New state comptroller: ‘I’m aware of the tremendous responsibility’

After a dramatic struggle in the Knesset plenum, former Jerusalem District Court Judge Yosef Shapira was appointed the new state comptroller on Tuesday. Shapira will replace Micha Lindenstrauss on July 4, and will serve a term of seven years.

Shapira defeated Deputy Supreme Court President Justice Eliezer Rivlin after three rounds of a confidential vote. In the third round, he received 68 votes to Rivlin’s 40. In the 2005 vote for Lindenstrauss, who was the only candidate for the position at the time, three rounds were needed as well, and he received 59 votes, with 29 voting against his appointment.

The voting process took three and a half hours, during which time government ministers and MKs went behind a curtain to cast their votes after being called to do so by Knesset Secretary-General Yardena Meller-Horowitz.

During the proceedings, tensions rose when the event’s overseers, Ethics Committee Chairman Yitzhak Vaknin (Shas), Dr. Rachel Adato (Kadima) and Aryeh Eldad (National Union) counted the votes after the first round and announced that Shapira had received 58, Rivlin 44 and Shlomo Kaldron, president of the Office of Internal Auditors, only 10 votes.

Since the law requires a majority of 61 votes to win the position, there was a second round of voting, which resulted in similar numbers. Industry, Trade and Labor Minister Shalom Simhon was the last to cast his vote in this round and when he took an unusually long time to do so, Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin instructed orderlies to see if the minister was well. When he completed his vote, Simhon explained that he had been waiting for Defense Minister Ehud Barak to show up for the vote. Barak ultimately missed the second round.

Shapira received 59 votes in the second round, Rivlin received 45 and Kaldron only two. Nine MKs were no-shows and five votes were invalidated, mainly because they were white slips, meaning the voter chose to support none of the candidates.

Since none of the candidates received 61 votes in the second round, voting moved to a third phase, where voters could choose only between the two leading candidates. Once again, 61 votes were required to win. During this final round, MKs Bar-On and Dalia Itzik (Kadima), who supported Shapira, together with Coalition Chairman Ze’ev Elkin (Likud) and MK Yariv Levin (Likud) paced back and forth in the plenum nervously.

Supporters of Rivlin, including Reuven Rivlin, Labor Chairwoman Shelly Yachimovich and MK Eitan Cabel (Labor) were also visibly tense.

At the end of the third round, the Knesset Speaker announced that of 111 votes, 108 were valid. Two votes were invalidated and one was a white slip. Shapira received 68 votes and Rivlin received 40.

Shapira’s supporters rejoiced after hearing the results, and a delegation of MKs, including Reuven Rivlin, Bar-On and Vaknin went to Shapira’s home to congratulate him. Shapira thanked the MKs and said, „I am aware of the tremendous responsibility I have been given and am glad to receive the appointment. I thank Judge Eliezer Rivlin and honor his part in the race.”

Shapira thanked the MKs for their support and expressed hope that he would be able to carry out his job „loyally and with complete transparency.”

President Shimon Peres called Shapira and congratulated him. „I am sure you will fulfill your tasks with responsibility and integrity,” Peres said.

Many judges and attorneys also reached out to Shapira to congratulate him on his new appointment. Reuven Rivlin said, „The state comptroller is the long arm of the Knesset, which functions as the state’s overseer, but the Knesset itself is overseen by the comptroller. Your position is very important and highly esteemed.”

Bar-On, who serves as State Control Committee chairman and is a longtime friend of Shapira, said jokingly to the new comptroller, „Today you were sweating on account of the MKs, but they will sweat on account of you in the near future.”