From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, July 29, 2025
Likud MK suspected of rape wins final approval to head powerful Knesset Finance 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"
The Knesset Finance Committee votes 10-7 to accept the Knesset House Committee’s recommendation of Likud MK Hanoch Milwidsky as its new chairman, giving final approval for the suspected rapist to replace United Torah Judaism’s Moshe Gafni as head of the powerful panel.
The vote comes only minutes after the House Committee voted 9-6 to appoint Milwidsky despite an ongoing police investigation of him on suspicion of rape and witness tampering.
Milwidsky was questioned Friday about allegations that he raped a woman while he was serving as a legal adviser to the New Age religious association “Bnei Baruch — Kabbalah La’Am.” According to the allegations, he was coaching a woman, identified by the Hebrew initial Aleph, to testify falsely to protect the group’s leader, Michael Laitman, from charges of sexual assault. During their meetings, Aleph told police, Milwidsky raped her.
Ahead of the Finance Committee vote, The Democrats MK Naama Lazimi reads out part of the testimony of Milwidsky’s accuser and yells at coalition whip Ofir Katz, the chair of the House Committee and interim chair of the Finance Committee, telling him he should be ashamed of himself.
“What’s wrong with you?” she screams.
The Times of Israel Community.