Netanyahu is right about Israel’s ‘deep state’

For liberal and leftist critics of Israel’s government, it was just the latest example of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s effort to follow the same playbook as President Donald Trump. When the former spoke recently of the efforts on the part of Israel’s “deep state” to derail his government, both Israelis who voted for Netanyahu’s political opponents in the last election and Democrats who backed former Vice President Kamala Harris tuned out everything that followed. As far as they are concerned, talk of a “deep state” in either country is just a right-wing conspiracy theory that is part of an attempt by both leaders to overturn or seriously undermine democracy.

That’s also the line that most pundits are spreading about the prime minister’s move to fire the head of the Shin Bet (Internal Security Agency) and the attorney general, as he seeks to carry on the war on Hamas without being held back by opponents inside the governing apparatus. Such analysts claim that Netanyahu’s assertions about an army of bureaucrats—aided by elites who run the business, legal, media, academic and cultural establishments—is seeking to sabotage his government, is a figment of his imagination.

If only that were true.

If Netanyahu were lying about the existence of a “deep state” and merely, as his opponents claim, seeking to grab power, that would, of course, be bad. But even if they believed that he was a would-be authoritarian, it would also mean that friends of Israel could rest easy, secure in the knowledge that there was nothing fundamentally corrupt about the structure of the country’s government.

They could have confidence in its legal system; they could then sit back and watch the drama that has played out since Netanyahu won the November 2022 Knesset election and believe that democracy would ultimately be saved by Israel’s all-powerful Supreme Court, which can always be counted to overturn just about everything he tries to do.

If only.

The problem is that Netanyahu is not lying. The Israeli “deep state” is all too real and the efforts of its operatives and their liberal elite supporters to hold on to the power they’ve held since the early days of the state have, as he said, done much to sabotage every prime minister that has come from the right.

A judicial coup

The really bad news for Israel is that, unlike Trump, whose Article 2 constitutional powers do give him the ability and the right to make the sort of sweeping changes in the federal bureaucracy that can sweep the American “deep state” out of power, Netanyahu has no such powers. If Israel’s Supreme Court is brazen enough to carry out what is nothing less than a judicial coup, they can effectively stop Netanyahu not only from carrying out the government’s determination to fire both the Shin Bet head and the attorney general, but from doing anything else, including adopting necessary measures for fighting the war on Hamas.

That, like the court’s shameless ruling that invalidated a Knesset measure imposing even the most minimal efforts at reforming an out-of-control judiciary, could set off a constitutional crisis. It’s one that can only be avoided by a decision by the country’s democratically elected government to surrender to the country’s decidedly non-democratic judicial rulers.

It’s important to remind American observers of this Israeli political dustup that, contrary to the disingenuous claims of Netanyahu’s opponents, this isn’t about defending the same kind of checks and balances between the separate branches of government that made the U.S. Constitution a work of genius that has preserved the American republic for the last 237 years.

Like some other parliamentary democracies, Israel has no written constitution. In Britain, that problem has been overcome by the way the country’s democratic system naturally evolved over several centuries, as traditions rooted in history helped restrain the power of government. Though even there, recent legal changes enacted by left-wing Labor governments are potentially eroding freedoms and equality under the law.

But Israel’s legal problems stem from a judicial revolution that began in the last 30 years under the aegis of former Supreme Court President Aharon Barak. He arrogated to the judiciary almost unlimited powers to overturn virtually any measure undertaken by the country’s government.

Rather than defending a stable system of checks and balances, Barak’s judicial revolution created a system in which there is no check on the court, giving its permanent liberal majority the ability to override governmental decisions.

This is reinforced by the stranglehold that the country’s elites have long held on its major institutions, whose numbers overwhelmingly come from left-leaning secular Ashkenazi Jews. This enabled it to have a permanent and undemocratic check on the will of the voters.

That’s an issue because the electorate is increasingly made up of right-leaning traditional and religious Jews, as well as the Mizrahim, who currently make up about half of the population.

The verdict of democracy

Netanyahu’s 2022 win reflected that trend, since it gave Israel its first government made up solely of right-wing and religious representatives, who commanded a clear majority of the Knesset.

That shocked the liberal/non-religious establishment, which was not only upset about being unable to prevent Netanyahu’s return to office after 18 months of an ineffective anybody-but-Bibi government. They also feared that, given the demographic trends, the left might not prevail again at the ballot box for the foreseeable future.

Netanyahu’s new government then sought to enact changes that imposed some relatively mild restraints on the power of the courts.

Such a shift would have restored balance to a system that was increasingly resembling a juristocracy. But the left rightly regarded it as a threat to its grip on the last vestige of its once unchallenged power.

Chaos followed as an anti-Netanyahu “resistance” took to the streets to prevent any change. Though it was presented to the world as an effort to save democracy, the truth was just the opposite. The goal of the demonstrators was to prevent democratically elected governments with which they disagreed from being able to truly rule.

