Not a single official has taken responsibility appropriately since October 7 - comptroller

One of the gravest results since the October 7 massacre is the unprecedented erosion of the value of taking responsibility, State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman said Tuesday.

This value is central to Israel’s democratic foundation, he said at the Israel Bar Association’s conference.

“As of September 2024, there is no taking of personal responsibility coupled with action in the political echelon, security establishment, military, or civilian level,” Englman said. “The opposite is true.”

Israelis are exposed to “a pattern of leaks [to the press] – the entire purpose of which is to cast responsibility on other officials,” he said.Some of the public institutions in which the value of taking responsibility has been eroded are those actively trying to prevent objective review and investigation, he added.

Another equally severe problem since October 7 is that there has been no review, checking of state bodies, or independent and objective investigation, Englman said, adding that the public is waiting for answers about “the catastrophe it experienced,” but they are not forthcoming.

“We must look in the mirror and say honestly that there has not been a single elected official, public official, or military or security personnel who has met the worthy and expected standard when it comes to taking personal responsibility,” he said.

The army, backed by the attorney-general, is actively limiting review, Englman said, adding that the Prime Minister’s Office was also attempting to prevent review.

This “does not broadcast the public and moral resilience expected of them, which is based on a willingness for true, unlimited review, even when its results are piercing and hard,” he said.

If this erosion of taking responsibility is not faced, “it is very doubtful that it will be possible to rehabilitate this value in the future,” Englman said. “Its erosion, which some would call neglect at this time, in such a severe way could be irreversible.”

Pushback from PM

A review of the state during the war is complex but critical, he said.

Englman began pushing for a review of October 7 failures in January, after the IDF had publicly declared it had achieved operational control of northern Gaza and alluded to being close to crushing Hamas in Khan Yunis, which it announced formally by early February.

He has pushed for this review as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not allowed a state inquiry, saying that the country cannot afford not to have an independent, larger review of the October 7 disaster, even if a state inquiry might be better. This review could still happen at a later date.

Yonah Jeremy Bob contributed to this report.