US 'No Longer Israel's Closest Ally’ Amid Judicial Reform Push - Ex-PM Lapid

Knesset Opposition leader Yair Lapid blasted the ruling coalition of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, saying his right-wing government had alienated Jerusalem from Washington, its primary benefactor. His comments came as President Isaac Herzog arrived in The States to meet with US President Joe Biden.

"The Israeli government is leading us into this crisis, making the biggest and most dramatic changes to the regime in our history, without holding a single discussion - not even one - about the economic, security, social and political consequences of the move," Lapid told a meeting of his centrist Yesh Atid party in Jerusalem.

Lapid was referring to the so-called "reasonableness bill" presently being argued in the Knesset, Israel's unicameral legislature. The bill would block Israeli courts from applying a "reasonableness standard" to decisions made by the country’s elected officials.

The principle is a common law doctrine allowing for judicial review of administrative decisions by senior officials judged to be beyond the scope of a "reasonable and responsible" exercise of their authority.

The bill has not yet entered its final form, but could include protections for the prime minister, the entire cabinet, or any specific minister, according to Israeli media.

Popular opposition to the proposed change has been massive, provoking some of the largest civil demonstrations by Jews in Israeli history since it was first proposed by Justice Minister Yariv Levin in January.

Speaking to Yesh Atid members on Monday, Lapid said the country was sliding toward “dictatorship” with the proposed changes.

"The difference between democracy and dictatorship is not complicated. In a dictatorship, the government can do whatever it wants. In a democracy it cannot. In a democratic country, the government has to take the law into account, it has to take the facts into account," said Lapid. "The Israeli government doesn’t want to listen to the facts, so it’s changing the law."

Across the Atlantic, the judicial reform bill has provoked criticism from both the Biden administration and the American Jewish community. US President Joe Biden has urged Netanyahu to "walk away" from the push, saying he was "very concerned" about the health of Israeli democracy. The Jewish Federations of North America, an umbrella group that represents nearly 400 Jewish communities, sent an open letter to Netanyahu in February urging him to protect minority rights and halt the reform effort.

That criticism has come amid wider opposition to Netanyahu’s ruling coalition, which includes several hardline figures who have made disparaging remarks about Arabs, and non-Orthodox Jews.

Noting the tension, Lapid said on Monday the result had been that "the United States is no longer our closest ally."

The former prime minister was especially critical of news last month that the US and Iran were closing in on a deal over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program. Even though the rumored deal would fall well short of reviving the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) that the US unilaterally shredded in 2018, Lapid nonetheless called it a "colossal failure" of Israeli foreign policy, suggesting Netanyahu’s cabinet had made Washington wary of tacking so close to the winds from Jerusalem.