On Monday, Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu drew a red line for the Biden administration after the US joined the United Nations Security Council's condemnation of settlements. Netanyahu's response was all but expected due to the US blatantly interfering in Israel's internal affairs on the issue of judicial reforms.
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The response was long overdue. It was triggered by the US letting the Security Council come out with a statement that ignores Palestinian terrorist attacks and the glorification of terrorism and terrorists in the Palestinian Authority and the daily incitement to murder Jews daily.
It seems that the "greatest democracy in the world" unfortunately bears its name in vain. It does not respect Israel's election results nor the internal democratic process that took place and is taking place here. Moreover, in the last few months, the Biden administration's assertion that the US support of and cooperation with Israel are based only on "shared democratic values" is clearly not true. The US invests in Israel not only because of the shared values but mainly due to shared interests – which are numerous and diverse.
US ambassador Thomas Nides' reprimands transmit paternalism and hypocrisy. The US didn't bother interfering with other countries in the Middle East and has provided them with support on a host of issues. These are places that aren't even democracies, where the judicial branch is just for show and is controlled by the government, and where human rights have been trampled on for many years. Despite this, what bothers Nides, Antony Blinken, and Joe Biden is Israeli democracy and the system of government here.
On the settlement issue, we have gotten "used to" frequent conflicts with Democratic administrations and problematic diplomatic arrangements, such as this one published yesterday (a several-month freeze on additional outposts). But when it comes to US meddling in the judicial reform in Israel, this should be rejected by both the Opposition and the Coalition – both by the supporters and the opponents of the reform. The American involvement sets a dangerous precedent, which may lead to interference on other significant internal Israeli issues.
Despite our dependency on the US – for military, intelligence, and economic assistance – there should be rules that must not be breached in this relationship, even among allies. In the last few months, the US has crossed the line time after time.
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