In their details, the judicial changes that Israel’s Parliament passed yesterday sound like something that liberals in the U.S. and democracy advocates around the world might support.
Going forward, democratically elected leaders will have more power, and unelected judges will have less.
But the reaction from political progressives, moderates and even some conservatives — in Israel and elsewhere — has instead been one of extreme alarm.
And that alarm stems from worries among many observers that Israel is using the mechanics of democracy to transform itself into an undemocratic country.
Freed from judicial oversight, it will have the ability to push Israel further toward becoming a religiously conservative country.
Persons:
—, Benjamin Netanyahu, Freed
Locations:
U.S, Israel