Pressure and Warning to MKs: “Whoever Torpedoes Ravilo Will Pay in the Primaries”

First published: The election of attorney Michael Ravilo as State Comptroller, completed today (Wednesday) after an unprecedented parliamentary uproar, sends a clear message about the coalition’s priorities. In the main edition, statements attributed to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were published for the first time, according to which, “Whoever torpedoes Ravilo will pay in the primaries” and “Are there traitors in the coalition?”

Meanwhile, while the political system is in turmoil over the disputed selection process and the pressure exerted on Knesset members behind the curtain, the real public focus is shifting to the inherent conflict of interest of the next comptroller. The main obstacle Ravilo will have to confront from his first day in office is the need to investigate the failures of October 7. Having served for years as the personal and closest attorney of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Ravilo now finds himself in a position where he must examine, or decide not to examine, the governing system headed by his former client. The appointment places the Office of the State Comptroller at a critical crossroads, the ability to conduct an independent, sharp, and unbiased investigation into the failures of the war is already being tested before Ravilo even enters his office.

The voices heard today from the opposition and from bereaved families, who argue that “the investigated appointed his investigators,” reflect deep concern that the oversight institution may become a tool serving political loyalty rather than the public truth. With the expected petitions to the High Court of Justice, the justices will have to decide whether a person so closely connected personally and legally to the prime minister can serve as the official responsible for investigating the failures tied to his tenure. Until then, Israel begins the day with a State Comptroller whose central issue on the table is, first and foremost, his own appointment.

As recalled, immediately after the vote results were announced, in a secret ballot that went to a second round in the plenum, 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 the position charged with overseeing the prime minister himself is a severe conflict of interest, and it was carried out in a process contaminated before our eyes, after according to reports Knesset members were required to document their vote in an unlawful manner as a loyalty test, contrary to the position of the Knesset legal adviser,” the Movement for Quality Government wrote in its response. “It is important to emphasize, what we have just seen is the opening shot of the election campaign, this is what the attempt to subordinate gatekeepers to personal loyalty looks like, and this is the direction heading into the general election. We must not remain silent.”

Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett also addressed Ravilo’s selection in a special statement: “What we saw today in the Knesset broke all previous records of criminality and chaos in Israel. The chaos coalition of Smotrich, Deri and Netanyahu proved 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 under the law is supposed to be secret, became public and coerced. This is a process contaminated to its core, blatantly unlawful, above it flies a black flag, and therefore it will be annulled. My friend, the opposition leader Lapid, filed the petition to the High Court of Justice. The appointment will be annulled, but it will not be forgotten. The citizens of Israel will remember this forever. A straight line connects the election of Ravilo as comptroller and the attempt to evade responsibility for October 7.”

Opposition Leader MK Yair Lapid wrote: “The Likud Party contaminated the election for State Comptroller. I will petition the High Court of Justice on behalf of the Yesh Atid faction (Together) over the breach of ballot secrecy and after the intervention of the Knesset Speaker from the Likud in the position of the Knesset legal adviser. I intend to petition the High Court of Justice in order to clarify the legality of the process.”

Yisrael Beytenu chairman MK Avigdor Lieberman also responded to the comptroller’s selection: “It is interesting what the Prime Minister of October 7 promised to draft dodgers in order for them to support his private attorney for the post of State Comptroller.”

Chairman of the Yashar! party, MK Gadi Eisenkot, wrote: “Attorney Michael Ravilo, we do not know you. You were elected through a dictatorial method that challenged Israeli democracy and was led by a prime minister who does not enjoy public trust and sees himself above the rule of law. If you have even a shred of morality and values, announce immediately that you are not willing to accept the post. If you agree to accept it, you are disqualified in my eyes and in the eyes of many for any public service in Israel.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu chose, as expected, to congratulate him: “I congratulate attorney Michael Ravilo on his election as State Comptroller. In the coming days I will invite him to a first working meeting in his new role. I wish attorney Ravilo great success in his role. We will act together in full cooperation for the benefit of the public service in the State of Israel.”

Ravilo himself said: “I thank the Holy One, blessed be He. I thank the Knesset members for the trust they placed in me. I accept the role with a deep sense of responsibility and a full commitment to all the citizens of Israel.”