An open letter written on the night of March 13 (Israeli time) by Prof. Moshe Cohen-Eliya to US President Donald J. Trump triggered a veritable flood of attention and reaction.
Mark R. Levin and Elon Musk took note of this open letter, which undoubtedly landed on Trump’s desk in summary form. Millions saw (and read) this open letter on X, which I document below.
It is the second major outcry from Israeli intellectuals addressed to US President Trump that Israel’s democracy is under existential threat from the left-wing deep state and a left NGO/Media phalanx with notable funds from the former US Administration Biden (via USAID) and far-left foundations like the Soros Foundations.
Most recently, Gadi Taub spoke of the formal end of democracy in Israel in a remarkable interview with Mark R. Levin.
Remarkable is the disregard of these warnings and cries for help by the Israeli media, which once again fail. They received no attention, even though they received considerable attention both internationally and from Israel’s most important ally, the USA.
OPEN LETTER TO TRUMP
“Dear President Trump, You should be aware that, at this very moment, Israel is experiencing an attempted coup by elements of the deep state against the democratically elected government of the Israeli people. About an hour ago, the former head of the Shin Bet (Israel’s equivalent of the FBI) publicly threatened to expose private information about Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if the Prime Minister takes actions that he deems illegal—in other words, if he dismisses the current head of the Shin Bet, Ronen Bar, who failed disastrously on October 7. This blatant act of extortion was broadcast on Channel 12, Israel’s equivalent of NBC, which is similarly dominated by woke ideology. I urge you to express solidarity with the people of Israel and with Prime Minister Netanyahu, and to make it clear that, from the perspective of the United States, the democratically elected Prime Minister is your legitimate partner and ally. Israel has never before witnessed such a severe and public act of blackmail by deep state operatives, who are working in coordination with left-wing media to preserve their old hegemony over the country. I am a scholar of comparative constitutional law, researching deep state practices worldwide. Israel represents the most extreme case of deep state and elite rule in the world, where the judicial system is used as a tool to persecute political figures who challenge its dominance—most notably, Prime Minister Netanyahu.
@realDonaldTrump cc: @elonmusk @marklevinshow” (Prof. Moshe Cohen-Eliya)
We have a very serious situation in Israel as we speak. This post triggered wide reactions from Elon Musk to the wide spectrum of MAGA. All reacted with astonishment and support.
We the people vs We the elites of the deep state and oligarchs
In extension to the very positive echo, Moshe Cohen-Eliya published on X again a more analytical piece of opinion to explain his narrative. “World War III and the Deep State”
“World War III and the Deep State
In an era where discussions about a third world war are intensifying and President Trump is accusing Zelensky of dragging the world into World War III, it is worth paying attention to some of Elon Musk’s recent comments in response to posts by Mark Levin of Fox News and my own posts about the situation in Israel: “The Deep State is everywhere,” “Judicial tyranny appears to be a widespread problem,” and “The world war against the Deep State” (if I remember them correctly). Musk views the fight against the Deep State as essential for saving the West and preparing it for the real challenges posed by the opposing axis (China-Russia-Iran). These statements prompted me to organize my thoughts on how deep state structures in different countries operate in tandem and serve shared interests. I am researching the global expansion of judicial power and am currently completing a book with Professor Iddo Porat, titled Supreme Courts in the Age of Political Polarization (forthcoming 2025, Cambridge University Press). The American Deep State, or what is commonly referred to as “the administrative state,” was established by Franklin D. Roosevelt after the 1929 stock market crash and has undergone political transformations over the years. The European Deep State largely consists of the European Union’s institutions, which suffer from a severe democratic deficit. Meanwhile, the Israeli Deep State is a hybrid entity composed of former (and current) security officials (such as Shin Bet director Ronen Bar) and a hyper-activist judicial system that has assumed unprecedented powers—without any democratic mandate—merely to preserve Israel’s declining old hegemony. In the United States, the people are represented by the MAGA movement. In Europe, the masses have abandoned the traditional left and joined the populist right, which challenges not only the left but also the old-school conservative establishment that has yet to realize that state institutions have been captured by woke ideology. The power of the masses is growing, as seen in the Netherlands, Scandinavia, France, Germany, and the UK. In Israel, the right-wing almost consistently wins election, but consistently loses in the Supreme Court. In recent years, some decent democrats from the left have also begun resisting the juristocratic suppression of democracy. The Western Deep State operates in coordination across countries. In Israel, it sought the backing of the Biden administration and the American Deep State under the guise of “saving democracy”—which in reality means preserving the old hegemony. It successfully convinced Biden to snub Prime Minister Netanyahu for an entire year, to impose sanctions on settlers in Judea and Samaria, and to finance the Israeli protest movement with massive sums of money. On the other hand, Elon Musk is working to strengthen the parties that represent the people in Europe (Germany, the UK, etc.). Now, having been exposed to the terrifying power of the Israeli Deep State, he might also engage with the political forces that represent the people of Israel in their struggle. After all, the Israeli Deep State has resorted to mafia-like tactics, including live threats of blackmail on Israel’s wokeist Channel 12—where a former security chief openly threatened to leak private information about Netanyahu if he dared fire the head of the Shin Bet, a clear violation of ethical norms governing the Shin Bet (Israel’s equivalent of the FBI). The Western Deep State leans heavily woke and operates in coordination with globalist institutions, which promote an anti-Western ideology that weakens the West’s ability to preserve its liberal identity. Just look at the UN’s latest