Editoriais de quinta, 11 de maio *

The Jerusalem Post writes: "There is no doubt that State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss has correctly perceived the public's frustration over the recent burgeoning of government corruption, and his determination to combat this scourge is admirable. But given this week's headlines trumpeting the wrangling between Lindenstrauss and Civil Service Commissioner Shmuel Hollander over alleged corrupt practices, we would do well to remember that the State Comptroller's Office is also responsible for uncovering detrimental and wasteful practices in our public institutions, improprieties which can have a far greater impact on our daily lives. The highly public airing of disagreements between Lindenstrauss and Hollander was an unseemly business that diminished the standing of both their offices. Accused of tailoring a senior position at the CSC to match the qualifications of his personal assistant and of upgrading the job to that of deputy director-general after the assistant got it without a public tender, Hollander shot back with allegations of bias against him by the state comptroller's investigative team, and charged that the SCO had acted as investigator, prosecutor and hangman. Hollander should not have made his grievances public - and certainly not before the report was published - while Lindenstrauss should have let his report do the talking for him, rather than snapping back at Hollander via the media."

Haaretz comments: "The civil service commissioner's assistant was promoted twice in a short period of time, and she was appointed a senior department head for administration and human resources, a position whose rank and pay are comparable to those of a deputy director general. Even if that appointment deviated from the rules, we should not ignore the other findings involving the commission, which are no less important, and perhaps even more so... The report's findings confirm that which is already known: Matters are being conducted improperly in several spheres, including the health system, the police and the National Insurance Institute. As it does every year, the question arises of whether we can learn from the report that there has been a substantial improvement in public service compared to previous years. The answer is still 'No.' We must wait and see whether the new guidelines for critiques that Lindenstrauss has introduced in the Comptroller's Office will yield the desired results."

Hatzofeh declares that, "The criticism of State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss must be very sharply rejected," and says that not even Civil Service Commissioner Shmuel Hollander is entitled to be immune from the comptroller's oversight. The editors believe that while the State Comptroller's Office is not sacrosanct, criticism of it should be aired in the proper forums, such as the Knesset State Control Committee, and not in the media.

Yediot Aharonot says that despite the plethora of retired senior military officers - representing a broad spectrum of political views - who have entered politics in Israel over the years, Israeli democracy has never been under any sort of military-based threat. The editors note that the IDF is still a major engine of social mobility and suggest that, as the social composition of the senior officer corps changes over the years, so does - and so will - the social composition of ex-senior officers who go into politics.