It’s Time Israel Stops Changing the Rules

Imagine teaching a child to play chess. You explain the rules, set up the board, and begin. But as soon as the game doesn’t go their way, they move the rook like a queen – or flip the board altogether. It’s frustrating, yes, but also a telling lesson in what happens when rules are treated as negotiable.

Watching from the outside, I see something similar happening too often in Israel. As a long-time friend of the country, as someone who believes deeply in its mission, security, and future – I worry about a pattern that undermines the very institutions that make a democracy thrive: the constant changing of the rules.

Whether in politics or sports, Israel has developed a troubling habit of rewriting the basics. What may seem like minor technical adjustments actually erodes consistency, stability, and trust.

Take basketball. In the United States, leagues like the NBA or NCAA operate under rulebooks that evolve slowly and with consensus. It’s part of what builds trust among teams, fans, and stakeholders. Compare that with Israel’s premier basketball league, where the rules change almost every year: how many foreign players are allowed? How many teams get relegated? Who determines the schedule? In 2023, the league reversed a decision to reduce the number of foreign players, and mid-season altered the relegation format just before the final games. A league that thrives on competition should not feel arbitrary. Players, team owners and sport fans deserve better.

Of course, sports are one thing. But the stakes are even higher in politics.

Over the past few decades, Israel has changed core political rules again and again: raising the electoral threshold, experimenting with direct elections for prime minister only to cancel them, and creating rotational governments that were abandoned once they served a narrow political purpose.

Some changes may have merit. Stagnation can take a heavy toll on any organization. But too many of Israel’s rule changes are designed to solve short-term political problems rather than build long-term public trust and foundations for running the state efficiently. When the rules shift with each election cycle – or worse, in the middle of a term – the game starts to feel rigged.

In the United States, our system has many flaws. But our Constitution has endured for nearly 250 years because people understand the importance of stability, even when the outcomes aren’t what one side wants. The same is true of American sports: fans may argue over a referee’s call, but they rarely question the rulebook itself.

Israel’s greatest strength is its resilience – its ability to adapt, build, and unite under pressure. But resilience requires structure. You can’t plan a future when the playing field keeps shifting beneath your feet.

Israelis deserve a political framework that is fair, predictable, and durable. The leaders of the Jewish state, the place I call home even when I don’t live there, must prioritize institutional stability as a national goal. As a friend and supporter of Israel, I hope its leaders – current and future – will resist the temptation to flip the board, and instead focus on the harder, more important task: playing by the rules, and ensuring those rules are built to last.