Rothman touts coalition's ‘wonderful’ term, drawing ire of Oct. 7 victims' relative

Merav Svirsky tells Religious Zionism lawmaker that some are ‘paying the price for your conduct,’ is reportedly removed from Knesset panel hearing during break

Religious Zionism MK Simcha Rothman on Wednesday told a Knesset panel that the coalition has had a “wonderful” term in office, sparking anger from Merav Svirsky, whose parents Orit and Rafi were killed on October 7, 2023, and whose brother Itay was murdered while being held hostage in Gaza.

Rothman was asked by Yesh Atid MK Meirav Cohen whether he thinks the government had a successful term during a meeting of the Knesset’s Constitution, Law and Justice Committee, which the Religious Zionism lawmaker chairs. (The government was sworn in on December 29, 2022.)

“Very much. Wonderful,” Rothman responded, prompting Cohen to respond, “Wow, it was successful! That is out of touch.”

“There are those who are paying the price for your conduct,” Svirsky told Rothman. “We are here precisely for this, so that you can see the price of your conduct before your eyes.”

“Excuse me, no,” Rothman told Svirsky in response to her outburst. “It doesn’t work like this.”

When she continued to speak, he asked her repeatedly to “stop talking,” before calling for a break in proceedings.

“How many hostages does it take for it to be a wonderful term?” one of the attendees shouted at Rothman.

רוטמן התגאה שהייתה "קדנציה מוצלחת ונפלאה" לקואליציה – ועורר סערה בדיון: "ניתוק!" | תיעוד@DaphnaLiel pic.twitter.com/r6MJyRndas

— החדשות – N12 (@N12News) June 10, 2026

According to the Haaretz daily, Svirsky was removed from the session during the break.

During the war against Hamas, Rothman clashed several times with relatives of hostages who accused the government of not doing enough to secure a deal for the hostages’ release from Gaza.

In July 2024, Rothman ordered the removal of Danny Elgarat, whose brother was tortured to death in captivity, after Elgarat interrupted the brother of another abductee who was speaking out against a hostage agreement. The Knesset guard dragged Elgarat out of the room, coming under fire for showing a lack of sensitivity.

In another incident, Rothman adjourned a meeting of the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee and walked out after being accused by Lishay Miran-Lavie, the wife of then-hostage Omri Miran, of helping perpetuate his captivity.