With all the scandalous scandals rocking our country, from the Holyland affair on down, it is small comfort that Israel ranks 32nd out of 188 on the Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index (CPI), in a better position than Italy, Spain, most of Eastern European countries, and all of the other Middle Eastern countries, except the United Arab Emirates. (The U.k. is at 18, and the U.S. at 19).

It is also small comfort that, at least according to an article in Der Spiegel, part of Israel’s lower ranking than many of the Western European countries, the U.S. etc., is that Israeli investigators are simply more tenacious than their European counterparts and that while similar kickback deals, nepotism, bribery deals and so forth occur in other countries in Europe, they aren’t investigated or prosecuted. Our anti-corruption laws are now stricter than in Europe, as well, meaning politicians get investigated and prosecuted for things (like Olmert’s undervaluing of his Mont Blanc pen collection) that political counterparts in other countries wouldn’t be scrutinized or prosecuted over.

Small comfort, indeed.