Usually I stand by the statement that Israel is a democracy, but the current government and Knesset are not

I've always said that Israel is a progressive democracy. The only one in the Middle East, true democratic state, free and fair elections, independent high court, an independent police force, no corruption or nepotism, true freedom of religion. The list of democratic milestones goes on and on. <br><br>But I can not call what the Israeli government is doing right now as democratic. The Israeli government **is not a democracy**. <br><br>**The Israeli government is trying to overthrow the independence of the high court**, turning it into a puppets that does the bidding of the government, instead of reigning in the government, as it has been doing for decades. The government is trying to prevent the high court from taking an active part in reigning in the government. <br><br>And **the Israeli police is not independent**. A police that is used to silence political opposition, to harass those that disagree with the government, a police that does not do anything against political violence, that does not prevent harm to citizens when they are marching in a peaceful protest. <br><br>And when it comes to **freedom of religion**, the Israeli government is doing everything it can to prevent freedom of religion. By forcing religion down people's throats, preventing people from practicing their religion freely, as the Israeli government has been doing just lately. <br><br>And it sure as hell isn't **a beacon of democracy in the Middle East**. Because a government that has thrown out the principles of democracy, can't claim to be a beacon of democracy. <br><br>The Israeli government is trying to create a religious dictatorship. The Israeli government is working tirelessly to destroy democracy. The Israeli government is working tirelessly to turn Israel into an autocratic theocracy. <br><br>That's not a democracy.