On Monday, the Knesset, Israel's parliament, enacted a relatively modest law that restricts judicial power. The bill bars the Israeli Supreme Court from overturning national government decisions based on "reasonableness," a vague and widely criticized common-law doctrine.
On its face, the furious response to that development, which included mass protests, a partial work stoppage by doctors, and threats of a general strike, seems wildly disproportionate. It makes sense only in the context of a broader dispute about the proper role of courts in a democracy, a bitter controversy that echoes U.S. debates about "judicial activism," with some crucial differences.
