No other country in the Western world has been forced to exist under the constant shadow of endless cycles of war, terrorism, invasion, rocket fire, suicide bombings, ramming attacks and existential threats since its establishment, affecting virtually every single family. Israel, established 78 years ago, has had to endure all that, and no end is in sight.
While many nations have experienced wars in their history, Israel has faced continuous conflict from the very day it was established as the Jewish homeland after nearly two thousand years of exile. Hamas’ invasion of southern Israel on Oct 7th, was only the latest manifestation of the barbaric terror carried out by its Palestinian Arab neighbors, let alone the ensuring war on seven fronts forcing Israel to defend herself against daily attacks by Hamas, Houthis, Hezbollah and Iran.
This ongoing reality of the endless cycles of wars and terror is a product of the Arab and Islamist refusal to accept the existence of Israel, a sliver of territory in the Middle East. The rejection of Israel’s right to exist as the national homeland of the Jewish people lies behind the historical phenomenon of endless wars and terror, but there is another, rarely mentioned reason for the lack of decisive outcomes on Israel's part.
Judicial overreach in Israel and the butterfly effect of Israel’s judicial system have systematically weakened Israel’s security and empowered antisemitism within Israel and throughout the Western world, resulting in global antisemitism that threatens not only Israel but Jews everywhere. Israel’s “deep state" as personified by its judicial system prevents an end to the cycle of war and terror, but it is not alone. The four pillars of Israel’s “deep state" also include the judiciary, the media, bureaucratic civil servants, and progressive political forces.
Together, Israel’s “deep state" led by unelected bureaucrats, legal advisors, and judges has thwarted the will of the people by preventing Israel’s elected government from passing laws and ensuring policies that in most Western nations are not subservient to legal review.
The political bias of Israel’s “deep state" has influenced all sectors of government, allowing entrenched bureaucrats in the military, police, and Israel’s security agencies to operate with legal immunity when promoting progressive strategic policies that contradict or nullify the explicit laws and decisions passed by Israel’s elected government. Judicial activism and non-elected officials in government ministries, often termed "legal advisors," act as a "super government" preventing governmental ministers from carrying out their duties and fulfilling their political mandate, thereby expressing the will of the people who voted for them.
To amplify the “deep state’s" political perspective, they use the media and journalists to control the narrative, influencing policy and public opinion in the daily political discourse by disseminating disinformation and biased reporting.
This weaponized legal system acts exclusively against conservative or right-wing governments that have rejected the progressive political agenda. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's court trial appearances over the past three years have given the general public a shocking glimpse into how the prosecution and investigative police units orchestrated a witch hunt against the Prime Minister, many of his appointments of security agency heads, and political aides - all this during an existential war.
Let there be no doubt, these gatekeepers; prosecutors, police, and jurists are not protecting the rule of law against executive overreach. They are committed to a progressive agenda that goes way beyond what is politically and morally acceptable to the general public and to the majority that voted in the current government in Israel.
Israel’s “deep state" treats every single act or decision by Israel’s democratically elected Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as the end of Democracy.
The deep state is systemic, it’s malignant - and it’s global.
It was President Eisenhower who first coined the term the military-industrial complex (MIC). Many scholars describe the MIC as the American "deep state," an entrenched, unelected, and secretive network comprising military, intelligence agencies, corporate defense contractors, and Silicon Valley. This expansion reflects a permanent national security state, rather than just a military-focused industrial alliance. This entity has grown exponentially since World War II, merging with intelligence agencies and Wall Street.
Defining the Deep State: The deep state, in this context, is viewed as a "state within a state," where unelected bureaucrats and industry leaders shape policy, sometimes operating independently of elected officials. Many observers maintain that the "deep state" is a real, evolving structure that perpetuates itself behind the scenes of the constitutional government.
The “deep state" poses a challenge for democratic nations throughout the world including the United States, during the Eisenhower Presidency and ongoing today, during the Trump Presidency.
For Israel, the “deep state" prevented Israel’s democratically elected government from taking the necessary steps to end the cycle of wars and terror. Judicial decisions by Israel’s Supreme Court have over the years prevented Israel from concluding waves of terror or wars with a decisive victory. Due to judicial intervention and overreach, ceasefires replaced permanent long term solutions, international diplomacy replaced military successes and decisive victories.
Human rights and humanitarian aid for the enemy superseded the sanctity of life for Israel’s soldiers and citizens. Terror organizations were kept on a low burner, weakened but never fully destroyed. Israel’s “deep state" created a culture that espoused a political bias that embraced a progressive agenda based on the belief that restraint and deterrence are preferable, that terror should be managed rather than eliminated, and that ceasefires will evolve into long term peace - or as the motto from the 60’s said: make love not war.
What Israel’s “deep state" refuses to understand is that wars that are ended without a decisive victory will eventually return - whether as terror or as a full blown conflict. October 7th and the ensuing war taught the Israeli people that they should not be expected to accept a reality that no other nation would tolerate.
All Democracies make mistakes and not every decision by the current government has been flawless. However, Israel’s political echelon has been held accountable and will have to overcome the test of elections within the coming months, something that evades the leaders of Israel’s “deep state". They will not be held accountable, but will their objective of having the final say be brought to an end one day?
Ron Jager grew up in the South Bronx of New York City, making Aliyah in 1980. Served for 25 years in the IDF as a Mental Health Field Officer in operational units. Prior to retiring was Commander of the Central Psychiatric Clinic for Reserve Solders at Tel-Hashomer. Since retiring has been involved in strategic consultancy to NGO's and communities in the Gaza Envelope on resiliency projects to assist first responders. To contact: medconf@gmail.com Website: www.ronjager.com