Knesset legal adviser accuses Rothman of threatening him during discussion on splitting AG’s role

Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee legal adviser Gur Bligh accuses committee chair MK Simcha Rothman of threatening him during the panel’s discussion on the government’s contentious plan to split the role of the attorney general.

During remarks from former Likud minister Dan Meridor, Rothman whispers to Bligh, who then tells the lawmaker: “You will not threaten me.”

It is unclear what Rothman said, and the proceedings briefly stall.

עימות סוער בוועדת החוקה: רוטמן לחש לאוזנו של היועץ המשפטי של הוועדה, שהתפרץ – "אתה לא תאיים עליי"@yaara_shapira @diklaaharon pic.twitter.com/EuzPgSzAiC

— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) November 24, 2025

Rothman, a lawmaker from the far-right Religious Zionism party and an architect of the government’s judicial overhaul, has pushed a bill that would split the attorney general’s position into three jobs — legal adviser to the government, prosecutor general, and government representative in the courts — and give the government complete control over appointments to those roles, amid the coalition’s ongoing efforts to fire Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara.

Meridor, a former justice minister who served in several of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinets, says that the efforts to split the role are part of a wider attempt to “completely change Israel into a non-democratic regime.”

Proponents of the bill to break up the attorney general role say that the position holds too much power and has an inherent conflict of interest.

Critics say the legislation would deal a death blow to the already-sparse system of checks and balances on executive power in Israel.