Whistleblowers Abandoned Again

Public employees who expose corruption are left unprotected due to the absence of a sitting State Comptroller. One whistleblower was forced to pay 80,000 shekels to a lawyer to stop their dismissal. The author calls for the appointment of a State Comptroller or an interim acting official to sign protection orders.

Attorney Rachel El-Shai Rosenfeld, director of the Unit for the Protection of Whistleblowers at the Movement for Quality Government, describes the plight of public employees who expose corruption and are left without protection. She recounts the case of a whistleblower who had to pay 80,000 shekels to a lawyer to file proceedings with the Labor Court and stop their dismissal, due to the absence of a State Comptroller who can grant protection orders. The Comptroller has been absent for about three weeks, and the government is not expected to appoint a new one until after the elections. The author notes that in the past, the Knesset unanimously approved laws to expand protection for whistleblowers, but now the mechanism is disabled. She warns of harm to the integrity of the elections and calls for the appointment of a State Comptroller or an interim acting official to sign protection orders.