Israel’s New Kingmaker is a dangerous Extremist and he is here to stay
Israel is on the Precipitation of a Very Big Siege: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Last Electoral Test before the Election
Israeli television exit polls projected Netanyahu and his allies to win one or two of the 120 seats in the parliament, which would give them a one-seat majority.
Netanyahu, who served 12 years as prime minister, is returning to power after he was ousted from office last year. His new government is made up of ultra-Orthodox parties, a far-right ultranationalist religious faction affiliated with the West Bank settler movement and his Likud party.
Left-wing allies argued that he would keep right-wing extremism at bay. Palestinians killed 25 Israelis this year, prompting Netanyahu to promise to bring Israelis a sense of security. Israeli troops have killed more than 130 Palestinian militants and civilians during the same period, the deadliest toll in several years.
Liron Gur, an Israeli gay voter, says that the right side does not like gay people or Arabs. “If they are the power, my life will be very bad.”
At a polling station where Netanyahu cast his ballot, some of his right-wing supporters said that they were abandoning their support for Netanyahu and his right-wing allies.
Udi Avni, a cab driver who is not voting for Netanyahu, says he will cast his vote for the center-left Labor Party. “He just care[s] about himself. His trial is about to end.
“We are on the precipice of a very big victory,” Netanyahu said to his supporters after the exit polls were released. They cheered “Bibi, King of Israel.”
“My hope was that the Jewish people would win and Jews would win, and we won in the end,” says Netanyahu voter Haim Asher. “It doesn’t matter that much who is the prime minister. We have a desire for a Jewish identity in the country.
Far right leaders danced with their supporters at campaign headquarters after exit polls were published. “Death to terrorists,” activists chanted during a speech by Itamar Ben-Gvir, a far-right politician hostile to Palestinians. Netanyahu promised to make him a cabinet minister.
“I woke up into a nightmare. “It’s a hard morning for us all, it’s such a hard day to be a Palestinian,” said Asmaa Alkadi, a Palestinian Arab citizen of Israel. After her get-out-the-vote effort in Arab communities, she says she is considering quitting the group, disillusioned by the election results.
If the Netanyahu government succeeds in trying to restrict the powers of the Israel Supreme Court, impose control over judicial appointees, and reverse the court’s decision to strike down legislation that would have legalized West Bank settlements, Israeli democracy will be greatly undermined.
“It’s a government that’s expected to have an unprecedented agenda that will, if implemented, contribute to an erosion of Israeli democracy,” Plesner says.
Those who care about the country, a technological and military power far more powerful than 10 million people suggests, should know how dire the situation is. Israel is in danger as a democracy, as a viable economy and as a Jewish state.
Editor’s Note: Aaron David Miller is a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and author of “The End of Greatness: Why America Can’t Have (and Doesn’t Want) Another Great President.” Miller was a Middle East negotiator in Democratic and Republican administrations. The opinions expressed in this commentary are his own. CNN has an opinion on it.
If former Saturday Night Live great and actor Bill Murray wasn’t hired as a technical adviser to Israel’s Central Elections Committee, he surely might have been. Israel was set for a fifth hung election in eight months based on pre-voting polling, which predicted a continuation of the same pattern.
For Netanyahu this election was truly existential. Had he failed to secure a governing majority – one that is likely to pass legislation to postpone or even cancel his trial – he may well have had to face the consequences of a guilty verdict or a plea bargain that would have driven him away from politics.
The left and center-left in Israel once dominated by the iconic Labor Party, the driving political force for the first three decades of independence, has been reduced to a shadow of its former self with just a handful of seats in the Knesset.
The extent of their success was stunning, despite polling predicting that the Religious Zionism bloc of three parties would do well in the election.
The two ultra-Orthodox parties will have a long list of demands and the new prime minister is beholden to them. Indeed, Likud polled 31 seats, the right wingers and ultras have as many or more, effectively making him a minority within his own government.
The new prime minister said that this was the same as the one he replaced. Netanyahu maintained that he’ll call the shots on policy, and that Coalitions make interesting bedfellows. “They are joining me. I’m not joining them.”
One would be forgiven for thinking that this kind of government might not last. But there may be more that binds this coalition together than divides it. The two Orthodox parties are looking to get support for their religious schools and institutions after they were out of power.
The main issue is a proposed “override clause” enabling the Knesset, which because of Israel’s electoral system is an extension of the executive, to veto court decisions. Legislation will enable the government to politicize the civil service and appoint the judiciary directly.
