NYT’s Friedman says Biden must save Israel from itself

New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman is urging US President Joe Biden to “wade in” to Israel’s simmering internal crisis over the future of the judicial system to “save” Israel from its current leadership.

Friedman says “an ultranationalist, ultra-Orthodox government, formed after the Netanyahu camp won election by the tiniest sliver of votes… is driving a power grab that the other half of voters view not only as corrupt but also as threatening their own civil rights.”

Friedman argues that “the Israel Joe Biden knew is vanishing” under a government “hostile to American values.”

He adds that the outcome of the current situation “has direct implications for US national security interests.”

“I have no illusions that Biden can reverse the most extreme trends emerging in Israel today, but he can nudge things onto a healthier path, and maybe prevent the worst, with some tough love in a way that no other outsider can.”