From the Liveblog of
Sunday, July 2, 2023
Ethics board passes on punishing MK who stole protester’s megaphone
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
The Knesset Ethics Committee has cleared lawmaker Simcha Rothman of wrongdoing in an incident in which he angrily snatched a megaphone away from a protester in New York last month, but chides him for his behavior nonetheless.
“Members of the committee found that the incident did not constitute an ethical lapse, but, alongside that, the panel notes that the role of a public servant carries with it the expectation that Knesset members do not get in physical altercations with protesters,” reads the statement signed by ethics board head MK Yinon Azulay of Shas.
Rothman, a main architect of the government’s overhaul plan, was walking with his wife and bodyguards in New York City on June 2, as protesters followed behind shouting slogans at the lawmaker. At one point, in an incident caught on video, he grabbed a megaphone away from a protester and walked away with it, eventually scuffling with protesters trying to grab the device back.
הרגע שבו חבר הכנסת רוטמן חוטף ממפגינה את המגפון *עובר על החוק.
אנחנו בדרך למשטרה. pic.twitter.com/XCsCzeIOHx
— Shany Granot-Lubaton (שני גרנות-לובטון) (@ShanyGranot) June 3, 2023
The statement says the ethics board found his behavior to be “borderline self-defense,” noting the close range of the protester and the fact that Rothman felt “personally harassed.”
The panel also appears to sling some criticism toward the New York Police Department and Shin Bet, saying that “it expects that lawmakers’ wellbeing will be protected by law enforcement in a way that allows them to fulfill their tasks.”
The Times of Israel Community.