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Evelyn Gordon

The deal involved changes to Basic Laws that may have been necessary in these political circumstances. But any country tinkers with longstanding constitutional arrangements at its own peril.
The High Court of Justice effectively seized control of another branch of government, in flagrant violation of legislation that the court itself deems constitutional. Once the coronavirus crisis ends, a full-blown court-Knesset war will be unavoidable.
By prosecuting Israel, the International Criminal Court has essentially said there’s no point even trying to uphold the laws of war because as the court interprets them, they are incompatible with self-defense.
Israel’s High Court created the problem that drove tens of thousands of voters into Benjamin Netanyahu’s arms. The result could be a government willing to enact legal reforms that the court bitterly opposes.
The U.N. anti-Israel blacklist asserts that the most basic essentials—food, water, transportation, communication—raise “particular human rights concerns.” But if every human activity is a “human rights concern,” then nothing is.
The Trump administration’s Mideast proposal is the first real attempt to give Israel what that resolution promised more than 50 years ago—borders that are not only recognized, but secure.
Visceral hatred of Israel is common even in countries with which it has peace treaties. Not only does this hinder peacemaking, but it creates a real risk that treaties won’t survive an autocrat’s fall.
Millions of Israelis are willing to vote for a possible criminal because they see it as their only chance of curbing the legal establishment’s takeover of Israel’s democracy.
Most people don’t care that much about Israeli-Palestinian issues, so small groups of committed activists can exert a disproportionate influence on policy.
There’s a straight line connecting leftists’ rejection of the settlements’ legality with rightists’ rejection of the indictments against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
An Israeli pullout would turn the West Bank into a second Gaza, leading to more Palestinian casualties and a lower quality of life.
Jewish tradition links the Jews’ continued presence in their land with their moral conduct. But nowhere does it require national suicide.