Idan Roll

Idan Roll
Faction represented in the Knesset
2019	Blue and White
2020–2021	Blue and White
2021	Yesh Atid
2022–	Yesh Atid
Personal details
Born	(1984-04-27) 27 April 1984 Jerusalem, Israel
Spouse	Harel Skaat ​ (m. 2021)​
Occupation	Politician ‧ Lawyer ‧ Model

Idan Roll (Template:Lang-he, born 27 April 1984) is an Israeli politician, model and lawyer who is a member of the Knesset for Yesh Atid. He served as Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs under the administration of Yair Lapid.

Biography

Roll was born in Jerusalem and moved to Mevaseret Zion as a child, attending Harel High School. He started his national service in the Israel Defense Forces in 2002, serving in the Israeli Intelligence Corps in a technology unit in central Israel, before completing an officer course and becoming cadet commander. After completing his national service, he began serving in the reserves in the Military Intelligence Directorate.

In 2007 he started studying at Tel Aviv University law school. Whilst at university, he joined StandWithUs, and worked as a model. After graduating, he joined Meitar Liquornik Geva Leshem Tal's commercial department. He also completed a master's degree in public law, and later worked in law firms specialising in high-tech, mergers and acquisitions.

Political career

Having previously been a member of the New Likudniks faction of Likud, Roll joined the Yesh Atid party, and became head of its LGBTQ+ group. He was part of the Yesh Atid list for Tel Aviv-Yafo city council in the 2018 municipal elections.

The twenty-first and the twenty-second Knesset

After the party joined the Blue and White alliance for the April 2019 Knesset elections, he was given the thirty-fourth slot on the joint list, and was subsequently elected to the Knesset as the alliance won 35 seats. Although he retained thirty-fourth place on the Blue and White list for the early elections in September 2019, the alliance was reduced to 33 seats, resulting in Roll losing his seat.

The twenty-third Knesset

In March 2020, prior to the elections for the twenty-third Knesset, he secured the 34th position on the "Blue-White" list for the third consecutive time. Although the list clinched 33 seats in the Knesset, the results did not automatically usher Roll into the Knesset. Yet, due to Yael German's subsequent withdrawal for medical reasons before the official swearing-in, Roll was inducted as a Knesset member once more.

During this term, Roll assumed the chairmanship of a plethora of lobbies, including those advocating for businesses in the sports and fitness sector, medical and recreational cannabis, online privacy and safety, the LGBTQ+ community, and innovation in the hi-tech realm. Additionally, he was an active member of lobbies centered around Jewish heritage, mental health and suicide prevention, sustainable public transportation, economic competition enhancement, and the promotion of higher education. His responsibilities included memberships in the Economy Committee and the Labor, Welfare, and Health Committee.

Amidst to Covid-19 crisis, Roll ardently supported small businesses. He pioneered a consensus-based reopening strategy for the fitness sector, championed employer compensation for isolation periods, sought robust plans for the revival of the restaurant and bar industries, and initiated the high-tech beginner project, aimed at assisting those unemployed in securing entry-level positions in the ever-expanding high-tech domain. Furthermore, he was instrumental in compelling the state auditor to scrutinize the discriminatory practices faced by LGBTQ+ couples in the adoption process.

In a landmark decision in September 2020, MK Roll set a precedent by appointing Linor Abergel, a transgender woman and chairperson of the "TransIsrael" organization, marking the first such employment in the Knesset.

The twenty-fourth Knesset

Before the elections for the twenty-fourth Knesset, he secured the 13th position on the "Yesh Atid" party list. The party won 17 mandates, which led to Roll's election to the Knesset. In June 2021, following a series of four elections, the thirty-sixth Israeli government was formed. In this establishment, Roll was appointed Deputy Foreign Minister. He stood out as the youngest member of the Israeli government and distinguished himself as the first deputy secretary of state to embark on an official visit to the White House.

In addition to his regular political duties, Roll's portfolio encompassed a range of responsibilities including public diplomacy, combating antisemitism and delegitimization, enhancing relations with liberal audiences in North America, fostering closer ties with Diaspora Judaism, supporting Israeli innovation, and advancing Israeli culture.

He was re-elected in the 2022 elections.

Personal life

On 5 March 2021 Roll married pop singer Harel Skaat in Provo, Utah, United States. They have two children, born via surrogacy in 2018 and in 2021 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA. On 7 March 2021, Skaat and Roll announced their wedding on social media, which had taken place on 5 March 2021 in Provo, Utah, USA.

External links

• Idan Roll on the Knesset website