Something that at first glance might seem paradoxical is happening in the current protests against the new Israeli government’s plans for its so-called reform (or obliteration, to be more accurate) of the judiciary: The absence of Palestinian citizens of Israel among the protesters.

There was a sense of inevitability about the collapse of Israel’s coalition government. The cynics would argue that the very fact that this implausible coalition survived a year is nothing short of a miracle.

Come this time of year and there is a marked difference in mood between Israel’s Jews and its Palestinians there and everywhere.

Not that long ago, the mere suggestion of Israel hosting a summit at which four foreign ministers from Arab countries, together with the US secretary of state, would sit around the table would have been treated as a sheer fantasy.