The US government is aiding Israeli protesters against the coalition’s judicial reform plan, Justice Minister Yariv Levin said.
Washington “is working in cooperation with them on this, as you can see from the things said by the people in the government there,” Levin told haredi political operatives, in a video first published by Walla! News on Monday.
Levin said “There is no doubt that we are at a truly incomprehensible disadvantage” in promoting the reforms. “They have the courts, the attorney general, all of the heads of the economy, the US government…total control of journalism, of the websites ynet, Walla, Israel Hayom.”
US President Joe Biden has repeatedly expressed concerns when asked about Jerusalem’s judicial reform plan.
“They cannot continue down this road,” he said last month, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu put the legislative process on the reform on hold.
Thousands of Israelis protest against the planned judicial overhaul, at the Azrieli junction in Tel Aviv, on April 8, 2023 (credit: AVSHALOM SASSONI/FLASH90)Asked if he would invite Netanyahu to the White House, Biden said no, implying that his opposition to the reform is behind his continued refusal to invite the prime minister.
The State Department has given over $38,000 since 2020 to the Movement for Quality Government, one of the leading groups in protests against Netanyahu in recent years, including this year’s round of demonstrations opposing judicial reform.
The funding was first reported by The Washington Free Beacon, which quoted the State Department as saying the group is nonpartisan and that the funding was “focused on teaching civic education and supporting good governance.” The US government is the NGO’s only foreign funder.
Remarks are dangerous
National Unity leader Benny Gantz said Levin’s remarks are “dangerous” and that “Israel has only one United States” and would not survive without that alliance.
Levin also clarified in the leaked videos that he thinks all of the elements opposing judicial reform believe in their cause, not that there is someone else standing behind them.
The justice minister said he had no doubt that even “if we would have had a perfect campaign [explaining the reform], there is no chance that we would have reached a different situation. The other side has an arsenal of amazing tools whose power was exposed in this event like never before. It is incredibly well-funded.”
He also blamed Likud MKs for not supporting the reform and called for the party to be more united.
The opposition is not willing to compromise by one comma, Levin added, but said that “it’s better to try to see this process through – it will be better for everyone.”
Eliav Breuer contributed to this report.
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