With fewer resources for their community and if there is a serious confrontation between Palestinians and Israelis in the West Bank or Jerusalem, then relations with Israel’s Arab citizens will likely be damaged.
There will be some constraints on the government’s behavior. Netanyahu is certainly not interested in a confrontation with Hamas or Hezbollah. He will want to protect the recently concluded maritime boundary agreement with Lebanon, as well as the Abraham Accords with the United Arabia and the Arab states, in order to build relations with Saudi Arabia.
As of Monday morning, Biden himself has yet to speak publicly about the matter, preferring to voice his concern directly to Netanyahu, including during their phone call last weekend. He declined to answer questions about Israel as he returned to the White House on Sunday evening.
The real reasons for this shift defy the conventional explanations. Yes, the violence of the second intifada in the early 2000s disillusioned many Jewish Israelis about the possibility of peace with the Palestinians. But the subsequent decade and a half, during most of which Mr. Netanyahu was prime minister, largely insulated most Israelis from the consequences of their government maintaining an indefinite occupation of the West Bank and siege of the Gaza Strip. Support for a two-state solution practically evaporated, and the issue nearly disappeared from Israeli discourse.
Demographics are not destiny, but in Israel they could enable a permanent majority for the religious-right coalition that has solidified through the decade-plus of Mr. Netanyahu’s dominance. More than half of Jewish Israelis identify as traditional, religious or Haredi, and the demographers think that these groups will increase as a share of Israel. According to a 2016 survey, nearly two-thirds of Jewish Israelis in their 20’s and early 30’s identify as right wing, and just under half think that Arabs should be expelled or transferred from Israel.
Benjamin Netanyahu is defending his effort to put together a government that is far-right.
In an interview with NPR’s Morning Edition, Netanyahu defended his decision to embrace the man who was convicted of supporting an organization that Israel and the U.S. classify as a terrorist organization.
Netanyahu is a dominant Israeli figure of the past half-century, serving first as an elite commando, then as an opposition politician and eventually as prime minister for a total of 15 years — longer than any other leader in his country’s history. During his time out of power he completed a memoir, titled Bibi, which is his nickname. He spoke with NPR about the book while managing coalition talks, a task he insisted he does not enjoy.
“All politics is cruel,” he said. “Israeli politics is crueler than most. I’ve been subjected, especially my family, to endless vilification because I keep winning elections.”
Well, first of all, his eligibility was decided by the Supreme Court. … Secondly, he’s modified a lot of his views since then. And I have to say that, with power comes responsibility. Sometimes it works the other way around. And certainly [it’s one thing to speak in] political campaigns a decade and a half ago, and it’s another to actually be in a position of responsibility in governance, and I certainly will ensure that that will be the case. Now you want to know about the well.
The erosion of internal security in Israel is one of the things that we’ve seen. It’s a huge issue. I have to say his party ran on that. He says, “I want to be tested. I could bring security to all of us, including the Arabs, the Jews and the Arab citizens. His campaign promise was that. We have a group. I assured you that you would get the chance. You’ll be given the tools. You have to do the job. I think that time will come.
Are you saying that Arab Israelis, Israeli Arabs, Palestinian citizens of Israel, as many will call themselves, should be able to trust this man who has said that Arabs should be expelled?
I don’t think anyone should trust somebody based on what they have said. He doesn’t say that right now, by the way. … The test will not be whether you trust him or not, but whether you actually see a result. It’s true of me as well. The jury has not reached a decision on this.
Is that the only one that will last? The question of Benjamin Benjamin and the Israeli-Netanyahu-government government in the era of globalization
My formula is very easy to understand. The only peace that will hold is one that we can defend. In a situation where the Palestinians have all the power to govern themselves, but not the power to endanger our life, security will have to remain in Israel’s hands.
No, I don’t doubt that for a minute. I say it openly. Joe Biden, friend of 40 years, when he was vice president, was in Israel. And he said to me, “But Bibi, that’s not complete sovereignty.” I said “you’re right, Joe, but that’s the only one that will last.”
Source: https://www.npr.org/2022/12/15/1142813395/israel-benjamin-netanyahu-government
Joseph Biden and the Israeli-Israel Interaction: Implications of the New Joint Planned Agreements for West Bank Expansion
Although we’ve had disagreements, Joe Biden has been a great friend. “Bibi, I love you,” he always says. I don’t agree with what you’re saying. That’s not true. We agree on quite a few things. There is a suspicion that the events in Iran and the change of attitude among the political spectrum has been caused by the unfolding events. I have a clear feeling that today in Washington, people understand that the way to go is not to return to the flawed nuclear agreement, but in fact, to adopt a much more resolute attitude.
