With Benjamin Netanyahu’s announcement that he wants to continue to push for reforms to the country’s judiciary, protests against his government have resumed their intensity—leading demonstrators yesterday to block roads and burn tires in the vicinity of one minister’s home. Just the day before, right-wing protestors shouted insults at an officer making a condolence call to the family of a victim of a terrorist attack. Herb Keinon laments the situation:

Vigilantes can burn and rampage; senior IDF officers can be berated; protest organizers can threaten to block the airport because they deem that legislating a change in the “reasonableness” clause is a step that will put Israel on the path toward dictatorship; and the former Meretz MK and deputy chief of staff Yair Golan can call on people to break the law as part of civil disobedience.

Back in 1995, the state leveled sedition charges against Moshe Feiglin, Shmuel Sackett, and Benny Elon for making similar calls to civil disobedience during protests against the Oslo Accords. Why were they charged with sedition? Because, back then, certain things were just not done. Today, these things are done with impunity.

If activists opposing judicial reform believe they can violate the law and block airports today to protest against a right-wing government, then activists advocating for Greater Israel can also disregard the law and block airports tomorrow if a center-left government returns to power and proposes territorial concessions to the Palestinians. If reserve pilots today declare that they will refuse missions if the judicial reform plan is approved, then tomorrow, Golani-brigade reservists would be justified in refusing missions across borders to implement the non-security-related policies of a center-left government they disagree with.

On Tuesday, representatives of Hamas met with their counterparts from Fatah—the faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) once led by Yasir Arafat that now governs parts of the West Bank—in Beijing to discuss possible reconciliation. While it is unlikely that these talks will yield any more progress than the many previous rounds, they constitute a significant step in China’s increasing attempts to involve itself in the Middle East on the side of Israel’s enemies.

By contrast, writes Tuvia Gering, Taiwan has been quick and consistent in its condemnations of Hamas and Iran and its expressions of sympathy with Israel:

Support from Taipei goes beyond words. Taiwan’s appointee in Tel Aviv and de-facto ambassador, Abby Lee, has been busy aiding hostage families, adopting the most affected kibbutzim in southern Israel, and volunteering with farmers. Taiwan recently pledged more than half a million dollars to Israel for critical initiatives, including medical and communications supplies for local municipalities. This follows earlier aid from Taiwan to an organization helping Israeli soldiers and families immediately after the October 7 attack.

The reasons why are not hard to fathom:

In many ways, Taiwan sees a reflection of itself in Israel—two vibrant democracies facing threats from hostile neighbors. Both nations wield substantial economic and technological prowess, and both heavily depend on U.S. military exports and diplomacy. Taipei also sees Israel as a “role model” for what Taiwan should aspire to be, citing its unwavering determination and capabilities to defend itself.

On a deeper level, Taiwanese leaders seem to view Israel’s war with Hamas and Iran as an extension of a greater struggle between democracy and autocracy.

Gering urges Israel to reciprocate these expressions of friendship and to take into account that “China has been going above and beyond to demonize the Jewish state in international forums.” Above all, he writes, Jerusalem should “take a firmer stance against China’s support for Hamas and Iran-backed terrorism, exposing the hypocrisy and repression that underpin its vision for a new global order.”