Poll: Four percent of Israelis say they've paid bribes in last year
Haaretz, December 7, 2006
By Asaf Rothem
Four percent of Israelis claim that they themselves or a member of their households paid a bribe during the last 12 months. That's double the rate in the U.S. and Britain, according to a Transparency International survey of corruption.
The survey measures the perception of rot in various countries. It also seeks to elucidate how well citizens feel the authorities in their countries fight corruption.
The survey, now in its fourth year, covered 59,661 adults aged 15 and up in 62 countries.
Susanne Tam, general manager of Shvil - the Transparency International organization in Israel - defined corruption as "abuse of political or other power to advance personal interests".
The Israeli part of the survey questioned 500 adults. It found that 66 percent feel the government isn't doing enough to stamp out corruption, or that it isn't doing it effectively.
No less than 16 percent of the respondents feel the government actually encourages corruption, and 55 percent felt that corruption impacts their lives personally.
81 percent feel that corruption influences the business environment, and 86 percent say it influences politics.
Despite the problems in the last wear and the gargantuan defense budgets, most Israelis feel that the army is the least corrupt organization in Israel, despite the absence of transparency in use of its huge budget. One has to wonder how the people think the budget is used, and compare it with the reality.
This year too, the political parties were considered to be highly corrupt, with a mark of 4.2 out of 5 (that being rotten to the core). After it comes the Knesset with the disheartening score of 3.8.
Religious institutions are also not highly respected, with a score of 3.6. The police force got a score of 3.3.
Israel is one of 78 countries that refused to ratify the UN anti-corruption treaty, partly because of its section against corruption in international deals, which could hamper the Defense Ministry's arms business, which often involves bribes.
