Justice Minister Yariv Levin on Wednesday called on the Knesset not to comply with a High Court of Justice ruling ordering a repeat election for State Comptroller, saying Michael Rabello, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s former personal attorney, should simply take office.
“There cannot be any doubt. A repeat election for State Comptroller cannot be held,” Levin said in an interview with the ultra-Orthodox Kol Barama radio station. “Attorney Rabello should simply enter office.”
Justice Minister Yariv Levin
(Photo: Alex Kolomoisky)
Levin made the remarks six days after the High Court ruled that the Knesset must hold a new vote for State Comptroller. The judges did not set a deadline for the repeat election, and the Knesset has yet to announce when it will take place.
The dispute comes amid an escalating confrontation between the government and the judiciary over compliance with court rulings. On the day of the ruling, ynet reported that Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana and officials close to Netanyahu were consulting over whether to comply with the decision and were considering not implementing it. Coalition lawmakers also called for a repeat vote not to be held.
“The Knesset has spoken,” Ohana said after the original vote. Following the High Court ruling, Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman Boaz Bismuth echoed the statement, in what was seen as a suggestion that the coalition might not follow the court’s decision.
However, hours later reports said Netanyahu was leaning toward holding a new vote because he wants Rabello to become State Comptroller, and the chances of securing his appointment are considered higher before the next Knesset election than afterward.
Rabello himself does not want a direct confrontation with the High Court, according to the reports. The Likud is therefore expected to present him as the person seeking to comply with the ruling, allowing the coalition to reverse course without appearing to retreat.
The process that led to Rabello’s selection as State Comptroller sparked controversy after Likud lawmakers were instructed to photograph themselves behind the voting booth curtain with ballots bearing Rabello’s name, in an effort to demonstrate loyalty to Netanyahu’s candidate. Images of Likud lawmakers with the ballots were later circulated.
Rabello, who served as Netanyahu’s personal attorney, ran against retired Supreme Court Justice Yosef Elron for the position. He was elected in the second round of voting with 61 Knesset members supporting him and 57 opposing him, after neither candidate secured enough votes in the first round.