The Biden Administration continued to undercut the elected Netanyahu government in Israel on Monday following passage of a law that would eliminate the right of Israeli judges to strike down appointments and legislation they do not view as “reasonable.”
“As a lifelong friend of Israel, President [Joe] Biden has publicly and privately expressed his views that major changes in a democracy to be enduring must have as broad a consensus as possible,” read a statement issued by the White House following the vote.
“It is unfortunate that the vote today took place with the slimmest possible majority. [Anyone else catch the irony of that statement?]
“We understand talks are ongoing and likely to continue over the coming weeks and months to forge a broader compromise even with the Knesset in recess,” the statement continued.
“The United States will continue to support the efforts of President [Isaac] Herzog and other Israeli leaders as they seek to build a broader consensus through political dialogue.”
Translation: The United States will continue to meddle in Israel’s political arena until the minority, leftist lawmakers who are behind the months-long anarchy that is destroying day-to-day life in the Jewish State succeed in their efforts to bring down the duly elected, right-wing government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The White House has for months ignored the repeated efforts of the Netanyahu government to reach “consensus” with opposition leadership. In three months of talks, the opposition has remained entirely unwilling to make any compromises at all, despite multiple proposals suggested by the government.
Immediately following the Knesset’s passage of the measure, the Biden Administration issued a statement via a spokesperson for the White House National Security Council calling the vote “unfortunate.”
The American president was even more blunt in the hours prior to the Knesset’s passage of the legislation.
“From the perspective of Israel’s friends in the United States, it looks like the current judicial reform proposal is becoming more divisive, not less,” Biden said in a gloves-off statement to the Axios news outlet, again ignoring moves made by the government to modify and soften the bill that passed Monday.
“Given the range of threats and challenges confronting Israel right now, it doesn’t make sense for Israeli leaders to rush this — the focus should be on pulling people together and finding consensus,” Biden insisted.
