State Comptroller Matanyahu Engelman announced on Monday the expansion of the permit committee and the appointment of eight new members to two-year terms.
The committee decides whether or not to give exemptions to ministers and deputy ministers from various regulations, based on criteria for conflict of interest. It has been in the headlines recently because of its decisions on permitted funding of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's legal defense against corruption allegations. The composition of the new committee reflects the policy led by Comptroller Engelman, who emphasizes the integration of experts from various fields, retired judges and senior executives in the economy, along with a voice for the socio-economic periphery, including representatives of the haredi-religious sector, Ethiopian immigrants, and a leading social activist who is a world-class professional in her field.