Outgoing State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman in his first interview

For the first time since completing his term, former State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman summarized seven years of intensive service in one of the most significant roles in the public system. In an interview with Miri Tabibi at the Channel 14 Security Conference, Englman described the sense of satisfaction from his work, alongside the professional complexity that accompanied him during periods of unprecedented national crises.

"It is a great privilege to be the State Comptroller, especially in such complex times," Englman said. He reviewed the central events that shaped his years in office, from dealing with the global coronavirus crisis and frequent election cycles to the events of October 7, which he defined as a "terrible and horrific failure."

During his tenure, the Comptroller's Office published nearly 640 reports dealing with a wide range of issues concerning the core of Israeli society. Englman emphasized that his guiding principle throughout was the public good: "I see before my eyes exclusively the citizens of Israel."

Englman addressed the fierce opposition he encountered in his attempt to investigate the failures of October 7. "We completed a series of topics," Englman noted. "Alongside this, in the four reports where the Supreme Court ruled that additions should be made, we will do so. Some are extremely significant, such as the report on the Nova party." In response to questions about attempts to block him, the Comptroller replied: "The public deserves answers. In the Nova report, 409 people were murdered; they deserve answers."

The former Comptroller detailed the sensitive issues at the heart of the criticism, hinting that these were what sparked the opposition: "We are the body that checks why, when the Chief of Staff or the head of the Shin Bet hold consultations at night, they do not even know that there are thousands of revelers at parties, even though the party received approval and was known to the security establishment. Yes, we touch sensitive nerves."

Englman revealed an exceptional incident that occurred during audit work with the army: "We saw a situation during an audit in the IDF where a military official was recording our meetings without coordinating with us. I issued a letter to the Chief of Staff and clarified that this cannot be. Whoever comes to the State Comptroller must speak freely."

With a note of frustration, Englman summarized the current situation: "I regret that we are a long time after the failure, and the citizens of Israel are not receiving answers to the serious failure, even though the answers are in the hands of the State Comptroller. Dozens of man-years have been invested in this by top-tier professionals."

Englman addressed the objections of the Attorney General and the Public Defender's Office to the October 7 massacre investigations: "They only arrived after we started assigning responsibility." However, the former Comptroller noted that after Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir took office, "we were allowed to perform our work." He also noted that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not call during the audits regarding the war: "He instructed his office staff to cooperate."

Freezing the appointment of Adv. Michael Ravilo

Against the backdrop of the interim injunction issued by the Supreme Court freezing the entry of Adv. Michael Ravilo into the position of State Comptroller, Englman said: "An abnormal situation, for some reason it is passing under the radar."