The US is keeping a close eye on Israel. The Biden family has kept their disagreement with Israel private while maintaining constant US support for Israel in the Middle East. In a recent call with Netanyahu, he urged him to compromise with the opposition. He pointedly told him that democratic values lie at the heart of the US-Israel relationship.
JERUSALEM — Benjamin Netanyahu’s incoming hard-line Israeli government put West Bank settlement expansion at the top of its priority list on Wednesday, vowing to legalize dozens of illegally built outposts and annex the occupied territory as part of its coalition deal with ultranationalist allies.
The coalition agreements, released a day before the government is to be sworn into office, also included language endorsing discrimination against LGBTQ people on religious grounds, contentious judicial reforms, as well as generous stipends for ultra-Orthodox men who prefer to study instead of work.
The package laid the groundwork for what is expected to be a stormy beginning for the country’s most religious and right-wing government in history, potentially putting it at odds with large parts of the Israeli public, rankling Israel’s closest allies and escalating tensions with the Palestinians.
Tomer Naor, the chief legal officer of the Movement for Quality Government in Israel, expressed worry that the agreements could change the democratic structure of the state of Israel. “One day we’ll all wake up and Netanyahu is not going to be prime minister, but some of these changes will be irreversible.”
Israel’s War with the West Bank: Implications for the Security and Development of the State of Israel and for the Future of the Palestinian Nation
The guidelines were led by a commitment to “advance and develop settlement in all parts of the land of Israel,” including “Judea and Samaria,” the biblical names for the West Bank.
The West Bank, east Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip were captured by Israel in 1967. Around 2.5 million Palestinians live in Israeli settlements, while 500,000 Israelis are in the same area.
In response to a request for comment, the Palestinian leadership emphasized that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict can be resolved only through the establishment of a Palestinian state with east Jerusalem as its capital.
There will be no peace or security in the region without a two-state solution, according to a spokesman for the Palestinian President.
The deal also grants favors to Itamar Ben-Gvir, a far-right politician who will be in charge of the national police force as the newly created national security minister.
It includes a commitment to boost government funding for the Israeli settlements in the divided West Bank where a tiny ultranationalist Jewish community lives in heavily fortified neighborhoods. Ben-Gvir lives next to a settlement.
The country’s anti discrimination laws will be changed in order to allow businesses to refuse service to people because of a religious belief.
Members of Ben-Gvir’s party said the legislation could be used to deny services to the gay community. Netanyahu has said he will not let the law pass, but nonetheless left the clause in the coalition agreement.
But he leveled criticism at the “feckless military government” that controls key aspects of life for Israeli settlements — such as construction, expansion and infrastructure projects. The finance minister is expected to push for more construction in settlements while blocking Palestinian development in the territory.
In an op-ed published in the Wall Street Journal, Smotrich said there would be no “changing the political or legal status” of the West Bank, indicating that annexation would not immediately take place.
“Since (the new government’s) intention is to weaken the Supreme Court, we’re not going to have the court as an institution that would help guard the principles of freedom and equality,” Yohanan Plesner, president of the Israel Democracy Institute, a Jerusalem think tank, told reporters.
Source: https://www.npr.org/2022/12/29/1145952664/benjamin-netanyahus-new-israeli-government-will-make-west-bank-expansion-a-prior
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is Defying the Al-Aqsa Mosque: Israel’s Reform of Jerusalem in the Age of Cosmic War
Two of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s ministers have criminal records. Despite being convicted of tax fraud earlier this year, Netanyahu and his coalition have passed a law to allow Deri to serve as a minister. Ben-Gvir was convicted in 2009 of inciting racism and supporting a terrorist organization.
Israel was potentially on the precipice of a civil war because of the government’s legislation, according to the president. Although the Israeli presidency is largely a ceremonial role, Herzog has been actively speaking with all parties calling for negotiations.
The rules governing holy sites, such as Jerusalem’s Temple Mount and the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, would stay the same according to the government platform.
Religious Zionism politicians called for changing the status quo at the site in order to allow Jewish prayer, which risked inflaming tensions with the Palestinians. The status of the site is the emotional epicenter of the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
In an interview with CNN published Wednesday, King Abdullah II of Jordan warned that if Israel tried to change the status of Jerusalem’s holiest site, it would be Jordan that would respond.
