Asked by Israel Hayom whether he wants to be justice minister or Constitution Committee chair, Rothman said he would face a very difficult dilemma. He claimed neither outright; if he takes one, he wants the other held by someone he can work with.
Who they are
Simcha Rothman is a lawyer who chairs the Knesset’s constitution, law and justice committee and has taken the government’s judicial overhaul bills through it. He was born and raised in Bnei Brak in 1980, to a religious-Zionist family with ties to Poalei Agudat Yisrael, and studied at the Makor Chaim yeshiva. Exempted from conscription on medical grounds, he volunteered for thirteen months as a religious affairs NCO at the School of Military Engineering. He read law at Bar-Ilan and took a master’s in public law from Tel Aviv University and Northwestern.
He served his articles in the justice ministry, then opened the firm Rothman-Lev-Bina and worked on the rights of victims of terror. A year after opening his practice he founded the Movement for Governability and Democracy with Yehuda Amrani and was its legal adviser until he was elected, publishing legal policy papers and appearing for it at the Supreme Court. He joined the Judicial Selection Committee months after entering the Knesset.
He has brought two libel claims. The Jerusalem Post apologised for an editorial that attributed to him support for the man convicted of the Duma attack; a claim against a Channel 12 reporter was dismissed, the court finding that the defendants had a defence of truth.
Positions and record
Judiciary: Rewrite judicial appointments; limit standing and reasonableness.
Constitution: Basic Laws beyond court review.
Debate: A combative committee-room style.
Where they stand
Holds the party line on every issue.