Political drama erupted in the Knesset on Tuesday after attorney Michael Rabello, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s personal lawyer, was elected Israel’s 10th state comptroller.
In the second round of voting, 61 lawmakers backed Rabello, compared with 57 who supported retired Supreme Court Justice Yosef Elron.
Earlier, in the first round, Elron received 60 votes. Since 61 votes were required to win in the first round, lawmakers were called to a second vote. Rabello, who was ultimately elected, received only 57 votes in that round.
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Coalition members photograph themselves voting for Michael Rabello for State Comptroller, in a show of loyalty to the prime minister
As the second round began, an uproar broke out in the plenum after Likud demanded that its lawmakers photograph themselves behind the voting booth with Rabello’s ballot. As a result, the second round of voting was restarted.
A total of 118 lawmakers voted in the first round, with one casting a blank ballot. The two lawmakers absent from the vote were Meir Porush and Eli Dallal, who had initially signed in support of Elron.
At the start of the second round, Likud members were reportedly asked to photograph themselves behind the voting booth with Rabello’s ballot to prove loyalty to Netanyahu’s candidate. Likud officially denied that any such instruction was given. The Knesset legal adviser ruled that the move violated procedures.
Knesset lawmaker Sasson Guetta, who is close to former minister Moshe Kahlon, who had promoted Elron’s candidacy, showed the coalition documentation of his vote. Ministers May Golan and Shlomo Karhi were also documented with their ballots.
The election sparked angry reactions from the opposition. Opposition leader Yair Lapid said Likud had “contaminated the election” and announced that he would petition the High Court. The Movement for Quality Government also said it would petition the court.
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Michael Rabello has represented Netanyahu in court in several sensitive cases
(Photo: Jonathan Zindel/Flash90)
Democrats chairman Yair Golan sadi of Rabello's election: “The citizens of Israel today saw the coalition in all its ugliness and a democratic election process contaminated to its core. What happened today in the Knesset plenum is the clear conduct of a criminal organization — extortion, threats and intimidation.”
He added: “They are trampling the law and the rules of the game because they know that otherwise they lose. To prevent them from doing in the general election what we saw today in the Knesset, the democratic and law-abiding camp must go out and vote in masses. They must not be given any option or loophole to steal the election, and a high turnout in the democratic-liberal camp is the vaccine against this rot. The larger and more decisive the gap between sanity and criminality, the more we will ensure victory in the election and return Israel to the right path.”
Yisrael Beitenu chairman Avigdor Liberman said: “I wonder what the prime minister of October 7 promised the draft dodgers so they would support his private attorney for the position of state comptroller.”
Since Rabello and Elron announced their candidacies, both tried to persuade lawmakers to support them. While the coalition publicly backed Rabello, the opposition sided with Elron. However, some in the opposition expressed concern over the fact that Elron had previously spoken out against the seniority system for selecting the Supreme Court president, and had unusually run for the post with coalition support against the elected president, Isaac Amit.
In addition, Elron’s name had previously been raised as Netanyahu’s candidate to head the political commission of inquiry into the October 7 massacre. Elron responded to concerns among opposition factions by saying: “I am not coordinated with Justice Minister Levin, I have no connection to him and have barely met him.” The justice also told lawmakers that he opposed the seniority system because it is not a law, but rather a practice that he believes is outdated and should not exist.
At the start of the battle over the identity of the next state comptroller, few believed Netanyahu could reach such a level of governmental decay, in which he would promote an associate such as Rabello to a role that requires independence and necessary distance in order to conduct sharp oversight, including of the prime minister himself and all areas under his responsibility.
Rabello represented Netanyahu in several politically and publicly sensitive matters. Among other things, he was involved in political agreements to bring candidates into Netanyahu governments, including the “emergency government” at the start of the war with Benny Gantz, and later in bringing in Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar.
Rabello also represented Netanyahu and the government in talks at President Isaac Herzog’s residence over a compromise on the judicial overhaul. Before the High Court, Rabello represented Netanyahu in petitions concerning whether a criminal defendant could be given the mandate to form a government, and regarding the establishment of a state commission of inquiry into October 7.
He will serve as state comptroller for seven years.