Michael Rabello, a lawyer born in 1966, was elected State Comptroller of Israel following a turbulent vote likely to trigger further legal disputes. For years, he has stood alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in some of the most sensitive constitutional battles before Israel’s Supreme Court.
For Italian-Israeli jurist Michael Sierra, the affair presents a paradox. On the one hand, there is the professional he describes as “a very decent, upright person and an excellent lawyer.” On the other hand, the appointment risks being remembered for the controversy surrounding it. “I have known him practically since I was born. I don’t know if he will accept the position,” Sierra told Pagine Ebraiche. “Our families are friends. His father, Alfredo Rabello, was very close to my grandfather, who was the rabbi of Bologna at the time. They are kind, generous, and honorable people.”
Italian roots
The Rabello family’s connection to Italy goes back several generations. His grandfather, Emilio, and his great-grandfather were prominent lawyers in Italy. His father, Mordechai Alfredo, later moved to Israel, where he became a professor emeritus of Roman and Jewish law at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. “Alfredo belongs to that generation of jurists who made a decisive contribution to the development of Israeli private law,” Sierra explained. “He has written extensively on Jewish law and Israeli private law and has taught Roman law for many years.”
Michael Rabello also maintains a connection with his Italian roots. “He attends the Italian Synagogue in Jerusalem and maintains ties with the Italkim (the Italian Jewish community in Israel),” Sierra noted. After studying law at the Hebrew University, the newly elected State Comptroller completed his legal apprenticeship under Supreme Court Justice Menachem Elon. Elon was one of the most authoritative interpreters of the relationship between Israeli law and the Jewish legal tradition, Sierra added.
His relationship with Netanyahu
In recent years, Rabello has become one of Netanyahu’s closest legal advisers. “Above all, Rabello is the lawyer handling institutional and constitutional matters,” Sierra explained. “He has been involved in many of the most sensitive cases concerning Netanyahu and the government.” Rabello’s role alongside the prime minister was one of the most debated aspects of the vote for State Comptroller. This position is an independent oversight authority elected by secret ballot in the Knesset and directly accountable to it for monitoring the government’s conduct.
The election
Rabello secured victory in the second round of voting, but the process was marred by controversy. Several Likud lawmakers photographed or filmed their ballots to prove that they had supported Netanyahu’s preferred candidate. “The problem is that the Basic Law on the State Comptroller expressly provides that the vote must be secret,” Sierra emphasized. “It is possible that the judges will annul the procedure and order a new vote. At the moment, that remains a plausible scenario.”
Before the Supreme Court
The Rabello affair comes at a particularly delicate moment for Israel’s constitutional system. In the coming months, the Supreme Court will address some of the most important issues in the country’s public life. Among these matters is the debate over the future commission of inquiry into the events of October 7, 2023, and the political and military responsibilities preceding Hamas’s attack.
There is also ongoing litigation concerning the new law introducing the death penalty for certain terrorism-related offenses, as well as disputes surrounding the Judicial Appointments Committee. The Supreme Court recently ordered Justice Minister Yariv Levin to convene the committee after months of institutional deadlock. “Levin argues that the decision is illegitimate and continues to oppose it,” Sierra said. “If the government were to openly refuse to comply with a Supreme Court ruling, we would be facing a genuine constitutional crisis. It would be an unprecedented moment in Israel’s history.”
Daniel Reichel
Translated by Caterina Mansani and revised by Elizabeth El Khoury, students at the Advanced School for Interpreters and Translators of the University of Trieste, trainees in the newsroom of the Union of the Italian Jewish Communities – Pagine Ebraiche.