The Knesset voted Monday to appoint Judge Yosef Shapira as State Ombudsman and Comptroller, replacing Micha Lindenstrauss. He defeated Judge Eliezer Rivlin and Shlomo Kalderon, Honorary President of the Ombudsmen's Bureau.
Shapira was the favorite candidate and was considered a shoo-in until criticism of his candidacy began to be sounded in the media in recent days. Veteran journalist Ben Dror Yemini of Maariv hinted in a column Monday that the opponents were members of the judicial elite headed by former Supreme Court President Dorit Beinisch – although he did not mention Beinisch by name.
Yemini accused the "elites" of suspecting that Shapira would not toe their political line and preferring Judge Rivlin, even though Shapira is considred a "liberal" judge. Rivlin sits on the Supreme Court whereas Shapira serves as Jerusalem District Court judge.
In the first round of voting, Shapira received 58 votes, Rivlin received 44 and Kalderon 10. In the second round, Shapira had 59, Rivlin 45 and Kalderon 2. To achieve a victory in these two rounds, a candidate needed 61 votes – which none of them had.
The third and final round pitted Shapira against Rivlin, and a plurality of votes was sufficient for victory. Shapira defeated Rivlin 68:40. His term will last 7 years.
Outgoing Ombudsman / Comptroller Lindenstrauss was considered very activistic, and his critics accused him of loving the limelight too much. His reports often seemed well-coordinated with the media. Notably, his report regarding alleged corruption involving Maj. Gen. (ret.) Yoav Galant was crucial in preventing Galant from being appointed IDF Chief of Staff.