U.S. and Israel 'Can't Agree About Everything' Despite Bond—MP

A member of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's party has told Newsweek that U.S. discomfort over the political chaos engulfing Israel will not collapse the relationship between the two nations, after President Joe Biden urged Netanyahu to change course on controversial judicial reforms.

Danny Danon, a member of the Knesset representing the Likud party and a former Israeli ambassador to the United Nations, told Newsweek that even the closest allies cannot agree on all matters of domestic politics, and said that Israeli voters, rather than foreign leaders, will determine the nation's path.

"We have a very strong bond with the U.S., I'm sure the relationship will continue to be strong," Danon told Newsweek as Netanyahu and his coalition—which includes far right parties—sought to navigate historic civil unrest over reforms that would give the Knesset sweeping new powers over the Supreme Court.

The proposed reforms have now been temporarily shelved to allow fresh discussions between the ruling coalition and the opposition, though Netanyahu has said he intends to push through the changes regardless of the course of the talks.

"It's legitimate not to agree about everything," Danon said. "At the end of the day, the people in Israel are the ones that choose the elected government, and it will be that way in the future also."

"I think we should continue the dialogue," Danon said. "I have a lot of friends that I spoke with, many leaders from all around the world. Many of them were not knowledgeable about the details, and the way it was presented was not accurate, in terms of what will happen and what will be the role of our democracy. I think we should put things into perspective."

Newsweek has contacted the White House by email to request comment.

When discussing Netanyahu's proposed reforms and the subsequent unrest in Israel, Biden told reporters Tuesday: "Like many strong supporters of Israel, I'm very concerned."

The president added: "I'm concerned that they get this straight. They cannot continue down this road. And I've sort of made that clear.

"Hopefully the prime minister will act in a way that he can try to work out some genuine compromise, but that remains to be seen."

In response, Netanyahu said Israel "makes its decisions by the will of its people and not based on pressures from abroad, including from the best of friends…The alliance between Israel and the United States is unbreakable and always overcomes the occasional disagreements between us."

After Netanyahu announced a pause to the judicial reform package, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told journalists there was now "an opportunity to create additional time and space for compromise."

Danon told Newsweek that he believes the coming weeks will facilitate a solution, though he admitted the coalition had made mistakes in trying to rush through its controversial plans too quickly.

"Now we have some time to recalculate where we are heading, and also maybe to reflect about the procedures," he explained. "In essence, I support the ideas of the reform, but I think the way it was presented, it wasn't the right way. And I think now we have enough time to think again about where we are heading."

The reforms would give lawmakers powers, including the appointment of Supreme Court judges, deciding what cases the body rules on, and the power to overturn Supreme Court rulings. Netanyahu's supporters see the changes as necessary amends to the balance of power between the Knesset and the Supreme Court, while his opponents say the prime minister is seeking to curtail the body's independent nature.

Recent polls indicate that a majority of Israeli voters do not support the key planks of the reform package, including a significant portion of Likud voters.

Nonetheless, Danon said he believes "the majority of people in Israel" support the idea of reform, though he added that any success will require "a serious process where we have a dialogue and where we try to reach the middle ground between the coalition and the opposition."

"I think we can achieve it," he said. "Maybe under the auspices of the president, maybe without it."

"When you deal with such sensitive issues, you have to do it slower, you have to do it gradually, because it's not enough to have the vote in the Knesset," Danon said. "You want the support of the public.

"Some of the demonstrations were radical, but at the end of the day, I think there was a legitimate dispute that was not handled the right way by us, by the coalition, by the government. But I think people should realize that at the end of the day, we mean well for the people."

Netanyahu will be hoping to avoid another conflagration when the reform package comes back up for discussion in the next session of the Knesset. The prime minister said this week that the unrest risked stoking "civil war," and urged dialogue to avoid a national disaster.

Danon said such rhetoric is unhelpful.

"I think we should not use words like 'civil war.' I don't think we are there," he said. "I think we can speak about the debate, about the emotion, but it's not a civil war, and it was not close to that."