Every morning Amir sets up a protest stand to warn passersby that Israeli democracy is in danger from hotly contested legislation to curb the courts. But he’s a very unusual protester — a former Mossad spy who never before questioned the state for which he once risked his life on foreign missions.

Amir, who declined to be fully named because to his sensitive previous secret roles, is among former veterans of Mossad, Israel’s foreign intelligence service, who are taking to the streets in protest at their government’s judiciary overhaul.

Last week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s nationalist-religious coalition passed the first phase of the legislation, limiting Supreme Court powers to void government decisions deemed “unreasonable”, despite months of protests by hundreds of thousands of Israelis.

They have drawn the support of reservists in elite special forces units and fighter pilots who have threatened not to show up for duty, and the dissension has spread among former members of the Mossad.

Some serving Mossad officers have also joined the protests, which they are permitted to do, two ex-officers told Reuters. In Amir’s case, he said he had suspended for now the advisory assistance he had provided to Mossad.

“I served different administrations faithfully for 20 years, even ones that did not reflect my political views. I accepted the outcome of the election last year but when they (the current government) changed the rules of the game, that was it. They have crossed a red line and have broken their contract.”