In Israel, pandemic tests democracy’s immune system

Amid a nationwide near total lockdown, some half a million Israelis gathered at a virtual demonstration online this weekend to protest what they call an attempted coup by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s transitional government under the guise of protecting citizens from the coronavirus.

Last week, the justice minister sent out an order in the middle of the night to shut down the courts on the eve of Mr. Netanyahu’s trial on corruption charges. The government took measures to track citizens’ contact with those who tested positive by using geolocation data from their cellphones without the authorization of the parliament, in the name of halting the spread of the virus. And Mr. Netanyahu’s allies blocked the

Netanyahu ally defies Supreme Court orderThe case for and against unusual measures in a crisis