Benjamin Netanyahu, despite starting from a correct premise, that is, the need for judicial reform, has gone "too far" and in the end will have to accept a compromise. Thus the American historian and president of the Middle East Forum, Daniel Pipes, commented to Adnkronos on the recent tensions between Washington and Jerusalem. ...
"U.S.-Israel tensions are the norm, I call theirs the family relationship of international relations. This case is unusual only because it concerns an internal Israeli issue," explains Pipes, one of the leading American experts on Middle Eastern affairs and author of numerous essays on the subject.
 Biden (L) and Netanyahu. |
According to the historian, "the importance of the tensions lies elsewhere," namely in the differences on relations with Jerusalem within the Democratic Party. "The elderly Biden is friendlier to Israel than are many younger Democrats, so the current tension opens an opportunity for them to pressure him to be less friendly," he said.
Pipes then comments on the disputed judicial reform in Israel, which Netanyahu – in the wake of massive protests – has frozen pending the resumption of work in the Knesset in May. "Yes, some judicial reform is necessary – especially ending the process by which justices in effect appoint their successors – but the government went too far too fast and must make compromises," says the expert.
"The Haredi (or Ultra-Orthodox Jewish) effort to impose Jewish law on the country is especially worrisome," concludes Pipes. "I predict that a compromise will be reached and that this crisis will be little more than a bad memory by the end of 2023."
