![\"A](\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2023\/03\/06\/multimedia\/05Bloomberg-1-hjwp\/05Bloomberg-1-hjwp-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale\")
<\/picture><\/div>\nAn Israeli protester blocks a main road to demonstrate against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu\u2019s new government in Tel Aviv on Wednesday.<\/span>Credit…<\/span>Oded Balilty\/Associated Press<\/span><\/p>\n Under the new coalition\u2019s<\/a> proposal, a simple majority of the Knesset could overrule the nation\u2019s Supreme Court and run roughshod over individual rights, including on matters such as speech and press freedoms, equal rights for minorities and voting rights. The Knesset could even go as far as to declare that the laws it passes are unreviewable by the judiciary, a move that calls to mind Richard Nixon\u2019s infamous phrase<\/a> \u201cWhen the president does it, that means that it is not illegal.\u201d Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu\u2019s government is courting disaster by trying to claim that same power, imperiling Israel\u2019s alliances around the world, its security in the region, its economy at home and the very democracy upon which the country was built.<\/p>\n The economic damage<\/a> is already being felt, as the pummeling of the shekel<\/a> has showed. A broad swath of business leaders and investors have spoken out against the government\u2019s proposal, publicly and privately. And in a disturbing sign, some people have already begun pulling money out of the country and re-evaluating their plans for future growth there. As the owner of a global company, I don\u2019t blame them.<\/p>\n Companies and investors place enormous value on strong and independent judicial systems because courts help protect them \u2014 not only against crime and corruption but also government overreach. Just as important, they protect what their employees value most: individual rights and freedoms.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Companies are in a global competition for talent. So are countries. The best and brightest want to live in countries where they can be assured they will not be persecuted or discriminated against because of what they believe or whom they love. Israel\u2019s commitment to those legal protections played a crucial role in its development as a so-called start-up nation<\/a>, able to compete with Silicon Valley and other tech centers for high-skilled workers.<\/p>\n In fact, the extraordinary rise in Israel\u2019s economic standing over the last generation may be Mr. Netanyahu\u2019s greatest achievement. It\u2019s fair to say that no prime minister has done more to transform its economy into a global powerhouse. Yet unless he changes course, Mr. Netanyahu risks throwing all that progress \u2014 and his own hard-earned legacy \u2014 away. The economic damage could make the cost being paid by the United Kingdom for Brexit look like bubkes.<\/p>\n But it\u2019s not just the economy, of course. Israel\u2019s security is based partly on a relationship with the United States built on shared values \u2014 freedom, equality, democracy \u2014 that can only be sustained by a commitment to the rule of law, including an independent judiciary capable of upholding it. If Israel retreats from that long-term commitment and moves its model of governance toward one that mirrors those of authoritarian countries, it risks weakening its ties to the United States and other free nations.<\/p>\n That would be a devastating loss for Israel\u2019s security, harm prospects for a peaceful resolution of the Palestinian conflict and could even imperil the future of the Jewish homeland. It would also undermine the deep attachment millions of people around the world feel toward the country, often because of the pride our parents instilled in us not only for its Jewish character but also for its strong commitment to freedom.<\/p>\n In the United States, our founding fathers\u2019 insistence on checks and balances to control the tyrannical tendencies of majorities was part of their genius. Our Constitution is not perfect \u2014 no law is \u2014 but its many checks and balances have been essential to protecting and advancing fundamental rights and maintaining national stability. It was only through those safeguards that the United States has managed to withstand extreme shocks to our democracy in recent years \u2014 including a disgraceful attempt to prevent the peaceful transfer of power \u2014 without a catastrophic fracturing.<\/p>\n In withstanding those shocks, the United States also has had a luxury that Israel does not: friendly neighbors on our borders. We could afford some painful national divisions without fearing that our neighbors might exploit them militarily. Israel cannot. It is in one of the world\u2019s most dangerous neighborhoods, facing threats from Iran and others that Mr. Netanyahu rightly calls existential. The more divided it is at home, the weaker it appears to its enemies.<\/p>\n Countries bordered by external enemies have even greater need to seek internal compromise, and it is my fervent hope that Mr. Netanyahu will convince his coalition of the need to heed President Isaac Herzog\u2019s plea to pull back and slow down.<\/p>\n