US President Joe Biden pressed and sent messages to delay the legislation to restrict the Supreme Court in order to reach a compromise agreement, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not stop, the reasonableness law passed, and the Biden administration is disappointed.
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"It is unfortunate that the vote today took place with the slimmest possible majority,” said a statement from White House spokeswoman Karin Jean-Pierre. “We believe that for major democratic changes, you need to work for consensus. We urge Israeli leaders to work toward a consensus-based approach through political dialogue.”
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US President Joe Biden has repeatedly called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to work for consensus
(Photos: EPA, יYonatan ZIndel)
Biden has throughout the last few months expressed his disapproval of the right-wing government's unilateral legislation push and called for broad agreement, while sometimes also expressing quite harsh messages against Netanyahu's government, which he called the most extreme he has ever seen.
On Sunday night, just before the start of voting in the Knesset, Biden pleaded with Israel not to rush the first vote as part of the judicial overhaul push, which he called "partisanship," against the backdrop of the additional challenges facing Israel.
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White House spokeswoman Karin Jean-Pierre released a statement criticizing passage of a judicial reform law
(Photo: Reuters/Evelyn Hockstein)
"It doesn't make sense for Israeli leaders to rush this – the focus should be on pulling people together and finding consensus," Biden said.
"From the perspective of Israel’s friends in the United States, it looks like the current judicial reform proposal is becoming more divisive, not less," he added.