US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday reiterated Washington’s position that the judicial reform in Israel needs to be passed by a broad consensus.
Speaking at the Aspen Security Forum, Blinken was asked by NBC News’ Andrea Mitchell why it was so important for President Joe Biden to make such a public appeal to the Prime Minister regarding the reforms.
“We come to this from a place where, of course, we have a unique relationship, a unique partnership with Israel spanning back decades. President Biden, more than anyone I know, is in his gut committed to Israel’s security and that will never change,” replied Blinken.
“But as such close partners and friends, we share the concerns we have [about the judicial reform] with Israel. As democracies, we know that when you’re trying to make major changes, that are going to have a big societal impact, the best way to do it is by trying to build consensus, is by trying to build the most support possible, if you want those changes to be durable,” he continued.
“We have seen Israeli democracy in all of its vibrancy. It is telling a remarkable story right now. I am confident the system will be able to deal effectively with it,” said Blinken.
The comments followed senior analyst Thomas Friedman’s opinion article in The New York Times on Wednesday, in which he wrote that Biden implored Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to advance the legislation of the judicial reform without even the semblance of a national consensus.
According to Friedman, he was invited by the President to the Oval Office to "make sure that Biden’s position is crystal clear to all Israelis."
On Thursday, US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby spoke to Israel's Channel 12 News and asked about Friedman’s column.
Kirby stated that Biden has a longstanding relationship with Friedman and that the President "thought it was important to sit down and share his views with Tom about where things are going and the conversations that he has had."
He confirmed that Friedman's column was accurate. "Tom wrote a very contextual and yes, accurate reflection in his column of his conversation with President Biden. But more critically, a contextual and accurate reflection of President Biden's views and his concerns."
Kirby refused to answer whether Friedman's assertion that Biden had asked Netanyahu to stop the judicial reform legislation altogether is accurate, though he added that the column was an accurate reflection of "where the President's head is."
Nevertheless, he reiterated that the US-Israel relationship remains rock-solid. "There's nothing that's gonna break the connection between the United States and Israel. We call it an unshakeable bond. We don't throw that word around in a cavalier way. We mean it."
When asked whether the agreement between Biden and Netanyahu to meet in the US this year constituted an invitation for the Israeli Prime Minister to come to the White House, Kirby stated that they were "still working the details out."
(Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)