Yitzhak Tunik, a prominent attorney who was Israel’s third state comptroller, died Monday at the age of 77.
Tunik was born in Russia, came to Palestine in 1934 and studied mathematics and physics at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.
He began to study law in 1937, and was chief prosecutor of the Israel Defense Force during the War for Independence in 1948.
Tunik was elected president of the Israel Bar Association in 1972 and served as state comptroller from 1982 to 1987.
In that watchdog job, he was especially critical of rabbinical courts, religious institutions and election financing. He also fought against what he considered to be wasteful government projects, such as a proposed canal through the Negev linking the Dead Sea and the Mediterranean.
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