Abe Foxman: Biden should stop snubbing Netanyahu
Then-Vice President Joe Biden listens to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on March 9, 2010. Photo by Debbi Hill – Pool/ Getty Images
By Jacob Kornbluh July 14, 2023
Abe Foxman, the former head of the Anti-Defamation League, hopes the Israeli government fails to pass a judicial overhaul plan that has brought hundreds of thousands of Israelis protesters to the streets since January. “I am a cockeyed optimist,” he said in a recent interview.
But Foxman, who recently returned from a visit to Israel, including a 90-minute meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said President Joe Biden is registering his own distaste for the plan in ways that could harm Israel and its relationship with the U.S. in the long run. Though Foxman is a strong Biden supporter, he criticized the president’s decision to isolate Netanyahu.
In a break with tradition, Biden since he took office has not invited Netanyahu to the White House.
Foxman, 83, parting company with other Biden supporters who also oppose the judicial overhaul and object to the rightward turn of Netanyahu’s latest governing coalition, called that snub “hypocritical” in a recent interview.
It “sends the wrong message to our friends and enemies” — that Israel is being held to a higher standard than other countries in the region, Foxman said. He mentioned Biden’s recent meetings with King Abdullah II of Jordan, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman — all of whom lead nations where democratic norms are minimal or frequently flouted.
The White House vs. Netanyahu
Biden has been free in his criticism of the judicial overhaul plan, calling on Netanyahu to “walk away” from the proposal, which would sap strength from the nation’s high court, and work toward a “broad consensus.” And in a CNN interview, aired earlier this week, Biden slammed Netanyahu’s coalition for having “one of the most extreme” cabinet ministers — he was referring to Bezelal Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir, settlers who hold hawkish views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and have been accused of racism.
On Tuesday, the White House urged Israeli authorities “to protect and respect the right of peaceful assembly” as mass protests paralyzed major highways and the airport. “Such debates are a healthy part of a vibrant democracy,” a White House NSC spokesperson said in a statement to the media.
Such finger-wagging is unnecessary because “Israel is actually acting out democracy to its 100th degree,” Foxman said, pointing to the popular mass protests across the country. “You’re not punishing Netanyahu because he’s a dictator. He’s not a dictator. Democracy is flourishing.”
Next week, Biden will welcome Israeli President Isaac Herzog, who opposes the judiciary plan and has offered his residence for talks on a compromise, to Washington. But Herzog, who will address a joint session of Congress on Tuesday, serves in a largely ceremonial role.
Undue interference?
Foxman, who in addition to Netanyahu met with opposition leaders Benny Gantz and Yair Lapid in Israel, also critiqued Israelis who want American Jews to exert pressure on the Israeli government.
On Thursday afternoon, at about the same time President Joe Biden issued Herzog’s formal invitation to visit the White House, hundreds of Israelis and Israeli expats gathered in various cities across the U.S. to call on the Biden administration to continue supporting their protests against the judicial overhaul plan.
“Don’t give up on us,” read the signs carried by several hundred demonstrators in New York City’s Washington Square Park. “Biden, help us save Israeli democracy,” read another handmade sign.
Foxman said Israelis begging the U.S. government and American Jews to so actively participate in their country’s struggle for democracy is worrisome.
This “mode of behavior” could become the norm whenever the U.S. disagrees with Israeli policies, he said. “That to me is very dangerous because Israel needs its independence, it has its sovereignty and it should make its own decisions.”
Foxman’s view is not popular among the opponents of the judicial overhaul.
Sheila Katz, who leads the National Council of Jewish Women, said Netanyahu should “not be rewarded” with an invitation to the White House.
“When the vital protections of democracy are being dismantled, it is no longer business as usual,” Katz said. “We believe President Biden should do everything in his power to ensure the democratic future of Israel and encourage an end to the judicial overhaul process.”
Her view prevailed at Thursday’s protest in New York. Jonathan Letzer, an Israeli-born demonstrator who held up a sign that read, “Boycott Bibi” said he’s satisfied with Biden’s approach. “He shouldn’t interfere too much in Israeli politics, “ he said, “but what he’s doing now is good for us.”
Despite his disagreement with the Biden administration over its approach to Israel’s domestic strife, Foxman, who led the ADL from 1987 to 2015, said he remains concerned about the Israeli government’s refusal to compromise on key parts of the judicial reform plan. On Monday, a Knesset committee is set to advance legislation that blocks the courts from deeming government decisions and appointments as unreasonable for a final vote.
“What used to keep me up at night about Israel was Iran,” Foxman said. “What keeps me up now is this current crisis. After 50 years visiting Israel, this is the first time I worry about its future — from inside.”
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