Benjamin Netanyahu’s attempt to overhaul Israel’s judicial system has triggered a backlash among some of the country’s most ardent supporters in the US, straining support that has been at the core of its security strategy for decades.

The recent criticism is remarkable in that it is coming from a politically diverse group of American Jews that has for the most part been steadfast in its defence of Israel, even as the country faced mounting condemnation of its treatment of Palestinians. What has shaken the Jewish community in the US so much this time round is the sense that Netanyahu is trying to undermine Israel’s democratic institutions.

“We love Israel but we’re not going to watch as Israel’s democratic foundations are weakened, if not undermined,” said Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the Union for Reform Judaism, who described recent events as a “key inflection point”.