US State Department restores Israel to highest anti-trafficking ranking for first time since 2021

Israel has returned to Tier 1, the highest category in the US State Department’s annual Trafficking in Persons Report, after five consecutive years in Tier 2, the Justice Ministry announced Thursday night.

The ministry said the report, which assessed Israel’s efforts during 2025, found that the government fully met the US minimum standards for eliminating human trafficking and had made significant progress in enforcement, victim protection and prevention.

According to the ministry, the State Department cited a doubling of trafficking investigations and an increase in sentences imposed on offenders, as well as formal procedures for recognizing different categories of trafficking victims and expanded treatment and rehabilitation services.

The report also credited Israel with increasing the number of labor and immigration enforcement inspectors, establishing dedicated police units, appointing prosecutors to handle trafficking cases and expanding legal assistance for victims, the ministry said.

US recognizes Israel's progress against human trafficking

The State Department places governments in four categories: Tier 1, Tier 2, the Tier 2 Watch List and Tier 3. The rankings measure governments’ efforts to combat trafficking, not the actual scale of trafficking within each country.

Tier 1 means that a government meets the minimum standards set by the US Trafficking Victims Protection Act.

The 2000 law, as amended, requires the State Department to assess foreign governments’ efforts to prosecute traffickers, protect victims, and prevent trafficking. Its minimum standards are generally consistent with the UN protocol on human trafficking, known as the Palermo Protocol.

Israel held a Tier 1 ranking from 2012 until it was downgraded in 2021. The State Department said at the time that Israel did not fully meet the minimum standards but was making significant efforts to do so.

Justice Minister Yariv Levin called the renewed Tier 1 ranking recognition of Israel’s intensive work against human trafficking.

“We have received full recognition of Israel’s status as one of the world’s leading countries in the fight against human trafficking,” Levin said. “I thank all the partners in this work, who joined forces toward the important goal of combating human trafficking, preventing exploitation and ensuring proper protection and assistance for those harmed by this serious phenomenon.”