Israeli protesters try to pull Biden into fight with Netanyahu

President Biden has called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to pull back on controversial legislation that far-right members of his coalition are looking to push through by the end of the month.

But Israeli protesters are calling on the U.S. to speak out more forcefully.

During a “day of disruption” Tuesday, protesters singled out the U.S. mission in Tel Aviv for their demonstrations — with mass protests blocking major roadways, the international airport and taking place outside government buildings. 

Josh Drill, a spokesperson for the national protest movement in Israel, told The Hill in a statement that demonstrations were meant to “send a clear message to President Biden: Continue to stand with the Israeli protesters who are tirelessly fighting for Israeli democracy.”

“At this critical juncture, Netanyahu's proposed judicial overhaul poses a grave threat to Israel's democratic principles, which are values shared by both the United States and Israel,” Drill said. 

Biden has made known his opposition to a package of bills aimed at overhauling Israel’s Supreme Court. In March, he succeeded in having Netanyahu delay a package of legislation that critics say will erase the independence of the courts and threaten Israel’s democracy. 

But the Israeli government in recent days has taken up at least one piece of the legislation package that protesters say marks a first step in pushing forward the government’s plan to neuter Israel’s Supreme Court. 

Biden has sent the message to Netanyahu to “tap the brakes, slow down” and seek consensus with opposition lawmakers on the judicial overhaul, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides told the Wall Street Journal in an interview published Monday.  

“I think most Israelis want the United States to be in their business,” Nides told the newspaper. 

“With that sometimes comes a modicum of a price, which is articulating when we think things are going off the rails.” 

Netanyahu is balancing the demands of far-right members of his coalition that are key to ensuring his position as prime minister, as he holds only a slim majority over the opposition.

These lawmakers, which Biden referred to as “extreme” in an interview Sunday with CNN, are intent on pushing through judicial changes that critics say will have huge impacts on Israeli society and politics.

These include fears of erasing key protections for minority groups in the country, threatening efforts to reach a two-state solution with the Palestinians and changes that could offer Netanyahu protection from court cases where he faces charges of bribery and corruption. 

Netanyahu’s government has put on pause most of the package of bills amid widespread public backlash and outspoken opposition from Biden and his top officials.

But members of Netanyahu’s coalition in parliament are now looking to push through a bill that would eliminate Israel’s "reasonableness doctrine," which gives Israel’s high court the power to review and strike down government decisions if it appears that not all sides of an issue were taken into consideration. 

One of the most immediate concerns of eliminating the “reasonableness doctrine,” critics warn, is the independence of Israel’s attorney general — at a time when Netanyahu is facing criminal charges in cases ranging from bribery to corruption.

“What people want to know is — appointments. The attorney general, is that now going to be someone who is an adjunct of the prime minister?” asked David Makovsky, Ziegler distinguished fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

“There’s all these government entities where a lot of these politicians would love to name their cousins, their cronies,” he continued, “and the court, by having oversight, is a huge check on that.”

Biden and his officials have urged Netanyahu to only proceed with judicial legislation that has the support of the opposition. The prime minister has walked a fine line between empowering radical lawmakers in his coalition and working with the more moderate Israeli President Isaac Herzog on a compromise. 

Biden has invited Herzog for a meeting at the White House next week, which is seen as a major snub to Netanyahu. Makovsky said the move has resonated deeply with the prime minister and in Israel. 

“I think Biden thought his card to play was to withhold the visit, which gets enormous attention in Israel. It doesn’t get as much attention from the American media,” he said.

“I watch the news there every day in Hebrew, there’s definitely a feeling that the president’s views are well known because this never happened in Israel before,” Makovsky said, referring to the fact that the prime minister has not visited Washington. 

Netanyahu holds a short window of time to implement a compromise. Supporters of the legislation want it to pass through two more rounds of votes before the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, goes on summer recess at the end of the month. 

Makovsky said that Netanyahu has sent signals that he’s open to “softening” the language in the bill that could address the criticisms of the opposition, but it’s unclear what the final product would be.

“That’s why the protesters are so ferocious, because they feel it's money time now,” he said. 

The White House has said little over the past few weeks related to the legislation in Israel, marking a stark contrast with the public pressure the president and his top officials deployed against Netanyahu in March.

At that time, Biden held a phone call with the prime minister and dispatched Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Jerusalem to underscore the message that the judicial overhaul legislation would threaten Israel’s status as a democracy and put at risk U.S. support for the country. 

“The administration has said on a number of occasions, both U.S. and Israeli democracy are built on strong institutions, checks and balances, and an independent judiciary,” State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller said Monday when asked about the protests in Israel.  

“The President has said publicly and privately that fundamental reforms like this require a broad basis of support to be durable and sustained.”

The administration is balancing a broad security agenda in the Middle East and working in close coordination with Israel on efforts to have Iran roll back dangerous gains on its nuclear program, and working to establish ties between Saudi Arabia and Israel.

The U.S. is also trying to prevent escalating violence between Israelis and Palestinians from exploding into a larger war.

“Bibi [Netanyahu], I think, is trying to work through how he could work through his existing problems, in terms of his coalition,” Biden said in his interview with CNN.

“We're talking with them regularly, trying to tamp down what is going on and hopefully Bibi will continue to move toward moderation in changing the court.”