Editor’s Note: Dan Perry was The Associated Press’ top editor in the Middle East, based in Cairo between 2012 and 2018, and before that he led the AP in Europe and Africa from London. He is the author of two books about Israel. The opinions expressed in this commentary are his own. CNN has more opinion on it.
Netanyahu is in a corruption trial and critics say he is pushing the reform forward because of that. He denies any wrongdoing.
The Case for a New Constitution: The Case Against a Possible Violation of Civil and Fundamental Laws in the State of Israel
A unicameral parliament could easily mean the end of civil rights and minority guarantees, as a result of a lack of a real constitution and a series of basic laws. If a future government chooses not to ban Palestinian or Arab citizens of Israel from voting, it would only be because of dangerous abuses of power.
For months, hundreds of thousands of Israelis have been taking to the streets across the country to protest far-reaching changes to Israel’s legal system some say threaten the country’s democratic foundations.
The court system protects from the subjugation of 3 million Palestinians in the West bank and East Jerusalem who do not have the right to vote. A third Palestinian uprising is imminent, due to this, and separate but related plans to increase Jewish settlement activity and hand most dealings with the Palestinians to the country’s top nationalists.
Prominent doomsayers include leading figures of the stunning technology sector, which accounts for a sixth of Israel’s economy, a quarter of income tax revenue and half of exports. Hundreds of major multinationals have research centers in Israel, many of which are Fortune 500 companies. These companies — from Meta and Google to Intel and Apple — are a top driver of the economy.
The former head of the Bank of Israel warns that the country is in danger of losing everything and that the legislative reforms will negatively affect Israel’s credit rating. Money has begun flowing out of the country due to fears that a collapse of rule of law would undermine property rights.
Courts play a key role in deciding how people live, because Israel does not have a written constitution and it never established a Bill of Rights that guarantees essential rights and freedoms. The country operates under a set of basic laws.
Supreme Court judges currently self-select themselves according to Netanyahu. Israel’s President appoints judges from a list drawn up by three members of the Judicial selection committee, which also includes politicians and two members of the Bar Association. The government would likely appoint them all, according to the proposal.
Bennett is a nationalist, but also a responsible one. Israel’s friends worldwide, and anyone interested in the stability of a nuclear power, would be wise to take note and speak up.
This is a rare moment in history — fascinating and horrifying in equal measure — when an important country in an unstable region is on the cusp of undoing itself.
A Defense of Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a State-Independent Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, and the Law of the Supreme Court
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acted illegally by announcing Thursday that he would involve himself directly in his government’s moves to change the country’s judicial system, Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara told him in an open letter Friday.
You publicly announced last night that you intend to violate the ruling of the Supreme Court, and as such act in a way contrary to the advice of the legal advisor to the government. She said the statement was illegal and contaminated by a conflict of interest.
A law pushed through by the Netanyahu government on Thursday stripped the courts of the power to declare a prime minister incompetent for office.
“On the one hand, he’s got a coalition that is based purely on Israel’s right wing, ultra-religious, far-right nationalistic political elements,” Tibon said, noting that those elements have long wanted to curb the power of the Supreme Court, which they see as a liberalizing force in Israel that has pushed for LGBTQ and women’s rights in the country.
I had my hands tied. No more. Netanyahu said he would do everything in his power to reach a solution and calm the spirits in the nation.
Baharav-Miara’s letter referred to a court-mandated conflict of interest agreement that Netanyahu accepted in order to allow him to form a government despite being on trial for multiple allegations of corruption.
She warned him to refrain from taking action that might cause a conflict with his role as Prime Minister.
The source close to Netanyahu denied he had broken the law or violated the conflict of interest agreement when he was in London.
Why Israel’s courts shouldn’t be overlooked: The protests of Prime Minister Yoav Gallant over the planned overhaul of Israeli property rights
Tensions rose further this weekend when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu abruptly fired Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over his opposition to the planned overhaul, prompting mass street protests and widespread strike action.
The prime minister pointed out that the United States has politicians who control which federal judges are appointed and approved.
The override clause is used to give the Israeli parliament the power to pass laws that the Supreme Court has ruled to be invalid.
“We go to the polls, vote, and time after time, people we did not elect decide for us,” Justice Minister Yariv Levin said while unveiling the reforms at the beginning of January.
Another bill, now voted through, makes it more difficult for a sitting Prime Minister to be declared unfit for office, restricting the reasons to physical or mental incapacity and requiring either the prime minister themselves, or two-thirds of the cabinet, to vote for such a declaration.
