The US ambassador to Israel called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to slow down the controversial judicial reform.
He added that the issue could make it difficult for Washington to help strengthen ties with Saudi Arabia or deal with Iran.
For weeks, Israel has been outraged by the far-right Netanyahu government’s plan to make changes to the judiciary, which critics say threatens the country’s democratic checks and balances.
On Monday, the Israeli Parliament could hold the first of three votes on a bill that would increase the government’s influence in choosing judges and also limit the Supreme Court’s power to strike down laws or rule against the executive branch.
“We’re telling the prime minister like I tell my kids: put on the brakes, slow down, try to reach a consensus, bring the parties together,” Ambassador Tom Neyds said on CNN’s The Ax Files podcast, published late on Saturday.
While Nides stressed that Israel has the support of the United States on security issues and at the United Nations, he also said that Netanyahu’s stated hope of establishing diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia or solving Iran’s nuclear program is at stake.
“The prime minister wants to do big things, okay? He tells us he wants to do big things,” Nides said. “I’ve told him a hundred times, the prime minister, that we can’t do what we want to work on together if your backyard is on fire.”
Netanyahu spoke about the tensions in Israel at the weekly cabinet meeting, although he did not specifically refer to Nidesy’s comments.
“I am happy to disappoint our enemies and also to reassure our friends that Israel has been and will remain a strong and vibrant democracy. An independent democracy,” he said.
Diaspora Affairs Minister Amihai Chikli was more controversial about Nidesa, telling public broadcaster Kan, “I’m telling the US ambassador, you’re putting on the brakes. Mind your own business. discuss diplomatic and security matters with you, but respect our democracy.”
Warning that Israel is on the verge of a “constitutional and social collapse,” President Isaac Herzog is trying to bring government and opposition together to agree on legal reforms and freeze legislation on the current plan, which successive polls have shown has relatively little support. and that sparked nationwide protests.
Thousands are marching again
Earlier Saturday, more than 100,000 Israelis took to the streets to protest planned judicial reforms.
For the seventh week in a row, people have been protesting against the government’s controversial legal plans to deliberately weaken the Supreme Court.
The goal of the reforms is to give parliament the right to overturn decisions of the Supreme Court by a simple majority vote. Politicians should also have more influence in appointing judges.
Netanyahu, who is on trial for corruption, which he denies, said changes are needed to restore balance between the government, the Knesset and the judiciary, which some in his coalition accuse of being elitist and overusing their powers to interfere in the political sphere.
Critics see this as a threat to the democratic separation of powers. They also fear that the reforms could allow Prime Minister Netanyahu to escape a corruption conviction.
In the absence of a written constitution in Israel, the Supreme Court has a special role to play in upholding the rule of law and human rights. However, the far-right religious government claims that the court currently wields too much political influence.
In Tel Aviv, demonstrators gathered in the city center, many waving Israeli flags and carrying signs reading “Israel must not become a dictatorship” or calling for the support of the international community, saying “Biden, Macron – help us.”
Officials closed several streets earlier in the day due to the rally.
Protests also took place in Jerusalem, Haifa and Beersheba.
