The overhaul of Israel’s judiciary will maim its democracy, says Polly Bronstein

ISRAEL HAS no codified constitution, no federal system and a unicameral parliament in which the government of the day commands a majority. That leaves the Israeli Supreme Court as the only institution that can balance executive decisions. Traditionally, the court has protected liberal values, especially in light of Israel’s demographics and its lack of agreed-upon borders. Consider that about a fifth of Israel’s 9m citizens are Arab and another 3m Palestinians live in the West Bank; some 10% of the country’s Jewish population is ultra-Orthodox and another 20% is conservative. The rest are either more moderately devout or secular. The court occupies a critical position in a complex democracy. That is why government efforts to hurt the court’s independence could be so dangerous.