Next State Comptroller: Ravilo Arrives for First Handover Meeting with Engelman

The State Comptroller’s Office announced that attorney Michael Ravilo, who was elected yesterday in the Knesset as the next state comptroller, arrived today (Thursday) for his first handover meeting with outgoing State Comptroller and Public Complaints Commissioner Matanyahu Englman, at his office in Jerusalem. The next comptroller is expected to be sworn in on the Knesset plenum podium on July 1, and when he takes office in a month, he will become the 10th person to hold the post since the founding of the state, and Israel’s ninth public complaints commissioner. In addition, he will replace Comptroller Englman as president of the European Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (EUROSAI) and will continue in that role until May 2027.

"The past seven years were especially intense, and included the COVID years, five Knesset election campaigns, Guardian of the Walls, the October 7 massacre and the Iron Swords War," Englman said. "All of these were reflected in dozens of pointed reports on these issues, as well as reports on cyber, the environment and social issues." Englman added: "We published more than 600 reports, including about 50 Iron Swords War reports that also included personal accountability for all levels, the political, military and civilian. In the Public Complaints Commission, we doubled the number of complaints that reached the commission and surpassed 30,000 complaints a year, which indicates public trust. 'It is not upon you to finish the work, nor are you free to desist from it.' I wish attorney Michael Ravilo great success in his role and will be at his disposal whenever he needs."

As recalled, disorder was reported in the plenum during the second round of voting between Ravilo and retired Supreme Court Justice Yosef Elron, following opposition claims that Likud faction manager Aliza Brashi demanded that coalition members photograph their vote for Netanyahu’s candidate behind the curtain. Brashi denied the claims, and the vote was temporarily halted. After the criticism, the ballot box was emptied and the vote resumed. In the main edition last night, remarks attributed to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were published for the first time, saying, "Whoever thwarts Ravilo will pay in the primaries" and "Are there traitors in the coalition."

Immediately after the voting results were announced, the Movement for Quality Government and the Yesh Atid faction said they would petition the High Court of Justice against the appointment. "The appointment of the prime minister’s personal attorney to a position that is tasked with overseeing the prime minister himself is an acute conflict of interest, and it was carried out in a process that was tainted before our eyes, after Knesset members were reportedly required to document their vote in an illegal manner as a loyalty test, contrary to the position of the Knesset’s legal adviser," the Movement for Quality Government said in its response. "It is important to emphasize, what we have just seen is the opening signal of the election campaign, this is what the attempt to subordinate the guardians of the gate to personal loyalty looks like, and this is the direction heading into the general election. We must not remain silent about this."

Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett also addressed Ravilo’s election in a special statement: "What we saw today in the Knesset broke all previous records for criminality and chaos in Israel. The coalition of chaos of Smotrich, Deri and Netanyahu has proven that they have no red line. For the position of state comptroller, which is supposed to oversee Netanyahu, they appointed his personal attorney, Netanyahu’s consigliere. The vote, which by law is supposed to be secret, became public and coerced. This is a process that is tainted to its core, blatantly unlawful, with a black flag flying over it, and therefore it will be disqualified. My friend, opposition leader Lapid, filed the petition to the High Court of Justice. The appointment will be disqualified, but it will not be forgotten. The citizens of Israel will remember it forever. There is a direct line connecting the choice of Ravilo as comptroller and the attempt to evade responsibility for October 7."