Corruption Perception Index ranking: Israel has slipped to 32nd place

Transparency International, on 29 January 2024, published the "Corruption Perception Index" CPI for 2023 for 180 countries, with 180 scores. The score given to Israel dropped this year from 63 to 62, and as a result, it dropped two places in the ranking.

Every year, Transparency International TI collects the research findings of corruption as the public perceives it in different countries and publishes a report with the corruption index that gives a score and ranks the position of the investigated country among other countries. Each year, the research focuses on different aspects of corruption. The current corruption index ranking examines the relationship between the levels of corruption in the country, the maintenance of an independent judicial system, and civil liberties. It focuses on the freedom of the press and the media, the freedom to organize protest movements, and the status of gatekeepers.

According to retired judge Nili Arad, chairwoman of the organization, "the rise to ranking 63 in the 2022 index reflected the governmental conduct in Israel that year, as a liberal democracy, while ensuring a strong and independent judicial system, protection of the gatekeepers and free communication. There was a fundamental change in this governmental conduct in 2023, and therefore the drop to 62nd place, when its main manifestation was in the actions of government officials to weaken the judicial system's independence and undermine the status of gatekeepers."

On February 21, 2018, the Transparency International organization's corruption index was published, referring to 2017, in which Israel scored 62 out of 100 and was ranked 32nd. Corruption is exploiting an individual's authority or position to promote or receive personal favors, such as a public servant exploiting his position or authority to encourage or receive a benefit for his personal needs. There is no dispute that the role of public policy in a democratic country is to eradicate corruption. The rule of law and criminal law are clear. But in his eyes, the gap between the law and reality remains.

The importance of the scores and ranking of the corruption index of Transparency International in the world cannot be underestimated since the index is one of the factors considered in the risk management of investors in the financial system and the economy when they come to examine the feasibility of investing in any country. For the public in Israel, this is a sign of dissatisfaction with the quality of life and the ruling culture.

Assuming that the CPI is an index that examines the level of corruption reliably, Israel's score and ranking in the corruption index over the past decade have not changed substantially.

For example, in 2015, Israel's score was 61, and its position was 32; in 2016, the score was 64, and its position was 28; in contrast, in 2017, the score was 62, and its position was 32. In 2008, when I was a board member of the Israeli branch of Transparency International, Israel's score was 6 out of 10. Israel's position among the various countries tested in the ranking was 33, and in 2009, the score was 6.1, and its position was 32. And what changed between 2015 and 2023?

In 2015-2016, investigations of representatives of prominent and leading business entities in the Israeli economy were investigated. Some were even tried and found guilty, even though in 2017, there was extensive activity of social protest and criminal investigations attributing corruption to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. None of this changed the public's perception in Israel regarding the level of corruption. Moreover, in September 2008, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert resigned amid criminal investigations against him; in 2009, an indictment was filed against him, and in 2012, the verdict was found guilty after six years of a criminal investigation. The variation in the scores and ranking of the State of Israel in the corruption index in the last ten years is negligible.

We return to the score of 62 for the State of Israel in the Corruption Index in 2017, and here is 2023, indicating the dissatisfaction of the Israeli public with the quality of life and the governing culture. Will it arouse concern and care among those involved in delineating and enforcing Israel's public policy? Time will tell.

https://www.transparency.org/en/news/cpi-2023-highlights-insights-corruption-injustice