For years, antidemocratic forces in Israel have found a strange kind of reassurance in the moral authority of the Western world, particularly the United States, which has acted as a check on the worst impulses of their domestic political destroyers. International norms and pressure from Washington served as a bulwark against creeping authoritarianism.
That time is over. Israel is now in turmoil over the government’s frantic efforts to oust Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar and Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, push through judicial reforms, and impose a broader authoritarian agenda. These two officials—Bar and Baharav-Miara— stand as obstacles to Netanyahu’s consolidation of power, and despite the ongoing war, his drive to weaken democratic institutions has returned to center stage. But unlike in 2023, when President Joe Biden still sat in the White House, Netanyahu is now facing no real opposition from Washington. On the contrary, with Donald Trump’s return to power, it is reasonable to assume that the White House is cheering him on.
Netanyahu’s moves mirror Trump’s own crusade to purge the FBI and other agencies of officials who failed the test of personal loyalty. This is the tragedy of the recent US election: The country that once positioned itself as a beacon of democracy is now legitimizing Trump-style strongmen worldwide, from Erdoğan to Netanyahu. Trump’s embrace of Putin signals that even full-blown dictatorship is an option.
In his second term, Trump has intensified his assault on democratic institutions. He has attempted to dismantle the civil service and replace professionals with loyalists, bypassed courts and defied their rulings, attacked judges while shielding himself from prosecution, imposed sanctions on lawyers representing political opponents, signed an executive order to revoke birthright citizenship in defiance of the Constitution, sought to abolish the federal Department of Education, launched trade wars that harmed key allies, and issued baseless threats against countries like Denmark and Canada. None of these actions were about policy; they were about subjugating the system to his personal will.
The lies, conspiratorial rhetoric, and relentless incitement against independent institutions are all designed to erode democracy’s foundations. Netanyahu isn’t just emulating Trump’s methods—he aspires to Erdoğan’s unchecked power. In Turkey, Erdoğan recently arrested his main political rival. Netanyahu, if left unchecked, will likely find a way to prevent Arab parties from running for the Knesset. That’s his goal.
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In the past, the White House provided a measure of restraint. Now, with Trump, not only is there no restraint, but there is outright encouragement. Netanyahu understands that the international community will not hold him accountable. This is a disastrous shift. With such an atmosphere, what does he have to fear?
During Biden’s presidency, there was still at least rhetorical condemnation. The White House criticized Netanyahu’s judicial overhaul and signaled that US-Israel relations were tied to shared democratic values. But Trump—who has never hidden his contempt for the rule of law—is emboldening Netanyahu’s most authoritarian impulses.
This shift carries global consequences. For decades, the US was the anchor of the liberal world order, modeling judicial independence, free elections, and respect for pluralism. This example inspired activists, reformers, and civil society movements across fragile democracies. If the US abandons these principles in favor of illiberal populism masquerading as democracy, one of the last external barriers against authoritarianism will collapse. What now?
America’s descent into this crisis didn’t emerge in a vacuum; it was fueled by the radicalization of the left. Over the past decade, progressives have imposed ideological purity tests, enforced rigid identity politics, fostered an unforgiving cancel culture, and turned gender theories into dogma. Many moderates, once natural allies of liberalism, have been pushed to the margins. Now, they are exacting their revenge.
Trump, with his crudeness, vindictiveness, and lack of restraint, is the overcorrection to a decade of moral absolutism from the left. But this overcorrection threatens to dismantle liberal democracy—not just in the US but globally.
A similar backlash is unfolding in Israel. But there is one crucial difference. America will survive this crisis and, in time, recover. Israel may not have that luxury. A descent into autocracy, coupled with the demographic shifts of a growing ultra-Orthodox population and the trajectory toward a binational state, will drive out the country’s productive class. The Israel of today will become unrecognizable, spiraling toward self-destruction.
The warnings are clear. The leaders pushing Israel to the edge must step back before it is too late.
Dan Perry (translated by Asaf Zilberfarb)