Having come to Canada in 2017 from war-torn Syria, Aboud Dandachi has enjoyed not just physical safety but newfound freedoms—including the freedom to interact with Israelis. He was thus eager to attend a talk at York University by a group of IDF reservists. There he encountered a rude surprise:

Two weeks ago, then-Speaker of the Knesset Yuli Edelstein refused to hold a vote for his replacement, insisting that, in keeping with precedent, the new speaker should only be chosen after a governing coalition has been formed. As his move prevented the newly installed Israeli parliament from resuming its normal business, the Supreme Court tried to break the impasse with two unprecedented interventions into the legislative branch. To Evelyn Gordon, Edelstein acted out of a “genuine and serious concern” about constitutionally questionable moves by his opponents, even if the court was justified in its order that elections for the new speaker take place.