Smotrich Condemns Protest That Forced Rotman Out of Tel Aviv University Event

MK Simcha Rotman, chairman of the Knesset Constitution Committee, was confronted by left-wing activists on Thursday as he arrived for a panel at Tel Aviv University. The protesters shouted “murderer” at him, and security guards escorted him away amid the disturbance.

Finance Minister and Religious Zionism leader Bezalel Smotrich sharply condemned the protest, saying it was an attack by a “group of radical leftists” on Rotman. He argued that people who present themselves as democratic were in fact trying to silence opponents through force.

Smotrich said extremists must not be allowed to return Israeli society to the situation before the war. “The so-called enlightened camp, which calls itself democratic, continues to silence voices with Bolshevik-like force and, absurdly, will not be allowed to let fringe extremists bring the people of Israel back to October 6,” he said.

He ended by backing Rotman and praising his work on judicial reform. “I strengthen your hands, Simcha my friend, and praise you for your important work for correcting the justice system and restoring balance between the branches,” Smotrich said. “No one will succeed in silencing us.”