New state comptroller tells High Court he can serve impartially despite past ties

State Comptroller-elect Attorney Michael Ravilo on Tuesday filed his first response to petitions in the High Court of Justice challenging his appointment. He rejected claims that his past professional connections to appointing or supervised parties disqualify him from serving in one of the state’s most sensitive roles.

Ravilo argued that Israeli law does not bar a candidate simply because of earlier ties. In his filing, he wrote that the law allows for “honest, upright, principled people” to serve faithfully and objectively even if they previously had connections with those who appoint them or are later reviewed by them. He also stressed that he has never been a member of any political party and spent more than three decades practicing law in the private sector.

He said he chose to run out of a sense of public mission, describing it as leaving “a comfortable and quiet life” in order to contribute to Israel and its citizens. Ravilo added that during his career he handled complex public matters and that “no stain” was cast on his conduct.

Addressing conflict-of-interest concerns, he said any personal link to a matter would be handled through standard mechanisms, including a formal conflict-of-interest arrangement that would prevent him from dealing with specific issues in which he has a direct personal interest. He concluded that there was no basis for voiding his selection “by a blanket disqualification” of the vote taken by most Knesset members, and said he intends to act for all Israeli citizens with integrity, fairness and “backbone.”