The Transportation Ministry official in charge of aviation security received money from the companies he was supposed to oversee, including companies such as flydubai. This explosive revelation, uncovered by Omri Maniv, is exceptional in its severity, but the instructive part is that it will most likely change nothing. There is no shortage of evidence of corruption in Israel, yet nothing changes: not at the political level and, consequently, not at the organizational or practical level either.
How can this be? Why does it seem that Israeli society simply does not care about even the most basic management of the areas that have the greatest impact on its life?
A flydubai plane whose tail broke after an attempted crash, after it landed in Saudi Arabia
Serious illnesses have many causes, but I would like to point to one factor that, even if it is not the sole cause, certainly contributes to the situation: the institution of the bureaucracy.
The theory of the “bureaucrats” — or the “deep state” — holds that alongside the growth of state institutions and the expansion of the bureaucracy, a new class has emerged and risen to prominence, a class whose superpower lies in its intimate knowledge of the system and its control over it.
These bureaucrats come with a particular perspective, defined interests and a distinct sociological milieu. Given the complexity of the system and the weakness of elected officials, who are often elected for short terms and lack the tools to implement their policies, the bureaucrats accumulate considerable power.
To a large extent, the attitude toward rule by bureaucrats in certain parts of Israeli society has become distinctly Gnostic.
This is a serious, long-standing argument that points to a genuine problem in modern democracies and a profound gap between the will of the voter and the way the system actually operates, what is known as a “democratic deficit.” It is a multidimensional problem, and addressing it requires complex and far-reaching solutions. But out of this theory of the bureaucrats has emerged an entirely different outlook, one that is nothing more than a new incarnation of an ancient religious belief.
The Gnostics were religious and philosophical groups active in the Mediterranean region who held a distinctive worldview. In their view, there are two gods in the world: the good god and the evil god. The evil god is the creator who made the material world and governs it, while the good god exists far above, pure and detached from the wicked illusion created by the satanic god. The Gnostics have no expectations of the real world because, at its core, it is controlled by dark forces, while the good god exists only beyond it.
To a large extent, the attitude toward rule by bureaucrats in certain parts of Israeli society has become distinctly Gnostic. There are two sources of authority: there is the good ruler — namely, the prime minister and “our” elected officials — but they supposedly exist “beyond.” They have almost no influence over the system and its institutions, which are controlled by dark forces and function as a kind of illusion, a “judicial dictatorship,” if you will. There is supposedly no real way to confront this system because the whole game is rigged by the deep state, the bureaucrats and the elites.
The response to the bureaucracy’s excessive power should be a desire to govern. To want to govern requires a willingness to take responsibility, and taking responsibility requires believing that the system can be changed.
The Zionist test is shaping a secure, prosperous and functioning Israeli society. Abandoning reality means abandoning Zionism. Remember, a sense of victimhood leads to no positive outcome, only to disaster — sometimes even to plane crashes.