The protest movement that arose in 2023 nearly shut down the country. And, by inspiring a revolt among Israel Defense Forces reservists, especially those serving in the Air Force and filling other technical roles in the military, gave Israel’s foes the impression that the country was too weak and divided to defend itself. The left continues to blame Netanyahu, rather than itself for this dangerous development. But it not only stopped judicial reform; it also set the stage for the Oct. 7 massacre and the war that followed.

Let Netanyahu lead

Nevertheless, Israel’s deep state has continued to snipe at the government and undermine its ability to function.

The merits of Netanyahu’s decision to fire the head of the Shin Bet may be debated. But the notion that a head of government who has no confidence in one of his intelligence chiefs (particularly one who, it should be pointed out, is among those most responsible for the Oct. 7 debacle) can’t replace him with someone he trusts is, like the 2023 street protests, nothing more than a thinly veiled effort to topple the prime minister by undemocratic means.

The same goes for an attorney general who seems to believe her unelected post gives her the right to thwart Netanyahu on measures, like choosing a head of the Shin Bet, about which she has no authority.

At the same time, Netanyahu is still battling a set of dubious corruption charges in court. These, like the equally flimsy cases Democrats brought against Trump to bankrupt and jail him, are nothing more than banana republic-style lawfare.

The most telling argument being flung at Netanyahu is that he is wrong to do anything that might divide the country at a time of war. But this claim falls apart when you realize that the Shin Bet head may, like the rest of the “deep state,” be interested in more than just unseating Netanyahu. They might also wish to prevent him from seeking victory in the war against Hamas, rather than consenting to a deal that would ensure the terrorists remain in power in Gaza, since that conforms to their ideas about the conflict. If Netanyahu is to effectively lead Israel in wartime, he deserves to have subordinates who agree with his vision, not opponents seeking to hamper him.

Some of the left’s complaints are reasonable

The power of the haredi sector, which grows with each new election as their numbers increase more than that of secular Jews, is in stark contrast with their refusal to serve in the military and defend the country. The fact that a large percentage of haredi men also don’t make meaningful contributions to the economy, or even support their own families, is galling to the majority of Israelis.

Of course, the power of the haredim would be checked if some of the parties in the opposition would agree to work with Netanyahu. But they are so bitter about him—and, after more than three decades as a leading figure in Israeli politics, including 17 as prime minister, his enemies are legion—that they have refused to partner with him.

Gaslighting democracy

Still, even if you agree that the influence of the ultra-Orthodox should be sharply reduced, the democratic way to achieve this is at the ballot box. If Netanyahu stays in power, it is not because of any authoritarian tendencies, but due to his ability to win elections. To claim, as the prime minister’s detractors do, that a system that produces results that they dislike isn’t really democratic, is not so much absurd as it is a form of gaslighting.

American politics, too, is increasingly driven by class, education and income levels. The Democrats have become, much to their detriment, the party of the credentialed elites and the very rich, while Trump and the Republicans, much to their advantage, now draw most of their support from the working class, those without college degrees and/or make under $100,000 a year.

Trump’s efforts to reduce the power of the federal bureaucracy is an attempt to change a situation in which its left-leaning apparatchiks now form an unelected and unaccountable fourth branch of government. It remains to be seen how much success he will have in cutting them down to size. The same is true of his much-needed campaign to defund institutions of higher education that have been captured by woke ideologues who, as one aspect of their insidious influence, have fueled the surge of antisemitism since Oct. 7, 2023.

Yet any efforts to draw comparisons between the two countries inevitably fall apart. Each country may have its own version of the “deep state,” but Israel’s political divide is the product of its unique Jewish demography.

Nevertheless, American friends of Israel should not reflexively accept the claims of the country’s establishment and its allies in the U.S. media that Netanyahu is endangering democracy. Like Trump, he rules over a country where approximately half the voters hate him and will always vote for his rivals no matter what he does.

The existence of a “deep state” in Israel, like that in the United States, is not really debatable.

Elections provide legitimacy

The firm grip on power held by those who are entrenched in Israel’s bureaucracy and the establishments that run many of its institutions is not the same thing as democratic legitimacy. Their liberal opinions and contempt for the Mizrahi and religious majority does not give them the right to effectively hamstring the government that the country voted into office at the last election.

Israel’s voters will likely have the chance to choose a new government at some point by the end of 2026 when the current Knesset’s term is up. And though there are good reasons to support a change at the top due to Oct. 7 and Netanyahu’s long tenure, no one should underestimate the chances that, if he runs again, will win yet another term in office.

Until then, the prime minister should be given the ability to govern and, hopefully, lead the country to a victory that will finally end the threat from Hamas and its Iranian sponsors. And American friends of Israel should give no aid or comfort to those seeking to prevent him from doing that, regardless of how they feel about him or the haredim.

© JNS