Israel’s Deep State Is Undemocratic, Unaccountable, and Completely Indispensable

On August 30, a little-known Israeli treasury official named Shaul Meridor resigned his post and sent shockwaves of anxiety through the Israeli political class. President Reuven Rivlin, whose position requires that he stay above the fray of day-to-day politics, decried the resignation as “deeply worrying,” adding:

At this time, more than at any time in the past, Israel needs a professional and robust public bureaucracy that works together with the elected echelon to save the people and the country from the serious crisis that now grips the entire world.

For a brief time the resignation led the news broadcasts. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, opposition leader Yair Lapid, Defense Minister Benny Gantz, pundits, advocates, and activists all chimed in on its significance. The governor of the Bank of Israel, Amir Yaron, tried to project calm, assuring Israelis that the country’s credit rating “doesn’t depend on a single person,” no matter how important.