when we don’t know what we want ourselves," says Aumann.
Aumann says he is deeply worried about the future of the State of Israel. "I am not pessimistic about the Jewish people; the Jews as a people will certainly survive with the help of G-d. I am worried about the State of Israel. This is the biggest crisis I have lived through in the fifty years that I’ve been here. I’m still a Zionist. I came here because I saw the rebirth of the Jewish people. It’s been a tremendous privilege to be a part of the return of the Jewish people to Jerusalem," Aumann states.
As an orthodox Jew, Aumann received special treatment during the Nobel prize festivities, including having some twenty special suits shipped to Israel and altered after they were checked for Shatnez (a forbidden mixture of linen and wool) and having kosher food served on new glasses and dishes. When asked to comment on how it felt to be able to serve as a 'Kiddush Hashem', Aumann stated simply, "We just did it the way we had to do it, there was no other way. We had to do it right or not do it at all."
Aumann was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics for his groundbreaking work in game theory, which he explains as follows: "Typical games are situations where you have several players, each striving for a different goal. Each player wants to win and, they know they all cannot win. They must take into account that there are other people out there who are striving towards different goals from their own. We provide logical analysis of interactive situations; how to play strategically in situations where people have disparate goals. Game theory can be applied to more serious activities like commercial interactions, politics, international relations and war," Aumann explains.
Prof. Aumann in his study.
Aumann strongly voices his opposition to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's unilateral withdrawal from Gush Katif this summer. "It was crazy," claims Aumann, adding, "That was reinforcing behavior that you don’t want to reinforce; its standard psychology. What we are doing is reinforcing terrorist behavior and intransigent bargaining stances by unilaterally pulling out. It is counterproductive from a psychological viewpoint and also from a game theoretical viewpoint. It is giving the signal that all you have to do is apply some more pressure or get involved in some more terrorist activity, and we'll pull out some more."
The Nobel citation was awarded to Aumann specifically for his work related to the area of repeated games. "In repeated interaction you’re more likely to reach a cooperative outcome than in a one-shot game. But for that, it is necessary to be patient. What we are missing here in Israel is staying power. The Israeli economy is doing quite well, there are a lot of wealthy people out there; there's a lot of consumerism. People don’t want to hear about struggle, about terror. Of course, they are going to get more of it than they want to. They think incorrectly that by taking these steps, they can run away from it," says Aumann. He states emphatically, "France can run away from Algeria, and the U.S. can run away from Iraq. But as an Israeli, you cannot run away from Israel. If you want to stay in Israel, there’s no running away. People are fooling themselves, thinking that by making these concessions they can buy quiet, but they can't. On the contrary, what they are buying is trouble."
Prof. Aumann during a lecture
Aumann claims that Israel needs to clearly redefine its national goals before any real compromise in the Arab Israeli conflict could take effect. "There could well be a compromise. But before that is possible, a necessary condition is to make clear to ourselves and then to our cousins [the Arabs] that we are here to stay. That is by no means clear at the moment. We don’t have clearly defined goals. We used to, but we don’t anymore. It’s all very vague, and we have nothing to stick to. Because of that, I am pessimistic that we can convince our neighbors of what we want, when we don’t know what we want ourselves," says Aumann.
Aumann says he is deeply worried about the future of the State of Israel. "I am not pessimistic about the Jewish people; the Jews as a people will certainly survive with the help of G-d. I am worried about the State of Israel. This is the biggest crisis I have lived through in the fifty years that I’ve been here. I’m still a Zionist. I came here because I saw the rebirth of the Jewish people. It’s been a tremendous privilege to be a part of the return of the Jewish people to Jerusalem," Aumann states.
As an orthodox Jew, Aumann received special treatment during the Nobel prize festivities, including having some twenty special suits shipped to Israel and altered after they were checked for Shatnez (a forbidden mixture of linen and wool) and having kosher food served on new glasses and dishes. When asked to comment on how it felt to be able to serve as a 'Kiddush Hashem', Aumann stated simply, "We just did it the way we had to do it, there was no other way. We had to do it right or not do it at all."