[The U.S. has only days to act before Netanyahu destroys the
Israeli High Court.]
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WILL BIDEN SAVE ISRAEL FROM ITS WORST INSTINCTS?  
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Robert Kuttner
January 20, 2023
The American Prospect
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_ The U.S. has only days to act before Netanyahu destroys the Israeli
High Court. _

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, speaks with
Interior and Health Minister Aryeh Deri at a weekly Cabinet meeting at
the Prime Minister’s office in Jerusalem, January 8, 2023., Ronen
Zvulun / Pool Photo via AP

 

Yesterday, Harvard reversed itself and reinstated a human rights
fellowship for former Human Rights Watch director Kenneth Roth. The
dean of the Kennedy School, Doug Elmendorf, had previously vetoed the
offer to Roth, claiming that some of the group’s statements were
antisemitic. An uproar followed, and Elmendorf issued a groveling and
disingenuous apology
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This came just a few hours after the Israeli High Court of Justice
ruled that Aryeh Deri, leader of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, could
not serve in the Cabinet because of his past criminal activity
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Deri is one of the most extreme figures in Benjamin Netanyahu’s
government, with two Cabinet posts and the added title of deputy prime
minister.

Even before that ruling, the new government was laying plans to strip
the court’s power to protect rights, via a law that would allow all
High Court rulings to be overturned by a simple majority in
parliament. The Israeli press has speculated
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ruling was the Court’s way of calling the question before Netanyahu
could move first.

And by no small coincidence, U.S. National Security Adviser Jake
Sullivan was in Jerusalem this week conferring with top officials. The
three events are of course connected. What connects them is the
parlous future of Israeli democracy—and what the Biden
administration will do to preserve what remains of it.

_MORE FROM ROBERT KUTTNER_
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Harvard tried to cancel Roth because Human Rights Watch, which reports
on rights violations worldwide, refused to cut Israel any special
slack. A 2021 report
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the group described Israel’s system as apartheid and provided ample
documentation. The pro-Israel lobby went ballistic, condemned the
report as antisemitic, and then sought to block Roth’s Harvard
appointment.

If Netanyahu prevails in his plan to neuter the Israeli High Court, he
will be free to make Israel that much more of an apartheid state and
that much less of a democracy.

At this writing, the Netanyahu coalition was considering whether to
obey the court and oust Deri from the Cabinet, or to accelerate the
attack on the court and defy its order.

Israel does not have a written constitution or a bill of rights. What
has kept it even a semi-democracy is that all parties have respected
the independence of the courts. If that goes, democracy goes.
A massive protest
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against weakening the judiciary is planned for tomorrow.

Netanyahu is counting on the Israel lobby to temper any strong U.S.
reaction. But Netanyahu’s government represents a radical escalation
of human rights violations that were already abhorrent. And the
criticism from American Jews now goes well beyond reformist groups
like J Street.

Abe Foxman, the retired longtime leader of the Anti-Defamation League,
said last month, “If Israel ceases to be an open democracy, I
won’t be able to support it.
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He added in an interview with the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, “It’s
not one thing. It’s a whole package of things, which is bringing us
back to the Middle Ages.”

So, should friends of Zionism, as presently twisted, cancel Abe
Foxman?

The mainstream Union for Reform Judaism went further. Their statement
warns
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Because Israel has no constitution, no bill of rights, and no second
parliamentary chamber, the High Court is the only check and balance in
existence … These proposed changes are particularly egregious given
that the current coalition is specifically attacking the rights of
Reform Jews, members of the LGBTQ+ community, Arabs and
Palestinian-Israelis, and other minorities.

Ultimately, only Joe Biden can rein in Netanyahu, and time is running
out. The U.S. pours billions into Israel every year. He needs to
bluntly warn Netanyahu: If you destroy the independence of Israel’s
courts, U.S. aid is suspended.

Biden has been a pleasant surprise in many respects. But on Israel he
has never showed much gumption. The construction of Donald Trump’s
U.S. embassy in Jerusalem is proceeding. The U.S. ambassador to
Israel, Tom Nides, is a traditionalist. The U.S. works with Israel on
other pressing issues, such as Iran.

Can Biden please bring forth a miracle?

ROBERT KUTTNER is co-founder and co-editor of _The American
Prospect_, and professor at Brandeis University’s Heller School. His
latest book is _Going Big: FDR’s Legacy, Biden’s New Deal, and
the Struggle to Save Democracy
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Follow Bob at his site, robertkuttner.com
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_THE AMERICAN PROSPECT_ is devoted to promoting informed discussion
on public policy from a progressive perspective. In print and online,
the _Prospect_ brings a narrative, journalistic approach to complex
issues, addressing the policy alternatives and the politics necessary
to create good legislation. We help to dispel myths, challenge
conventional wisdom, and expand the dialogue.

Founded by Robert Kuttner, Paul Starr, and Robert Reich, read the
original 1989 prospectus for the magazine.
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To learn more about our history, check out this 2015 piece by Starr
and Kuttner
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reflecting on 25 years of politics and change.

American Prospect, Inc., is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation
headquartered in Washington, D.C.

You can support our mission with a subscription or a tax-deductible
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* Israel
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* Supreme Court
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* Benjamin Netanyahu
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* Joe Biden
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