Journalist and researcher Dr. Avishai Ben Haim used a recent post to clarify what he sees as the right language for understanding power in Israeli political discourse. He argued that the popular term “deep state” does not accurately describe social reality, and that the more precise, and more dangerous, concept is “hegemony.”
Ben Haim said the theory behind “Israel Second” was built around hegemony, which he described as the framework for understanding relations of power, control mechanisms, and structures of oppression. In contrast, he said, “In the past two years, another term has taken over the discourse, deep state. And it is wrong.”
According to him, the establishment’s power does not come from a secret conspiracy but from a sophisticated ability to shape consciousness so that even outsiders adopt its values. He said, “The power of hegemony to operate mechanisms of repression, discrimination and exclusion is infinitely greater than that of a deep state.” He added that many people outside the system end up following its “orders” because they believe public life in Israel should conform to its values.
As an example, Ben Haim pointed to law-enforcement behavior, saying police investigators who are sociologically and politically “Likudniks” can still come to believe their professional mission is to bring down Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He concluded that hegemony’s power lies in controlling consciousness and common sense. In his view, calling it hegemony rather than conspiracy matters because “deep state assumes malicious intent,” while hegemony, if it becomes aware of itself and its harms, can enable national reconciliation, which he said is “the goal in the end.”
