The urgent threat to Israeli democracy that brought that entire country to a halt on Sunday is far from over.
True, there is a lull. Prime Minister Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu was compelled to delay passage of legislation that would have dramatically weakened Israel's Supreme Court because of opposition by hundreds of thousands of demonstrators — including military reservists and leaders of the high-tech sector. Add to that a historic general strike of unionized workers, and Bibi was forced to offer a month-long "dialogue" with opposition political leaders over his judicial plans until Israel's parliament returns from a break.
Yet the personal motivation that drove Netanyahu to spring his judicial plan on the public and political opponents will likely doom any compromise. Most of Bibi's critics, including his former attorney general, Avichai Mandelblit, accuse him of seeking the judicial overhaul in order to prevent being jailed if convicted of corruption at his ongoing trial.
