Simcha Dan Rothman ( he, שִׂמְחָה דָּן רוֹטְמָן, born 13 August 1980)
Mako, 25 March 2021 is an Israeli lawyer, right-wing activist, and politician. He is currently a member of the

Knesset The Knesset ( he, הַכְּנֶסֶת ; "gathering" or "assembly") is the unicameral legislature of Israel. As the supreme state body, the Knesset is sovereign and thus has complete control of the entirety of the Israeli government (with ...

for the far-right

Religious Zionist Party The Religious Zionist Party ( he, הציונות הדתית, HaTzionut HaDatit, The Religious Zionism), known as Tkuma ( he, תקומה, , Revival) until 2021 and still officially known as National Union–Tkuma ( he, האיחוד הלאומי-� ...

and the chair of the Knesset’s

Constitution, Law and Justice Committee The Constitution, Law and Justice Committee (or Constitution Committee for short) of the Knesset The Knesset ( he, הַכְּנֶסֶת ; "gathering" or "assembly") is the unicameral legislature of Israel. As the supreme state body, the Kne ...

Biography

Rothman was born into a family that had immigrated to

Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine ( ar, فلسطين الانتدابية '; he, פָּלֶשְׂתִּינָה (א״י) ', where "E.Y." indicates ''’Eretz Yiśrā’ēl'', the Land of Israel) was a geopolitical entity established between 1920 and 1948 ...

from

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in the early 20th century. For his mandatory military service he studied at

Yeshivat Kerem B'Yavneh Yeshivat Kerem B'Yavneh ( he, ישיבת כרם ביבנה, lit. ''Vineyard in Yavne Yeshiva'') is a youth village and major yeshiva in southern Israel. Located near the city of Ashdod and adjacent to Kvutzat Yavne, it falls under the jurisdictio ...

via the

Hesder Hesder ( he, הסדר "arrangement"; also Yeshivat Hesder ) is an Israeli yeshiva program which combines advanced Talmudic studies with military service in the Israel Defense Forces, usually within a Religious Zionist framework. The program allo ...

but was later discharged from conscription for medical reasons. He volunteered for active service, and served for 13 months as a religious affairs NCO at the Military Engineering School. After earning an

LLB Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the China, People's Republic ...

Bar-Ilan University Bar-Ilan University (BIU, he, אוניברסיטת בר-אילן, ''Universitat Bar-Ilan'') is a public research university in the Tel Aviv District city of Ramat Gan, Israel. Established in 1955, Bar Ilan is Israel's second-largest academic i ...

he studied for a master's degree in public law at

Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) ( he, אוּנִיבֶרְסִיטַת תֵּל אָבִיב, ''Universitat Tel Aviv'') is a public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Locate ...

and

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

. He founded the Movement for Governability and Democracy in 2013.Candidate Rothman: Conviction may not bring down Netanyahu
The Jerusalem Post, 18 February 2021 A critic of the corruption

trial of Benjamin Netanyahu Benjamin Netanyahu served three times as Israel's Prime Minister from 1996–1999, 2009–2021, and from 2022 onwards. His fourth and fifth term as prime minister was overshadowed by ongoing investigation into alleged bribery, fraud and breach ...

, he has campaigned for legislation to allow the government to override the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

and supports immunity from prosecution for serving prime ministers. Prior to the 2021 Knesset elections Rothman was placed fourth on the list for the far-right

, and was elected to the Knesset as the party won six seats. In 2023, following the formation of the

thirty-seventh government of Israel The thirty-seventh government of Israel is the current cabinet of Israel, formed on 29 December 2022 following the Knesset election on 1 November 2022. The coalition government consists of six parties—Likud, United Torah Judaism, Shas, Religi ...

, Rothman was appointed chairman of the Knesset's

, where he led the efforts to overhaul Israel's judiciary that sparked the

2023 Israeli judicial reform protests From January to October 2023, large-scale protests took place across Israel in response to the government's push for a wide-ranging judicial reform. The proposed package aimed to change the makeup of the Judicial Selection Committee so that co ...

. On 2 June 2023 he was filmed snatching a

megaphone A megaphone, speaking-trumpet, bullhorn, blowhorn, or loudhailer is usually a portable or hand-held, cone-shaped acoustic horn used to amplify a person's voice or other sounds and direct it in a given direction. The sound is introduced into ...

from a protester while on an official visit to New York City. The New York Police Department received a criminal harassment complaint against him, but it was closed because he was covered under diplomatic immunity. Upon his return to Israel, he claimed self-defense, even though he was protected by three bodyguards at the time of the incident.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rothman, Simcha 1980 births Living people Bar-Ilan University alumni Israeli lawyers Israeli Orthodox Jews Israeli people of American-Jewish descent Members of the 24th Knesset (2021–2022) Members of the 25th Knesset (2022–) Northwestern University alumni People from Bnei Brak Religious Zionist Party politicians Tel Aviv University alumni Israeli far-right politicians

Biography

See also

References

External links