Shapira takes oath of office as new state comptroller
Outgoing Micha Lindenstrauss to continue investigating ‘Harpaz Affair’ for up to three months.
By LAHAV HARKOVState Comptroller Joseph Shapira 370(photo credit: Marc Israel Sellem)
Israel's new State Comptroller, Judge Joseph Shapira, took his oath of office Wednesday morning, pledging to cooperate with the Knesset in his work.Shapira said that the office of the State Comptroller must point out failures, but most importantly, ensure they are corrected. Likewise, he added, "we should not just point out those responsible for failures but also those who do not fix them."The ceremony was planned for Monday, but was postponed due to former prime minister Yitzhak Shamir’s funeral.Shapira's predecessor will be allowed to continue to work for three more months.Shapira, a Jerusalem District Court judge for the past seven years and the candidate proposed by Likud and Kadima, was elected by a 68-MK majority in a dramatic night of voting in May.The new comptroller faced off against Deputy Supreme Court President Eliezer Rivlin and Institute of Internal Auditors president Shlomo Calderon in three rounds of voting, in which many Kadima and several Likud MKs rebelled against their party’s official choice, shortly after the formation of the 94-MK coalition.Last week, the Knesset approved a bill proposed by State Control Committee chairman Uri Ariel (National Union), which allows for an extension of each comptroller’s term by up to three months in order to complete reports for which a first draft was already submitted.As such, State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss will continue to write his report on the “Harpaz Affair,” which involves an alleged forgery by a confidant of former IDF chief of staff Gabi Ashkenazi.
