Top Dem senator: Netanyahu putting own narrow interests ahead of Israel’s democracy

14 February 2023, 4:35 pm

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Senator Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, leads a hearing about the rise in threats toward elected leaders and election workers, at the Capitol in Washington, August 3, 2022. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Senator Dick Durbin, the Democratic chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, tells Haaretz he is concerned that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is “dangerously putting his own narrow political and legal interests — and those of the troubling extremists in his coalition — ahead of the long-term interests and needs of Israel’s democracy.”

The current government’s action, inwards and outwards, could “not only harm key shared values between the United States and Israel, but also further undermine desperately needed lasting peace between the Israeli and Palestinian people,” he warns.

Senator Tim Kaine adds: “Israel is a strong ally, and I’ve been closely monitoring the recent protests there. As tens of thousands of Israelis rally in support of democracy and judicial independence in their country, the Netanyahu administration should listen and avoid taking actions that threaten Israel’s democratic institutions.”