White House urges broad support for any ‘fundamental’ changes to Israeli judiciary

Weighing in on the advancement of the first piece of the coalition’s legislation to overhaul the judiciary, a White House National Security Council spokesperson says again urges the Israeli government to only pass far-reaching judicial reforms that have broad support and preserve Israel’s democratic institutions.

It is the second time today that the Biden administration has offered comment on the unrest in Israel surrounding the judicial overhaul, after urging the government to respect the rights of protesters hours earlier.

“As the administration has said, both US and Israeli democracy are built on strong institutions, checks and balances, and an independent judiciary,” an NSC spokesperson says in the latest statement. “The president has said consistently, both privately and publicly, that fundamental reforms like this require a broad basis of support to be durable and sustained.”

“The president has been clear he hopes Prime Minister Netanyahu will work to find a genuine compromise,” the statement adds.

“We continue to urge a consensus-based approach towards judicial reform, a point the president underscored again this past weekend.”