This move by Netanyahu and his most extreme allies shows, despite a legitimate rightward shift in the electorate, the prime minister has less control over his coalition than once thought. Facing scrutiny over bribery and fraud charges, the only way Netanyahu can maintain his power is by ripping apart Israel's long-standing democratic institutions and criminalizing judicial dissent. We are watching an authoritarian coup in real time.
Despite the left arguing that these judicial reform plans threaten democracy, it is actually quite the contrary. The self-appointed Israeli Supreme Court has autocratic, unchecked powers that allow it to nullify and rewrite democratically-enacted laws and policies based on subjective justifications. This move is crucial to curb the court's undemocratic excesses and protect the rule of law.
Though there's much talk from the Israeli left that the country's democracy is under threat, for Palestinians it has never been a democracy. Apartheid and democracy are mutually exclusive, and the only reason Israelis have protested against the overhaul in the first place is that they want to maintain a system that has oppressed Palestinians for 75 years.