Already recovered from the scare on Saturday when he was admitted to the hospital due to dehydration, the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, faced a day that only gave him headaches: the meeting of US President Joe Biden at the White House with President Isaac Herzog – and not with him – and new protests in Israel against the proposed changes in the judiciary that include the dramatic decision of 161 Air Force reservist officers not to report for their voluntary service.
For Netanyahu, his dream return to power is turning into a nightmare. The announcement of the controversial reform proposal in January by the Minister of Justice, Yariv Levin, unleashed 28 consecutive weeks of protests, opened up the identity fracture, hit the cohesion in the army and distanced him from Biden who this Tuesday was received with all the honors to Herzog.
The discontent in the White House did not cool down with Netanyahu’s decision to freeze all reform proposals except the law, which could be approved this Monday, against one of the appeals in the hands of the Supreme Court (“reasonableness criteria”) to annul decisions and appointments of the Government.
Biden demands from Netanyahu that the reforms be consensual and scrupulously respect democracy to follow the famous bilateral principle of “relationships based on common interests and values” but what really irritates him is the presence of the radicals Bezalel Smotrish and Itamar Ben Gvir in his Government and its influence in regards to the Palestinians. The US understands that Netanyahu does not have much room for maneuver – without his two ultranationalist partners he is left without a coalition because the center left boycotts him either because they do not trust his word or because of the corruption trial – but it does not tolerate not moderate or be the only one with hands on the wheel as promised.
In his first telephone conversation since March, Netanyahu told Biden on Monday that, after approving the first law in a few days, he will try to agree on the reform in the fall and estimated that there will be no more construction announcements in neighborhoods in 2023. They also agreed to meet without specify date and place although it seems that it will be in New York taking advantage of the UN General Assembly in September. That is to say, as one more leader and not of the main US ally in the Middle East.
In an unprecedented event in the close bilateral relations, the Israeli prime minister did not receive an invitation from the US president in his first six months in office. It was not easy for Netanyahu to watch Biden and Herzog meet at the White House in prime time, even though he was invited to Washington six months ago by Congress.
Herzog, who met Netanyahu before the trip, thanked Biden for his support of Israel since the 1970s, referring to what he left at home: “I’m happy to be here but my heart and soul are also in Israel in the heated debate we are going through as a society. It is a heated debate but also a virtue and tribute to the greatness of Israeli democracy. Consensus must be sought and I agree with you on that.” On Wednesday he will deliver a speech at a joint session of the two houses of Congress on the occasion of Israel’s 75th anniversary. His visit also includes meetings with Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Vice President Kamala Harris and UN Secretary General António Guterres.
“I congratulate the 75 years of courageous relationship between the two countries. Our friendship is unbreakable,” Biden assured him, reiterating that the US will not allow “Iran to have nuclear weapons.” “As I affirmed to Prime Minister Netanyahu yesterday, the United States’ commitment to Israel is firm and iron,” added Biden, who receives Herzog before Netanyahu because beyond the great ideological affinity with the former Labor leader, he wishes to convey a message of support for Israel and criticism of the government.
Meanwhile, thousands of Israelis demonstrated in Tel Aviv in front of emblematic venues linked to the crisis surrounding the project to weaken the Supreme Court: the Stock Market (the shekel has reduced its value), Defense (division among the reservists) and Histadrut (the leader of the The Arnon Bar David union refuses to declare a general strike considering that the law that they want to pass now does not justify it (the medical union will go on strike today for two hours).
“The Government adopts the salami tactic. After not being able to do it all at once, it intends to pass laws in slices so that there are no protests,” says the dean of students at the Sapir Academy, Alon Gayer, who adds to EL MUNDO : “We will continue protesting until you withdraw the proposals that seek to destroy Israeli democracy. I am in favor of hardening the protest because the violent ones who govern only understand the language of force.” Finally, he admits that the anger goes further: “Just the fact that an extremist criminal like Ben Gvir is the minister in charge of the Police already justifies us taking to the streets.”
In the evening, some clashes broke out on Tel Aviv’s Kaplan Avenue as a group started a protest march to Jerusalem. Before, the hottest demonstrations – not only because of the high temperatures – took place in a railway station.
Netanyahu would like to completely stop Levin’s high-speed train against the Supreme Court to calm the situation at home and be able to focus on talking with Biden about the Iranian nuclear project and the possible normalization of relations with Saudi Arabia, but from a political point of view he cannot . The hard core of the Likud and his coalition have already criticized him for putting aside almost all the reforms “to fight against the excess power of the elitist Supreme Court” and reminds him that the ballot box gave power to him and his bloc (64 of 120 deputies ) to govern. If he now gives in to the pressure of the demonstrations and Biden, he fears the conservative leader himself, his executive train could begin to derail.
According to the criteria of The Trust Project