MK Sharren Haskel Testifies to Supreme Court on Pressure to Show Vote to Netanyahu in State Comptroller Election

MK Sharren Haskel submitted an affidavit to Israel's Supreme Court stating that she and other members of the New Hope party were required to document and present their votes on the State Comptroller election to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. This election was later invalidated by the court, which ordered a new vote due to serious procedural flaws. Haskel wrote that the Likud candidate was presented as the one New Hope members had to support without reservations or independent positions, and that they were instructed to record their votes on video and show the footage to Netanyahu as proof.

Haskel acknowledged in her affidavit that she is aware of the legal consequences of not telling the truth and confirmed that New Hope had no independent stance or internal discussion on the matter at the time. Likud denied her claims. The affidavit was part of a petition Haskel filed seeking to split from the New Hope faction, a move intended to preserve her rights, including party funding, as she aims to strengthen her position in future coalition negotiations.

Haskel resigned from her role as Deputy Foreign Minister shortly before the Knesset was dissolved, protesting the government's policy on freezing arrests of draft dodgers. The Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the election process for the State Comptroller was fundamentally flawed, particularly regarding the secrecy of the vote. The court ordered a new vote between Michael Rabillo, Netanyahu's personal lawyer, and former Supreme Court Justice Yosef Elron.

The court noted that several MKs, including Shason Guetta, Shlomo Karai, Ariel Kallner, Gila Gamliel, and Mai Golan, recorded their votes on video, violating the secrecy required by law. The controversy began when Likud faction manager Aliza Barashi instructed MKs to film themselves voting behind the curtain, contrary to procedures. Netanyahu summoned MKs to verify who did not vote for Rabillo, leading to demands and a court order for a new vote. Likud members called to defy the court ruling, but the Knesset legal advisor clarified that the ruling must be obeyed and the vote repeated.