Thomas Friedman: Can Joe Biden save Israel?

American journalist Thomas Friedman - in

in The New York Times - appealed to US President Joe Biden to intervene to prevent what he called the historic transformation in Israel into an illiberal bastion of intolerance and an arena for terrible civil conflict.

The writer added that Israel is on the cusp of a historic transition from a full democracy to something less, and from a stabilizing force in the region to a destabilizing force, and Biden may be the only person currently able to prevent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his "extremist" coalition from implementing the aforementioned transformation.

He said that what is happening in Israel, in short, is that an extremist, ultra-Orthodox government, formed after the Netanyahu camp won the smallest segment of the vote, is leading a process of power grab that the other half of the electorate not only views as corrupt, but also a threat to their civil rights, and this is the reason In the increase in the number of anti-government demonstrations over the weekend.

hostile to American values

He added that many of the ministers in this government are hostile to American values, and almost all of them are hostile to the Democratic Party.

He explained that the current crisis in Israel may be presented to Biden as an internal constitutional issue that he must distance himself from getting involved in, but the matter is the opposite, and Biden must intervene because what is happening in Israel will have direct consequences for the interests of US national security.

The most pressing crisis, he said, relates to the Israeli courts, led by its Supreme Court which has been largely a "fierce protector of human rights, including Arabs," and because it reviews the procedures of all executive branches, including the military.

Netanyahu will annex the West Bank

Friedman stressed that the Netanyahu government seeks to radically change the situation in the West Bank and actually annex it, without officially announcing it, and the only obstacle to its implementation is the Supreme Court and legal institutions in Israel.

He pointed out that the judicial reform that Netanyahu intends to conduct in the Knesset would give the government complete control over the appointment of judges, including the Supreme Court, and restrict the ability of this court to annul legislation, especially legislation that may limit the rights of minorities in Israel, and empower the Knesset that Netanyahu now controls him from "re-enacting" court-issued laws.

America supported Israel in everything

He explained that America provided Israel with extraordinary amounts of economic aid, sensitive intelligence, the most advanced weapons, and almost automatic support against UN resolutions;

Arguing that Israel has an independent judicial system that credibly applies accepted rules of international law to the government and army of Israel, even when it comes to protecting the rights of Palestinians.

The writer addressed Biden by saying that before Netanyahu succeeds in putting the Israeli Supreme Court under his arm, he must tell the Israeli prime minister that he is manipulating American interests and values, and ask him whether Israel's control of the West Bank is a matter of temporary occupation or a new annexation, which calls for To him the members of the government coalition, and to assure him that he will not tolerate this.