Washington — Two weeks before the temporary end of the crisis of "reforming Israel's justice system," several senior IDF reserve officers with no party affiliations toured decision-making centers in the U.S. capital to brief Israel's most important ally on the dangers of allowing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to pass the new legislative plan.

During several stops at important think tanks, offices of Jewish organizations and a number of offices of congressional leaders, the visiting delegation concluded its tour of the US Departments of State and Defense, before meeting with a number of aides to President Joe Biden at the White House National Security Council.


Welcome and understanding

Al Jazeera Net learned from sources who participated in these meetings, that the message of the Israeli delegation against Netanyahu's orientations was welcomed and understood, with a pledge to pressure by all available means on his government to block legislation that allows control of the judiciary.

Washington breathed a sigh of relief after the Israeli prime minister postponed, on Monday, for at least a month, his attempt to change the way judges are appointed to the Israeli Supreme Court, after the largest demonstrations in Israeli history paralyzed economic life.

Observers were surprised by Biden's reaction to Netanyahu's retreat, with Biden telling reporters yesterday that he was "very concerned" about the judicial reform proposals. He added that there were no near-term plans for the United States to invite Netanyahu to the White House, apparently in response to an impromptu statement by the US ambassador to Israel that Netanyahu could be invited soon.

That prompted Netanyahu to respond in a statement saying that "Israel is a sovereign state that makes its decisions by the will of its people and not based on pressure from outside, even from the best friends."

Most experts point out that the confrontation between Netanyahu and Biden will not affect the future of the huge cooperation between the two countries, nor will Israel continue to receive more than $ 3 billion annually, in addition to the latest weapons in the US arsenal.

The Limits of American Influence

While it was not U.S. pressure that drove Netanyahu to change course, the Biden administration did not stand on the sidelines when Israel's internal crisis began to escalate.

On the contrary, U.S. officials have remained in constant contact with their Israeli allies, pressuring them mostly privately, and sometimes publicly, to roll back a plan that would make it difficult for Israel to continue to describe itself as "the only democracy in the Middle East" and would damage relations with its strongest ally.

Protests against what Netanyahu government called "judicial reform plan" described as historic (Getty Images)

A special and old relationship

Aaron David Miller, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and an expert on U.S.-Israel relations, says Biden "has been slow to adapt to the fact that there is a new Benjamin Netanyahu," a more right-wing politician and less cautious than the president has faced in the past.

Miller said that "the anger and frustration that is building up within the US administration is real," and Biden may in the future treat Netanyahu as prime minister under surveillance.

Biden and Netanyahu have a special and long-standing relationship, and Biden has often repeated, "I like Bibi, but I don't like some of his policies." President Joe Biden is one of the most supportive U.S. presidents in history, as evidenced by his voting record during his years on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, or when he was Barack Obama's vice president.

Biden is aware of Israel's popularity in the United States, which the Pew Research Institute recently estimated at more than 55 percent among American voters, while recent polls indicate Biden's popularity remains at 42 percent among American voters.

US President Joe Biden's early involvement in politics half a century ago shaped a long record of attitudes towards rounds of the "Arab-Israeli conflict." This record reveals his strong commitment to protecting Israel's security and strengthening the U.S.-Israel partnership.

Since his first trip to Israel in 1973, shortly before the Yom Kippur War, Biden's commitment to Israel's security has been unwavering. During his years as senator from Delaware, he helped ensure unwavering support for Israel's security as well.

Biden fought in the Senate to ensure Israel gets the most aid, often calling economic and military financial aid to Israel "the best investment we've made of $3 billion." He has always opposed advanced arms sales to Israel's neighbors.

During President Barack Obama's administration, in which Biden served as vice president for 8 years, he was a key advocate for securing support for Israel's advanced military technological systems, such as the Iron Dome anti-missile system, as well as the Arrow 3 defense system.

After the latest Israeli aggression on Gaza following a wave of widespread violations in Jerusalem, the US president said he hoped that "the tension in the Middle East will end sooner rather than later," stressing what he considered "Israel's right to defend itself against the thousands of rockets that fall on it."


Tensions and disagreements

Since Netanyahu's re-election last fall, there has been a series of confrontations with the White House showing that they have not been on the same page over Israeli plans to expand Jewish settlements in the West Bank and Israel's use of "excessive force" against Palestinians.

The Biden administration is under pressure from progressive Democrats to punish Israel for policies affecting Palestinians, and American Jewish groups have expressed concern about Netanyahu's proposals to "reform the judiciary."

Netanyahu tried to cover up the rift with the Biden administration in his remote speech Wednesday to the Biden administration's summit for democracy, saying that "the alliance between the world's greatest democracy and a strong, proud and independent democracy — meaning Israel — in the heart of the Middle East is unshakable."

Later Wednesday, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby stressed the longstanding cordial relationship between the two countries and between Biden and Netanyahu, who he said they have known each other for 40 years. He said the United States was pleased with Netanyahu's pledges to negotiate with opponents of his judicial proposals.