Departing envoy: US working to prevent Israel from ‘going off the rails’ with overhaul

10 July 2023, 5:20 pm

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United States Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides speaks at the Herzliya Conference on May 22, 2023. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

Ahead of his upcoming departure from the post, US Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides says the Biden administration is working to prevent Israel from “going off the rails” as a result of the government’s judicial overhaul push.

“I think most Israelis want the United States to be in their business,” Nides tells the Wall Street Journal. “With that sometimes comes a modicum of a price, which is articulating when we think things are going off the rails.”

Nides adds that he’s told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “to tap the brakes, slow down” in order to build consensus for the measures, warning against “rushing things through that ultimately could have huge implications, at least perception-wise, about what makes Israel great.”