In 2007, then-State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss revealed that almost a quarter of the employees in the eight largest government companies were linked by family ties, and warned against “the formation of clans in the public corporations.” In his annual report that year, the state comptroller described in detail the nepotism thriving in the big seaports, in the Israel Electric Corp. (IEC), in Mekorot (the national water company of Israel) and in the Israel Airports Authority (IAA) — all of them workplaces known for their rather lucrative wages and good working conditions.
Following the report, an effort was made to minimize the phenomenon by means of special regulations that required, for instance, an ad-hoc approval by the board of directors of a government company for hiring new employees who were relatives of company employees. However, the effort failed. As it turned out, the percentage of employees in the companies who were family members was not reduced.
