America’s bipartisan support has been a critical pillar for Israel’s existence and survival, but President Joe Biden is running out of patience. Tensions between the White House and the ultra-nationalist coalition led by Benjamin Netanyahu surfaced soon after the inauguration, with hints that Washington would avoid formal meetings with Jewish extremist ministers. Yesterday, Biden took a step further and demanded that Netanyahu withdraw the reform of the judicial system because “Israel cannot continue down this path.”
“Like so many sympathizers of Israel, I am very concerned,” said the American president in statements that highlighted the growing tensions between the two strategic allies. “We hope that the prime minister will act to achieve a genuine solution”, added Biden, who also made it clear that he will not be invited to the White House in the near future. On Monday, the US ambassador to Israel, Tom Nides, hinted that Netanyahu’s announced temporary halt on the controversial judicial reform could lead to an imminent invitation to visit Washington, pending since he regained power in late 2022.
Despite the fact that the Biden Administration did not officially intervene publicly to stop the laws that are burdening the separation of powers in Israel, the diplomacy of the United States put pressure on its ally between the balls, warning it that its reputation as “the only democracy in the Middle East” is in real danger. In the days before the shutdown announced by Netanyahu, claiming that it will give time to the negotiation to seek broader agreements and avoid a civil conflict, Biden clarified to him by phone that the democratic values ??”always have been, and they must continue being, a pillar of relations between the US and Israel”.
White House officials drew two conclusions about Netanyahu’s strategy. First, that he failed in the calculations about the consequences after the unexpected termination of the Minister of Defense, Yoav Gallant, fulminated for demanding to stop the legal reform in the face of the obvious risks facing the national security. Second, he tried to contain the anger of his far-right allies by warning that a military crisis could soon be unleashed with Iran – which would be close to obtaining nuclear weapons – and that in this scenario the military and diplomatic support of the States would be essential united Netanyahu managed to contain his radical allies, who even threatened to implode the coalition if the plan to neutralize the Supreme Court authorities was stopped.
Jerusalem did not like the public warnings. While Netanyahu recalled that “I have known President Biden for more than 40 years and honor his commitment to Israel”, he insisted that his Executive is committed to “strengthening democracy by restoring adequate balance between the three branches of the Government, which we will achieve through consensus”. The Likud leader rejected several calls for dialogue, and despite the supposed shutdown that was announced, the coalition continued to debate the proposed law so that the Government can control the process of selecting judges. Netanyahu raised his voice and recalled that “Israel is a sovereign state that makes its own decisions according to the will of its citizens and not according to foreign pressures, including those of its best friends.”
According to members of the Biden Administration, the ball is now in Netanyahu’s court, and his next decisions will determine whether the open crisis with Washington will continue to worsen. For the centrist opposition Benny Gantz, the words of the president of the United States constitute an “urgent wake-up call. Damaging relations with the US, our most important ally, means strategic damage.” In a Trumpist tone, the Likud accused Biden of being “a victim of the fake news spread against our justified legal reform”.
Biden represents the moderate wing of the Democratic Party, and has been promoting pro-Israel legislation for 50 years. That there was more tension with Israel could empower the pro-Palestinian voices that gain weight in their formation and that even demand to interrupt the millions of annual military donations that the USA provides to the Jewish State. Biden exhausted options to avoid a media confrontation with Netanyahu, but considered the obvious risk to Israeli democracy to be his red line. With Democratic predecessors Clinton and Obama, Netanyahu also maintained strained relations, as he considers that they interfered in Israel’s elections.