The attitude of the Israeli government toward the pillars of democracy and human rights brings to mind the old story about the coachman who decided one day to save some money by cutting his horse’s daily portion of hay. He believed the animal would eventually get used to the forced diet and keep pulling the coach. The miserable horse stamped its feet, slowed its gait, turned to skin and bones and, of course, one day up and died.

The backbone of any democracy is, obviously, freedom of expression. The gradual erosion of this principle in Israel accelerated two years ago, when Culture Minister Miri Regev sought to withhold state funding from artistic creations that did not sit well with her views. The attorney general, Yehuda Weinstein, was forced to explain to the minister that such a decision was not within her purview. When Regev persisted, Deputy Attorney General Dina Zilber made it clear to Shaked that state censorship of plays was venture that had gone out of business many years ago.

Another essential element in a healthy democratic society is the separation of powers. On June 7, Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked trampled over the red line separating the executive branch, in which she serves, from the judicial one. In a letter to Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit, Shaked demanded a criminal investigation into Dean Issacharoff, the spokesman of Breaking the Silence. The nongovernmental organization opposed to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories publishes testimonies from soldiers who witness violence against Palestinians. Issacharoff’s sin, it turns out, was an admission he made in a video posted by the group that during his military service in the West Bank city of Hebron, he beat up a Palestinian who had thrown stones at him.

The justice minister is not authorized, under any circumstances, to order or even suggest that the state prosecutor investigate anyone or desist from investigating anyone. The Justice Ministry’s website clearly states, “The justice minister does not intervene in specific cases.” She is only allowed to formulate instructions relating to the general policy of the state prosecution and decisions of the attorney general. But Shaked doesn’t care. She even boasted of her part in the decision to investigate Issacharoff, writing on Facebook, “In the past, the state asked that it be given all the testimonies reaching the organization so that it could investigate and determine the facts, and the state will keep insisting on this.”