US President Joe Biden urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a recent phone call to "stop rushing" with his government's judicial reform plan, according to New York Times columnist Thomas L. Friedman.
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Friedman was invited by Biden to the Oval Office on Tuesday and given an "unprecedented" statement on the issue. As quoted by the columnist, the president expressed his respect for the "enduring" protests in Israel that demonstrate the "vibrancy of Israel's democracy."
Video: Reuters/Biden speaks with Isaac Herzog in the Oval Office
Biden also shared his wish for Netanyahu's Coalition to "stop rushing to slam through a constitutional overhaul, without even the semblance of a national consensus, that would sharply diminish the ability of Israel's Supreme Court to oversee the decisions and appointments of Israel's government."
Friedman noted that "Netanyahu has attempted to confuse Israel's friends in America by playing down the importance of the fundamental change that his government is pushing, by calling it a judicial reform and framing it as small."
He said that Biden is now "deeply worried for the stability and future of Israel, America's most important Middle East ally and a country for which he wears his affection on his sleeve."
"This is obviously an area about which Israelis have strong views, including in an enduring protest movement that is demonstrating the vibrancy of Israel's democracy, which must remain the core of our bilateral relationship," Biden, who hosted Israel's President Isaac Herzog on Tuesday evening and also discussed the judicial overhaul with him, told Friedman.
"Finding consensus on controversial areas of policy means taking the time you need. For significant changes, that's essential. So my recommendation to Israeli leaders is not to rush. I believe the best outcome is to continue to seek the broadest possible consensus here," he said.
The first phone conversation between Biden and Netanyahu in months resulted in a long-anticipated invitation to the White House, according to Israeli media reports. US National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said the two "agreed that they will meet, likely before the end of this year," with a likely date in the fall.
National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi said that the phone conversation between Biden and Netanyahu was "good, cordial, and constructive," and that the remarks attributed to the US president in The New York Times were not said during the call at all.
In fact, Netanyahu has informed Biden that the "reasonableness" clause will be passed in the current Knesset session, and that during the summer recess, he will work to build a broad consensus with regard to the rest of the legislation.
This article was first published by i24NEWS.
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