A panel discussion by religious Zionist MK Simcha Rothman, a key architect of the government’s controversial planned judicial overhaul, at a Tel Aviv conference on Monday descended into a shouting match between panelists and protesters.
The disruption at the General Assembly of the Jewish Federations of North America began about 20 minutes into the session on the Law of Return, when Yohanan Plesner, president of the Israel Democracy Institute and a former lawmaker from opposition leader Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid party, accused Rothman of “Israel’s “Crushing democracy and ties with the diaspora”, some in the room stood up and cheered.
Rothman responded by accusing Plesner of “favouring a political group that controls through an undemocratic court”.
While this exchange was typical of discussions between those in Israel for and against a planned overhaul of the government, what was more unusual was the fact that American Jews were also included in the audience on this occasion.
Protesters continued to disrupt the session, shouting “Shame” and “Rothman is the enemy of the people”.
“You are the culprit of the Jewish people! Shame on you! The Jewish people will never forget and will never forgive,” some protesters shouted.
Protest in front of Rothman at the Conference of Jewish Federations at the Exhibition Grounds:
cries of anger when presented on stage;
And an explosion of panels in which members of ‘Brothers in Arms’ and other representatives of Jewish communities participated:
“You are a criminal of the Jewish people! Shame on you! The Jewish people will not forget you and will not forgive you!” pic.twitter.com/uNSeLVjzbk— Orly Barlev ~ Orly Barlev (@orlybarlev) April 24, 2023
At least five protesters were forcibly removed from the audience at the Expo Tel Aviv convention center, which is hosting the General Assembly, many of the 2,000 participants who came from the United States.
Protest leaders asked the JFNA to cancel an appearance at the event by Rothman and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. With mass protests likely, the premier decided not to attendciting scheduling difficulties.
Rothman’s panel was discussing the Law of Return, the subject of a bill currently proposed by a far-right coalition legislator that would allow grandchildren of people recognized as Jewish to immigrate to Israel under naturalization laws. demanding the abolition of the right of
MK Simcha Rothman, chairman of the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee, during a committee hearing, February 27, 2023. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
While the law does not seem to have the support of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party, the proposal could complicate Likud’s relations with some of its hardline coalition partners, as well as have potential implications for Israel’s relations with expatriate Jews.
Similar bills have failed to progress in the past, including that of Bezalel Smotrich, leader of Rothman’s Religious Zionism party, due to Likud’s apparent lack of support.
Despite the disruptions, the panel worked for about 15 minutes on Monday, before stopping for an unscheduled break.
Israelis protest against the US and Israeli flags outside the Jewish Federation of North America conference in Tel Aviv on April 23, 2023 (Tomer Neuberg/Flash90)
When the discussion resumed, Rothman ignored repeated interruptions, saying that the grandchild clause “will not change anything for American Jews,” claiming that they were not going to immigrate to Israel under that clause.
“There is a problem,” Rothman said, explaining that it focuses on immigration to Israel by people who are not Jewish according to Halacha, Jewish Orthodox law, “and have no interest in becoming Jewish.”
Rothman also said he was not certain the law would change.
The panel also included Alex Riff, cofounder of the One Million lobby group of Russian-speaking Jews, who said the potential change would pose a threat to the rights of non-Jewish Israelis.
“The biggest danger in Israel is the 400,000 Israelis who are not Jewish according to halacha: for them you close the door to the Jewish people by saying that the reason they are here was a mistake,” he said. Said.
While many viewers supported the disruptions, others were unhappy.
“We’ve lost the ability to agree before, and now we’ve lost the ability to argue,” said Michael Goureri, a French-born Holocaust commemoration activist living in Israel who worked with the March of the Living.
