S2 E16. What Happened to MK Simcha Rothman?

One year ago, Simcha Rothman was a household name in Israel and beyond. As Chair of the Knesset Committee on Constitutional, Law and Justice Issues, Rothman was the man in a scorching hot seat, taking the lead in shepherding through the legislature the controversial judicial reform package. Working closely with Minister of Justice, Yariv levin, Rothman bore the brunt of public anger and became a convenient target for political mudslinging. For much of 2023 Israel was roiled by unprecedent civil disobedience and dissent set off by the judicial reform legislative package. And then, October 7th happened. Since then Rothman has largely been out of the public eye but still very active in dealing with the unprecedented legal challenges posed by the horrors of that day and the challenges with respect to how Israel will manage various legal issues going forward. We discuss the new world in which we all find ourselves and we also manage to squeeze in a few minutes of discussion of the judicial reform moment. That issue will surely resurface and I, for one, expect Simcha Rothman to be front and center, yet again. Rothman and I don’t exactly see eye to eye on many issues but – as I have always said – State of Tel Aviv aspires to be a platform where respectful discussion and debate are facilitated. And I am grateful to Simcha Rothman for being game. Many other politicians and officials are not prepared to discuss and that is the real threat to democracy – when we lose the ability to speak to one another.

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