If Israel’s courts are undermined, international courts might no longer recognize their full authority and the consequences from that include the potential that Israeli soldiers could be linked to crimes in war crimes cases.
Palestinians in the occupied West Bank could be affected, and of course Palestinian citizens of Israel or those who hold residency cards would be directly affected. Israel’s Supreme Court has no influence on what happens in Gaza, which is ruled by the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
Last year, for example, the court halted the evictions of Palestinian families in the flashpoint neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah in East Jerusalem, where Jewish groups have claimed ownership of land the families have lived on for decades.
The courts decide a number of controversial and far-reaching issues, from Israeli settlement operations to LGBTQ freedoms and rights for Palestinian citizens, as well as ruling on issues in Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories.
Critics say the overhaul goes too far, and will completely destroy the only avenue available to provide checks and balances to the Israeli legislative branch.
The usually apolitical high-tech sector has spoken out against the reforms. The CEO of a firm that just raised $300 million in capital is not going to move it because of the unrest in Israel.
Protests against a proposal to reform the judiciary: Israeli Labor unions protested on Sunday after Netanyahu’s re-election
“Democratic societies are strengthened by checks and balances, and fundamental changes to a democratic system should be pursued with the broadest possible base of popular support,” a statement from the US National Security Council said.
Protest organizers say they will intensify their demonstrations if the legislation isn’t stopped. The government says that it received a mandate to pass the reform when it was elected.
The coalition government made a small change to the bill in March that would reform the committee that selects judges. Instead of having the vast majority of the appointed seats on the committee, the government-appointed members would have a one-seat majority.
Netanyahu is determined to advance the reforms. But his decision to fire Gallant on Sunday, a day after the defense minister called for a pause in the government’s drive to overhaul the country’s judicial system, sparked turmoil. Gallant, a member of Netanyahu’s Likud party, was the first government minister to take a public stance in favor of a delay.
The Israeli labor federation Histadrut on Monday called a “historic” general strike to heighten pressure on Netanyahu to halt his judicial overhaul. Retail, airport and port workers walked out.
The Justice Reform Movement of Israel: Revival after Yair Lapid Tells the Time to Stop the Explanation of the Political Debate
Meanwhile, Israel’s former Prime Minister Yair Lapid urged Netanyahu to reverse his decision to fire Gallant and told his government to halt its judicial overhaul, telling the Knesset that the country had been “taken hostage by a bunch of extremists with no brakes and no boundaries.”
Complicating matters further, should the bills pass parliament the Supreme Court must then potentially decide on laws curbing its own power. This raises the possibility of a constitutional standoff. Would the Supreme Court strike down the laws, and if so, how would the government respond?
Netanyahu’s government paused the judicial reform plan for a month late Monday after acknowledging the opposition and possibly trying to cool things down without abandoning the plan.
“He’s embraced this judicial reform movement – it’s actually a revolution movement – to try to give him the ability to stack … the Supreme Court in a way that people, Israelis generally, suspect is designed to protect him from the consequences of the prosecution, the trial that he’s now going through,” former US Ambassador to Israel Martin Indyk noted on CNN on Monday.
CNN reporter Hadas Gold has an in-depth look at the judicial reform effort, who supports it, and why it has caused so much controversy. Listen to her story.
As the sun rose on Monday, it revealed a changed horizon. The country’s main labor union had called for a national strike. Schools were closed, flights were grounded, even one of the Netanyahu’s lead attorneys said he would no longer defend him if he pushed ahead.
He has lost control of the country, according to Indyk. The strike is shutting down the airports, the hospitals and the schools.
The Jewish State of Israel and the US-Israel War on Democracy: CNN’s Algorithms and Views from a World Affairs Perspective
Netanyahu has few options to pull back from the judicial overhaul plan, Amir Tibon, a senior editor at the Haaretz newspaper, said on CNN International on Monday.
The Knesset could be in trouble with the courts if the judicial reform plan comes back, according to Tibon.
Indyk said Israel’s enemies were rubbing their hands in glee. The national security interests of the US depend on Israel stabilizing the region.
The US provides Israel with billions of dollars in security funding. The US spends $500 million per year on the country’s missile defense system in addition to giving Israel billions of dollars in financing each year. In fact, Israel is “the largest cumulative recipient of U.S. foreign assistance since World War II,” according to a recent Congressional Research Service report.
