Last week, the Israeli government crossed another dangerous rubicon by announcing that it does not intend to comply with the Supreme Court’s ruling. Crossing this red line indicates that we are very close to becoming a dictatorship—without checks and balances, without true separation of powers, and potentially without democratic elections.

This event is a direct continuation and result of three and a half years of systematic harm to the democratic values of the State of Israel under the current leadership. The Netanyahu government’s  attacks on the judicial system, the gatekeepers of democracy, the free press, and on civil society, alongside government backing for violent settler militias and human rights violations in the West Bank, are altering the character of the state and distancing Israel even further from its natural allies around the world.

The problem underlying many of the moves aimed at changing the face of the state and its democratic values is one that has been with us for many years and has greatly worsened under the current government. The issue is, of course, Israel’s military occupation of the West Bank and, no less, the abandonment of any intention to end it through a political agreement. From the moment the Israeli government stopped trying to end the occupation, the direct consequence has been the eradication of democracy. Therefore, it is not enough to remove this government; a much deeper and more fundamental correction is required.

Contrary to what most Israelis think, Israel’s problem in the world is not in hasbara (PR) but in policy.........

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