report, which reads like a manifesto written by radical anti-Western leftists, falsely accusing Israel of sexual violence while turning a blind eye to genuine atrocities. This is why the MAGA-led United States is working to weaken (or even dismantle) the UN, and certainly the International Criminal Court (ICC), which has become a deeply biased, anti-Israel entity and will, in time, target other Western countries as well. In this sense, MAGA (America), MEGA (Europe), and MIGA (Israel) are local patriotic movements that must collaborate to save the West from its wokeist decay. Just look at how Trump is dismantling woke ideology in American universities, shutting down infamous DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) offices at an astonishing pace. The sheriff is back, and the system is adjusting accordingly. These methods—with the necessary adaptations—should be implemented in Israel and Europe as well, to restore power to the people. This is why I reached out to both Trump and Musk—because our interests are aligned. The people of the United States, Europe, and Israel are trapped under the control of a Deep State, which in Israel has recently adopted outright mafia tactics, as it senses its grip slipping away. Therefore, it is worth considering imposing personal sanctions on key Israeli Deep State operatives who are actively working to strangle Israeli democracy, with the support of their global collaborators from other countries. If, as Musk suggests, this is truly a “World War” against the Deep State, then alliances must be formed. And right now, the most critical alliance is the alliance of the Western peoples against the wokeists, who have established for themselves an anti-democratic deep state that rules from behind the scenes. Because only by weakening woke ideology and dismantling the Deep State can the West prevail over its adversaries. And for those seeking a deeper understanding of Western civilization’s core, I highly recommend Melanie Phillips’ excellent recent book, The Builder’s Stone: How Jews and Christians Built the West and Why Only They Can Save It. It highlights the Christian roots of the West, which are themselves rooted in Jewish heritage. Ultimately, the solution for the West lies in understanding the essence of Judaism—a topic that has gained increasing attention in Israel over the past two years.
The broad picture Moshe Cohen-Eliya drew is basically right. Maybe some additional thoughts should be allowed to be given. T
o start with, neither in Europe nor Israel do mass mobilization movements like MAGA exist. In the case of Europe, I’m confident that they will emerge very quickly. In the case of Israel, it is premature to hope for such a movement. It will not soon happen.
Why? The big difference is that the USA never had a socialist state, and Europe overthrew the socialist states some decades ago. Now, we have “just” woke states, which are more and more confronted by the MAGA-styled movements.
However, in the case of Israel we have a socialist, oligarchic economy combined with a woke-left and highly authorotarian state structure (based in early communist European structures, left romanticism, some flawed ideas of liberalism and ‘Staedtelism’) reflecting the tribalism, mosaics and closed bubbles/families/clubs of Israel societies (sic!).
Israel looks like a mosaic of principalities (hence, you have extensive clientelism and barely any meritocracies). And never challenged. So, Israel has cum grano salis the same problem as Russia. There is no civil society and bourgeoisie.
In the case of Russia, there were moments of enlightenment/democracy led by the elites. It failed. In the case of Israel, the elites of the mosaics, of the principalities, are not interested. They have in their view a brilliant ‘contract civile’ with the deep state, which provides the frame which happened to be protected by the USA, which is eroding on a fast pace (another story).
Result: We have in Israel the non-democratic rule of bureau-cracy (sic!) and principalities instead of demo-cracy (sic!) and an unconscious, powerless and partially agonic Am Israel. The people, the citizens, are too busy surviving the high costs of living and the tortures by the 34 ministries. Mostly students of the First Israel, state pensioners and well-funded activists can afford the luxury to protest daily for about 2 years.
The only tradition on which Israel can base its Jewish MAGA movement is the tradition of democracy, free will, sovereignty and freedom anchored and established by the Tora. Without Tora, there is no Israel. The ideas and sentiments/yearnings and hopes of and for a Jewish MAGA movement can be detected in the Am Israel/ Klal Israel and the deep trust in elections (although the government has no say, the Knesset not the final word).
In everyday life, however, the Am Israel/Klal Israel are barely existent, but they provide the emotional fuel and project wall for longings and hopes for a better, more justice, more democratic Israel. The values of Am Israel/Klal Israel are not socialist. They are rather romantic in nature, spiritual and hugging, nourished by the millennia-old tradition of Judaisms (sic!) and guided and fuelled by the Torah. But they are not a dominant reality, yet. Tikkum Olam.
These millennia-old Jewish traditions are an excellent conceptual and emotional base to build up a genuine Jewish MAGA movement striving for democracy, freedom and sovereignty based on and rooted in the Jewish traditions (sic!). And not some left ideas about a High Court which thinks it is above the people, above the law.
Means that the special, unique case of Judaism/Israel is to be the cradle of any idea of free will, freedom and democracy, aka what today is called Western civilization. Israel must just remember and come to its senses. Difficult enough.
The first step might be that the government and Knesset understand that they are entitled to rule over the deep state. We the people. The ‘third world war’ is a coming global war of ‘We the people’ vs ‘We the oligarchs and elites of deep state’. The left elites worldwide showed over the centuries little constraint not to use violence and slash out a civil war. This must be avoided and forbidden.
And that’s the path we should take: Simply vote out the deep state. It’s possible. Trump and Milei have shown us how. Let’s learn from Trump and not call for their help.
If Israel succeeds through democratic means, that’s excellent; if not, we must prepare for a dramatic wave of refugees from Israel. Around 100,000 Israelis have already left Israel. Israel is facing a net exodus. The result could be the likely bloody dissolution of the State of Israel – not for the first time – or its incorporation as the 51st state of the USA.