Israeli President Isaac Herzog said on Tuesday that democracy in his country is “solid, strong and resilient,” as received by his American counterpart, Joe Biden. And he made it clear that, despite being in the White House, where Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not been invited since returning to power in December, his heart was with Israel. Thousands of people took to the streets again in another Day of Resistance against the government’s controversial judicial reform. “A hot debate,” Herzog said.
In the opening statements Biden did not refer to the controversial reform, but reiterated that his love for Israel is “deep” and that the friendship between the two countries is “unbreakable.”. However, the US president admitted that there is a “difficult road ahead” and that “more needs to be done”. But that does not negate the US commitment to Israel’s security, with Biden promising that Iran will never have access to a nuclear weapon.
Herzog’s visit comes a day after Netanyahu’s office announced that Biden had invited the prime minister to visit the US “soon” and he had accepted. The first reading was that Netanyahu, who returned to power in December, had finally received an invitation to the White House.
But US presidential spokesmen would not confirm this, saying during Monday’s phone call between Biden and Netanyahu, “both agreed to meet probably before the end of the year” and further specify “in the fall”. Analysts believe that instead of the expected invitation to the White House, it will be a meeting on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York in September.
Netanyahu’s return to power, in a government backed by the far right, has further distanced Washington. While the US is once again committed to Israel’s security, condemning the recent terrorist attacks and insisting on the need to prevent Iran from having a nuclear weapon, the US is not only criticizing the Israelis’ decision to continue building settlements , the two-state solution, but also defending a broad consensus around the controversial judicial reform. Herzog, who has a symbolic role, has tried to negotiate that consensus.
Due to the issues and relationship with the Palestinians, several Democratic congressmen have already announced that they will not be in Congress for Herzog’s speech this Wednesday. And there are increasing voices demanding that the US reconsider its relationship with Israel.
Last week, in your column on The New York Times, journalist Thomas Friedman wrote that Netanyahu’s government is undermining “our shared interests” and “shared values” with Israel. Friedman also wrote that Biden’s meeting with Herzog was a way of showing that the problem lies with Netanyahu and not the Israelis, but argued that the American would make it clear to his counterpart that when the two countries are so different, “a reassessment of the relation”.
Nevertheless, Israelis once again showed their discontent in the streets of Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Haifa, among other cities, in yet another Day of Resistance. The protests have been going on for seven months since the first judicial reform. At least 45 people were arrested and police acted to prevent the protesters from entering Herzlyia train station, who chose to block the road outside. In Tel Aviv, a group of veterans made a human chain to block access to an army headquarters.
Judiciary reform, which the government says is aimed at balancing powers in the country, continues to make progress in the Knesset. The second vote on the reasonableness clause — which the Supreme Court used to block the nomination of one of Netanyahu’s ministers who has already been convicted of fraud as finance minister — is expected to take place next week. The government wants to abolish this clause, which would allow judges to challenge all executive decisions.
Source: DN
