Knesset Member Simcha Rothman said Monday that former Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit’s testimony in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s trial demonstrates the need for fundamental reform of Israel’s justice system. Ahead of the upcoming elections, he warned against wasting votes on right-wing parties that won’t cross the electoral threshold and addressed attempts to unite with Ofer Winter. At the start of the interview, he paid tribute to anti-illegal immigration activist Sheffi Paz, who passed away, calling her “truly larger than life and a fighter.”
Rothman spoke Monday in an interview on the special broadcast with Dana and Ron about Mandelblit’s testimony in Netanyahu’s trial, leveled harsh criticism at the justice system, and warned against losing votes to small right-wing parties ahead of the elections. He opened the interview by paying tribute to Paz, recounting their years-long acquaintance and her activism on behalf of south Tel Aviv residents.
6+“Larger Than Life and a Fighter”: Farewell to Sheffi Paz
Rothman said he knew Paz before entering politics, during her activism in the neighborhood struggle in south Tel Aviv, and described her ability to unite people from different backgrounds around her.
“People who, when Sheffi says something, salute, jump, drop everything—people who work in all kinds of fields, all kinds of places in life, and Sheffi calls and they come,” he said.
6+When asked how he would describe her, he replied: “A fighter. A fighter first and foremost. A fighter devoted to the people of Israel,” emphasizing the personal prices she paid as part of her public activism.
According to him, Paz fought for the Jewish character of the state and for the residents of south Tel Aviv neighborhoods, and was among the organizers of demonstrations against the justice system’s intervention in these issues. Rothman noted that she succeeded in connecting people with different worldviews and lifestyles, and summed up her character with the words: “Truly larger than life and a fighter.”
The Attack on the Justice System Following Mandelblit’s Testimony
Later in the interview, Rothman addressed Mandelblit’s testimony in Netanyahu’s trial, claiming that what was revealed demonstrates the problems in the justice system and the need for reform.
“The truth is that what we see in the political arena and what we see in the legal arena is the same thing. They always accuse us of what they’re doing, or what they’re planning to do,” he said.
6+Rothman addressed his claim about a connection between a journalist and Mandelblit, according to which the former attorney general was offered favorable coverage in exchange for upgrading an examination to an investigation. He compared this to the charges in Netanyahu’s trial and claimed it involves a quid pro quo relationship whose legal significance should be examined.
“According to Mandelblit’s definitions, an indictment for bribery should be filed against him,” Rothman said, adding that in his view, this is a more explicit relationship than the one between Netanyahu and Elovitch in the Walla affair.
6+Rothman also criticized how the trial is covered in the media, claiming the testimony isn’t receiving adequate exposure. According to him, the trial demonstrates the need for fundamental change in the justice system.
“The power that the justice system has accumulated over the years, when no one dealt with it, is a corrupting power, a corrupt power, that is destroying the State of Israel and harming the basic foundations of our ability to live together here,” he said.
The Warning to Ofer Winter and the Small Right-Wing Parties
Ahead of the elections, Rothman also addressed Ofer Winter’s candidacy and the danger of losing votes to parties that don’t cross the electoral threshold. According to him, right-wing voters must learn from experience, especially from the failure of Naftali Bennett and Ayelet Shaked’s New Right party in the 2019 elections.
6+Rothman recalled that the New Right polled at seven to eight seats in the final polls before those elections, but ultimately didn’t cross the threshold.
“You don’t gamble on the future of the State of Israel, you don’t buy a lottery ticket,” he said, warning that a split candidacy of right-wing parties could lead to significant vote loss.
He went on to say that Religious Zionism offered a political union to Ofer Winter, Itamar Ben-Gvir, and the Noam for Israel party, to prevent vote loss in the national camp.
6+“We made a union where everyone felt, and thought, that they were giving up very, very substantial things for this joint run. And we offered the same thing to Winter, and we offered the same thing to Ben-Gvir, and we offered the same thing to Noam; we proposed a large union so that votes on the right wouldn’t be wasted,” he said.
Rothman expressed disappointment that most of the small parties didn’t respond to the union proposals, and warned of the possibility that their voters’ ballots won’t be included in the seat distribution.
6+He concluded his remarks with a call to national camp voters to choose parties that cross the electoral threshold, warning that votes that don’t translate into seats could help establish a government led by the camp’s rivals.