New state ombudsman Englman sworn into office
Former head of Council of Higher Education becomes first state comptroller in decades who was not previously a judge, says he won’t meddle in decision making
Matanyahu Englman was sworn in Monday as Israel’s new state comptroller, vowing his probing of official institutions would not interfere with the work of decision makers.
Englman, who was previously head of the Council of Higher Education, is taking over from Yosef Shapira after a seven-year term. He is the first person in decades to become ombudsman who was not a former judge.
“The comptroller examines, checks and makes recommendations to decision makers, but as a rule doesn’t interfere in the decision-making process,” Englman said during his swearing-in ceremony at the Knesset.
“Interfering in the decision making is liable to hurt the status of the criticism as objective and independent,” he added.
Englman promised to defend the status of his office and said his criticism would be constructive in nature.
“It is important for me to emphasize that integrity and incorruptibility, which are the basis of the state’s moral strength, are an important element of the State Comptroller’s mission,” he added.
Englman, who was chosen by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his political allies, was elected by the Knesset earlier this month in a secret ballot.
A graduate of the national religious camp’s flagship Har Etzion yeshiva in the West Bank’s Etzion Bloc, the 53-year-old Englman has a bachelor’s degree in economics and accounting and a MA in business administration. In 2014-2018 he served as director general of the Technion–Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa. He was appointed last year as director general of Israel’s Council for Higher Education.
It is the state comptroller’s job to review the policies and actions of the government and its agencies. According to the Knesset website he is tasked with “inspecting the legality, integrity, managerial norms, efficiency and economy of the audited bodies, as well as any other matter which he or she deems necessary.”
The comptroller issues annual reports as well as special reports on issues that he believes require attention.
The Times of Israel Community.