In a rare bit of good news from Israel, the country’s High Court of Justice has issued a landmark judgment reinforcing the separation of powers in the face of right-wing efforts to undermine constitutional democracy. The decision vindicates the million-plus protesters who took to the streets over the last year to protest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plans to strip the court of its powers of judicial review. More important, it champions the ideal of the rule of law at a moment when Israel is at war and the country’s conduct has been subject to withering international criticism.

The 8-7 decision, issued on New Year’s Day, is the most significant in Israel’s history. It follows a year of intense controversy that threatened to tear the country in two. If it were not for the Gaza war, the court’s announcement of its judgment, stretching to 783 pages in Hebrew, would have brought huge crowds to the streets in jubilation, and very possibly also in opposition.