From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, July 29, 2025
Female opposition lawmakers protest expected appointment of Likud MK suspected of rape to lead key committee
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleSam Sokol is a former political correspondent at The Times of Israel. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
Female opposition lawmakers protest the Knesset House Committee’s expected approval of Likud MK Hanoch Milwidsky as chairman of the powerful Finance Committee due to an ongoing police investigation against him on suspicion of rape and witness tampering.
In a joint statement ahead of the House Committee’s meeting, Blue and White-National Unity MK Pnina Tamano-Shata calls on the coalition, Israeli women, and “first and foremost” to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “stop the appointment.”
“Do not drag the Knesset and yourselves to a new low,” Tamano-Shata declares.
The Democrats’ Efrat Rayten says that the appointment of Milwidsky, “who is now suspected of alleged rape and witness tampering, as chairman of the Finance Committee, is not only a moral disgrace but a black flag waving over the legitimacy of the government’s continued tenure.”
Yesh Atid MK Merav Ben-Ari says that “the thought that the designated chairman of the Finance Committee is suspected of the crime of rape should disturb every member of the Knesset.”
“The shocking testimonies disqualify MK Milwidsky from any position. Every member of the Knesset should ask themselves, if Hanoch was being investigated for a murder offense – would he still be appointed as chairman of the Finance Committee? Why, because it’s rape, is it accepted with indifference? Rape is the murder of the soul,” she declares.
Speaking with i24 News, Ben-Ari says that she has turned to Knesset Legal Adviser Sagit Afik to try and block Milwidsky’s appointment.
Tamano-Shata and Ben-Ari are the only female members of the House Committee.
Responding to their statements, women’s rights advocacy group Bonot Alternativa declares that “someone facing serious allegations cannot serve as the head of a committee or even as a member of Knesset in Israel. The fight against sexual offenders should transcend party lines and political sides, and it is unacceptable that the coalition is still planning to appoint him to such a significant role as committee head.”
“We join the demand – to halt the appointment of Hanoch Milwidsky as head of the Finance Committee,” the group tweets.
Earlier this week, Milwidsky’s Likud party accused Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, whom the government is trying to fire, of “ulterior motives” in the probe she opened into the lawmaker.
The Times of Israel Community.