Idan Roll

Before entering the Knesset, Roll served as an intelligence officer in the Israel Defense Forces and worked as a lawyer specializing in high-tech mergers and acquisitions.[2] A 2019 profile also described him as a business-development manager in the technology sector, as well as a model and television host.[3][1] Roll said he was a major in the reserves and helped found “green intelligence,” a special track for recruiting Haredi men into the Intelligence Corps. He described interviewing hundreds of Haredi men from different streams and commanding dozens; participants learned computer skills that could support civilian employment or continued military service.[7]

Roll also described a period of social activism, including work with children with special needs, disadvantaged populations, and Diaspora communities through the Jewish Agency. He said that planning a family with his partner, singer Harel Skaat, helped persuade him to enter politics because he saw political institutions as the place where their rights would be decided.[7] Roll and Skaat pursued surrogacy in the United States; Roll described the process as expensive, remote, and bureaucratically difficult, and said he wanted to advance access to surrogacy for LGBTQ people through parliamentary and legislative work.[8]

Before entering the Knesset, Roll joined Yesh Atid and headed its LGBTQ affairs branch. In 2019, party leader Yair Lapid presented Roll as a candidate for the 21st Knesset alongside a party platform that included access to surrogacy for gay couples, recognition of civil unions, increased funding for LGBTQ organizations, and stronger penalties for violent offenses motivated by sexual orientation. Roll said he intended to continue the community’s struggle in the Knesset.[3]

Roll entered the Knesset in 2019 and served in the 21st, 23rd, 24th, and 25th Knessets.[1] He appeared at position 34 on Kahol Lavan’s candidate list in both the April and September 2019 elections.[9] He held the same position for the March 2020 election, which followed two inconclusive elections in 2019 in which no party could form a governing coalition.[10] In the 2021 election, Roll ran at position 13 on Yesh Atid’s list and became a member of the 24th Knesset.[11] He held position 13 on the party’s list again in the November 2022 election, when Yesh Atid won 24 seats.[12]

Roll was openly gay and partnered with Skaat; reporting described the couple as having two children.[13] In 2019, Roll expressed support for civil partnerships and equal rights for gay people, recognition of Reform and Orthodox conversions, the Western Wall compromise, and limited public transportation on Shabbat. He also called for increased penalties for hate crimes against LGBTQ people and mandatory public-school classes on tolerance and acceptance. On Haredi enlistment, he said Haredim should contribute through IDF or national service, without religious coercion or excluding women from public life.[7]

Roll served as deputy foreign minister in the Bennett–Lapid government, under Foreign Minister Yair Lapid.[1] The government held office from June 2021 to December 2022.[14] In July 2022, during U.S. President Joe Biden’s visit to Israel, Roll commented on Biden’s reaffirmation of the U.S.–Israel relationship, calling its confirmation by a Democratic president who had come to Israel with “so much dedication” significant.[15]

As deputy foreign minister, Roll described repairing Israel’s relationship with progressives, especially in the United States, as a diplomatic priority. During a 2021 U.S. visit, he emphasized dialogue and engagement with Democratic lawmakers, while acknowledging that Israeli policies, including positions on Iran and the Palestinians, could complicate the effort.[16] He also sought to promote Israel’s image abroad in connection with LGBTQ rights and climate change, and to strengthen ties with the U.S. Democratic Party.[13]

Roll connected public diplomacy with Israel’s ability to build international support. In an August 2022 briefing to Israeli public-diplomacy activists, he argued that their work could help Israel’s security forces achieve operational goals by building legitimacy and support. He urged the activists to share personal accounts of life in Israel and respond to misinformation, and said the Foreign Ministry was placing greater emphasis on social media. He summarized his view with the phrase, “Effective hasbara isn’t marketing, it is national resilience.”[17]

A social-media outreach effort established under Roll aimed to strengthen Israel’s image abroad. A 2021 report said online creators with a combined 30 million followers were to receive Foreign Ministry training on responding to anti-Israel and antisemitic comments, using terminology in discussions about Israel, and taking part in international online campaigns. Roll argued that young people around the world often get information from social media and trust accounts run by people their own age.[18]

Roll also made public statements about LGBTQ inclusion in Israeli diplomacy. In 2021, the Foreign Ministry displayed a Pride flag alongside Israel’s flag for the first time. Roll said the display sent an important message in Israel and abroad, recalling that as a 16-year-old he had worried about his future and expressing hope that the gesture would reassure young people and communicate tolerance and acceptance.[19]

On October 13, 2021, Roll and Minister for Regional Cooperation Issawi Frej met Sudan’s justice minister at a conference in Abu Dhabi. The meeting took place amid reports of increased U.S. pressure on Sudan to advance its normalization agreement with Israel; at the time, that agreement had not yet yielded significant results. Roll said the two countries had agreed on future cooperation under the Abraham Accords.[20]

In January 2025, Roll left Yesh Atid but initially remained in the Knesset, forming a one-member faction called HaRov HaLeumi, or “The National Majority.” He described his intended role as a “constructive opposition” and said he wanted to open the Knesset to new political forces and ideas.[6] The Knesset House Committee approved declaring him a breakaway member; the reported consequence was that he could not run with or join an existing party in the next Knesset election.[21]

Yesh Atid criticized Roll’s decision to retain his seat, arguing that the mandate belonged to the party and that he should resign. Roll presented his departure as a move toward an independent political path and said he would continue serving as a constructive opposition. The party’s accusations and Roll’s account represent competing positions in the dispute.[2][6] Reporting also described Roll as more hawkish than Lapid on security issues, including opposition to a Palestinian state and support for legislation to outlaw UNRWA.[2]

In August 2025, Roll resigned from the Knesset and political life, saying he did not intend to run in the next election and that stepping down at the beginning of the recess was appropriate. He said he had served through five election cycles, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the war that began on October 7. In reflecting on his work, he cited advancing LGBTQ rights, public diplomacy, connections with younger international leaders, and strengthening the Abraham Accords through technology and innovation. He described his approach as “pragmatic liberalism,” combining human rights with a firm commitment to security; Adi Ezuz was set to take his vacated seat for Yesh Atid.[13][4]

A current author biography identifies Roll as a senior research fellow at the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security and a former deputy foreign minister. It lists national security, foreign policy, public diplomacy, U.S.–Israel relations, and Diaspora Jewry among his areas of expertise.[5] A March 2026 reading list identifies him as the author of “From Agranat to October 7: Why Israel Needs an Independent National Intelligence Oversight Body,” published by the institute on March 26, 2026.[22]