Who is Lindenstrauss?

There are headlines in the Israeli newspapers about Lindenstrauss. Misha Lindenstrauss is the Israel State Comptroller, and as such he is invested with the power to investigate all workings of the Israeli Government and to issue an annual Report on his findings. Many previous Comptrollers have issued stinging criticisms of various Government actions and agencies, but Lindenstrauss is the first to systematically name names. He justified this by saying that since it's individuals who are responsible for the bad actions of Government offices, the public should know who they are.
Lindenstrauss just issued his annual Report that was presented to the Knesset and the Government. But even before it was officially presented, leaks were issued from several offices that apparently feature in the criticisms in the Report. Most notably the Civil Service Commissioner Shmuel Hollander is strongly criticized in the Report for allowing appointments to go ahead without the required processes and for showing favoritism and nepotism in appointments. Even before these criticisms were published Hollander's office issued a letter rejecting the findings of the Report and attacking Lindenstrauss in a very personal way. This probably means that his criticisms are correct, however, an official Enquiry will be made to find out.
In other criticisms the Report includes:
- A scathing 200-page report on the Health Ministry
- Advises 'Take punitive measures against AGREXCO's GM'
- Police must improve efficacy in prosecuting minor offenses
- Road safety authority needs more power
In the case of the Justice Ministry, the report on the Civil Service Commission continued, 80 percent of the tenders were awarded to employees who had already been hired to fill the position without a tender being issued. In the case of the Finance Ministry, the figure was 66 percent. Although these seem excessive, it is not unusual for Ministries to completely ignore their own regulations or the law, as well as indulging in criminal activity. One common feature of the annual Report is the excessive salaries given to members of Government agencies, such as the Electrical Corporation, or various Mayor's offices. Sometimes in the past, Civil Servants have given themselves or their friends hugely excessive salaries, and they are never prosecuted for this, only asked to reduce the salaries and to return the excess money, which they never do. Such is 'chutzpah' in the Jewish State.