A week after President Joe Biden spoke by phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to urge him to find a compromise on his planned judicial reforms, events on the ground in Israel continue to generate deep concern inside the White House — particularly as Biden prepares to highlight global democracy during a major summit this week.
As protests in Israel have intensified, the Biden administration has steadily scaled up its rhetoric on the situation, including saying Sunday, it was watching with “concern” after Netanyahu fired his defense minister who spoke out in opposition to the proposed reforms.
“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.
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. But heavy opposition to the proposed reforms among US-based pro-Israel groups has given the White House more leeway to insert itself into the debate.
On Monday, it appeared Netanyahu had agreed to put the judicial overhaul legislation on hold until the next session of the Knesset, after the Passover recess in April. Yet in announcing the delay, Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir insisted the judicial overhaul legislation would still come to a vote in parliament’s summer term.
The White House has been “very clear” in both public and private about its concerns over Israel’s proposed judicial overhaul, a top US official said Monday.
“We remain deeply concerned by recent developments, which further underscore need in our view for compromise,”…
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