Israel has, however, been invited to participate in this week’s Summit for Democracy, a Biden-hosted event meant to highlight threats to democracy. Biden hosted the first such event when he was in office.
“What Bibi is doing is alarming, appalling, and perilous for the relationship between our two countries,” Sen. Brian Schatz, the Hawaii Democrat, said on Twitter. We support democracy.
Tzipi Livni told Christiane Amanpour on Monday about the nature of Israel. “Will Israel remain a Jewish democratic state or (become) a nondemocratic … dictatorship or more religious country.”
Editor’s Note: Frida Ghitis, a former CNN producer and correspondent, is a world affairs columnist. She has worked for CNN, The Washington Post and World Politics Review. The views that were expressed in this commentary are her own. View more opinion on CNN.
Pro-Democracy Protests in Israel: Netanyahu’s Plan for the Final Vote on a New Law of Fundamental Rights
The final vote was supposed to be held on Monday. In a national address lasting around seven minutes, he said he would hold discussions and bring the legislation up for a vote sometime after lawmakers return from a recess at the end of April.
The law, he said, would allow the government “to completely destroy our freedom.” Harari concludes, in an echo of the US Declaration of Independence, that when the government breaks its commitment to respect the basic liberties of its citizens, citizens have a right to resist.
I wrote a few weeks ago about three countries where the people were trying to fight off anti-democratic maneuvers. In all three, the pro-democracy forces are scoring victories, at least temporarily.
Until now, pro-democracy protests, bringing out more than 600,000 people – over 6% of Israel’s population – have been overwhelmingly, remarkably peaceful.
The prime minister said he made the decision to keep the country together. As Netanyahu recently acknowledged, there already is a rift.
The protest was held on Monday as the lawmakers prepared to vote on the legislation. The plan was put on hold when it was heard that Netanyahu would be the one to stop it.
“The prime minister doesn’t understand that he’s disconnected from what’s going on,” a protester named Yanai Or told NPR. “He’s not doing enough to calm the energy up. That’s very scary because it could lead to civil war or something similar.”
The push for more control widely is seen as a preemptive step toward enacting a controversial legislative agenda. The courts are likely to say laws focusing on religion and nationalism are bad for your rights.
The Trial of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Case for a Resolution of the Israel Judiciary’s Inappropriate Crimes: What will the US do next?
It’s possible the Supreme Court will eventually rule on them. The prime minister is on trial for three criminal cases alleging corruption. They were all bundled together.
They claim that their way of life is in crisis and that women’s rights may be limited under the government plan. Women in red robes and white bonnets have been marching in similar styles to those in The Handmaid’s Tale, which was written by Margaret Atwood.
It’s not clear what kind of deal could be struck over the judiciary. When Netanyahu rejected a proposed compromise to his judicial plan around 10 days ago, President Isaac Herzog said Israel stood at the edge of the abyss, warning of an all-out civil war.
The statement, which also repeatedly urged “compromise” in the judicial reform, also marked a rare moment of the US weighing in on the domestic affairs of another country – let alone those of a close ally like Israel. Heavy opposition to the proposals by pro-Israel groups in the US has given the White House more room to insert itself into the debate.
The White House has made it very clear in both public and private that it was concerned about the judicial reform in Israel.
John Kirby, a spokesman for the National Security Council, said that recent developments underscored need for compromise.
Progressives argue that the weight of the American presidency could help sway the events if the Biden administration comes out more forcefully against Netanyahu.
The US urged you to make clear that the US will firmly oppose any moves toward annexation that the Israeli government may take because of the Knesset stripping the judiciary of their check over the current government. “We thank you for your work and again urge you to use all diplomatic tools at your disposal to address this grave situation.”
Several people familiar with the situation said that the hope was that Netanyahu would forge a different path with the proposals, either by agreeing to compromises or withdrawing from the plan altogether.
Rarely does a new Israeli prime minister go this long without being invited to a White House meeting. Nafti Bennett was in office for a little over a year before visiting the White House.
US officials familiar with the planning said that there are no plans to change Netanyahu’s participation in the event as of now. The public schedule of the summit does not mention Netanyahu, though he is scheduled to attend on Wednesday.
The summit is intended to highlight the effort to strengthen democracies despite Israeli fears of backsliding.
NSC Senior Director for Democracy and Human Rights Rob Berschinski said last week that their invitation decisions were based on political will. “We recognize that governments are in different places in terms of perhaps advancing in some regards and taking controversial steps with respect to democracy in their countries in other regards.”
