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.