Rothman, right celebrate Knesset win as opposition decries ‘black mark’

Religious Zionism MK Simcha Rothman celebrates the Knesset’s passage of his proposal giving the governing coalition control over appointing a judicial watchdog by tweeting a quote from Psalm 82, which speaks of God as the judge of corrupt judges.

Rothman says he hopes a judicial ombudsman can now be appointed after two years without one, without noting that his own coalition had refused to compromise on the issue, causing the holdup.

I hope the ombudsman we appoint will do everything so that the judicial system will work better and win more trust from the public,” he writes on X. “[We are] fixing, responsibly and together, the judicial system.”

Across the aisle, National Unity MK Orit Farkash Hacohen calls the bill “another black mark for Israel’s parliament,” noting that the same coalition moved to torpedo a state commission of inquiry that would be aimed at bringing justice to victims of the October 7 attack.

Yesh Atid MK Merav Ben Ari says the opposition will not stop fighting the coalition, contending that the reform “will not do anything for any citizen,” and seems to take a small measure of solace in the fact that all government ministers were forced to hang around the Knesset until 6 a.m. for the vote.

“They deserve it,” she writes on X.

The Otzma Yehudit party, which voted for the bill despite recently defecting to the opposition, pats itself on the back for “saving the coalition again,” contending that his party’s support was the difference-maker in the 56-48 vote.

“We’ll continue to be the Knesset’s ideological flank, and will vote for bills that align with right-wing principles,” party leader Itamar Ben Gvir says in a statement carried by Israel National News.