The crime of making contact with a foreign agent is the only one in Israeli law in which the defendant must prove their innocence.
The court may also be wary of making unpopular rulings at a time when it is under concerted attack from the Israeli right for being too liberal.
Ayelet Shaked, of the settler Jewish Home party, which is in the government coalition, has introduced a bill that would allow a simple majority of the Knesset to vote to override Supreme Court rulings.
Human rights lawyers warned that the bill would further erode already limited protections for minority rights.
Debbie Gild-Hayo, a lawyer with the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, warned that protections for minorities from the tyranny of the majority would be in severe jeopardy as a result. "These proposals wish to break down the checks and balances that are fundamental to democracy," she said.
Zoabi remained defiant. She noted that, while she was being hounded, the legal authorities had ignored genocidal remarks made by Jewish politicians against Palestinians during the summer attack on Gaza.
"They're putting me on trial over a trivial, meaningless matter, while ministers and MKs who incited to racism and incited to violence and even to murder aren't being investigated, even after complaints were filed against them."
She added: "If I am indicted, I'll turn the hearings into the most political trial in Israel's history."
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