What last week’s Knesset vote means for Israel’s democracy

A relatively low-profile Knesset vote last week on the appointment of Israel’s next State Comptroller has revealed something far more significant than the identity of the successful candidate.

It exposed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s growing unwillingness to accept constraints on his power, his disregard for democratic norms and conventions, and the erosion of even the appearance of accountable and proper governance.

Last Wednesday, lawmakers voted 61–57 to elect Netanyahu’s long-time personal lawyer, Michael Rabello, as Israel’s next State Comptroller in a controversial second-round vote overshadowed by allegations that coalition lawmakers were pressured to prove their loyalty to the Prime Minister.

Retired Supreme Court Justice, Yosef Elron, had emerged ahead in the first round, securing 60 votes, just one short of the 61 required for an outright victory in the 120-member Knesset. The result suggested that several coalition lawmakers had defied party expectations and backed Elron.

What followed transformed an internal parliamentary contest into a broader test of democratic norms.

As voting commenced in the second round, an uproar erupted after reports that Likud lawmakers had been instructed to photograph themselves with Rabello’s ballot behind the voting booth. The vote was halted and restarted. By law, the election must be conducted by secret ballot.

The controversy was particularly significant because the office being filled is one of the key independent oversight bodies in Israeli democracy.