“I’m definitely proud and feel good that an Israeli was awarded this prize. As I’ve already said, I think that this is not only an award for myself, but for the entire Israeli team working on games theory,” said 2005 Nobel Prize Laureate for Economics Prof. Robert J. Aumann today in an interview with Galei Tzahal (Army Radio).
Commenting about yesterday’s phone call informing him that he had won the Nobel Prize, Aumann said, “On the line was my friend, apparently a member of the committee, a games theorist. He told me, ‘Good morning, I’m pleased to congratulate you.’ I know him, so we talked a bit. It was quite nice.”
Asked how he won the Nobel Prize for Economics, since he was not an economist, Aumann said, “Economics is one aspect of games theory, which is my expertise. I’m no expert in practical economics, rising or falling stock market, unemployment rates, and so on.”
In its decision, the Nobel Prize committee said games theory, among other things, attempted to discover why there was conflict between nations. Aumann was asked in this context whether it was true that he was pessimistic about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He replied with a smile, “Both sides in this deal have ambitions that simply cannot be met in the middle. I think that in the end, our dear cousins don’t want us here. They simply don’t want us here. I’m talking about the leaders; the politicians.
“I think that people in the street on both sides are prepared to get along, but the leaders’ ambition is for us not to be here; simply not be here. I don’t mean Gush Katif or Jerusalem; I’m talking about Tel Aviv. No compromise is possible given these ambitions.”
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on October 11, 2005