A collection of US organizations today issued the following statement regarding the judicial crisis in Israel.
On Monday, Israel’s governing coalition passed a law that would allow the government and its agencies to take steps that would otherwise be deemed by the Supreme Court as unreasonable and therefore illegal. The law would prohibit the Court from challenging executive branch measures on the grounds of reasonability.
The so-called “Reasonability Law,” is not only repugnant on its merits, but is also alarming because it is the first in a series of laws planned by the government, which are designed to eliminate checks on its power and pave the path for policies that would transform the very character of the State of Israel. Among these policies is a plan, anchored in coalition agreements signed by Netanyahu’s Likud Party, to officially annex the West Bank to Israel. The ongoing process of annexation is catastrophic for Israelis and Palestinians.
We welcome the expressions of deep concern coming from US elected officials – in the White House, on Capitol Hill and throughout the nation – as well as similar reactions by US Jewish organizations, including ones that seldom publicly criticize the government of Israel. We urge the Biden administration, Congress, other elected officials and opinion leaders, as well as fellow US Jewish organizations, to help protect Israel from the irresponsible actions of its current government. Not doing so would make a mockery of America’s commitment to the shared values that we cherish as the foundation for the US-Israel “special relationship.”
We salute, applaud, and stand in solidarity with the hundreds of thousands of Israelis who have taken to the streets in protest. At the same time, we recognize that the persistent instability in Israel‘s political life is rooted in the ongoing occupation. Without a society-wide movement to address that, Israel’s democracy remains deeply flawed.
Americans for Peace Now (APN) condemns today’s Knesset vote on the so-called “reasonableness law” which bars
Israel’s Supreme Court from challenging unreasonable laws and executive measures. This vote is, according to the
very members who supported it, only the first step towards more unreasonable, anti-democratic legislation by the
government, including measures to move forward with the annexation of the West Bank and perpetuate the
occupation.
APN calls on the Biden administration to move past declarations of concern and respond by iterating the
concrete steps it will take in response to the actions of the Netanyahu government. APN also urges fellow American
Jewish organizations to speak out loudly and clearly against the anti-democratic trajectory of Israel under
Netanyahu’s government of nationalistic zealots.
APN strongly supports the hundreds of thousands of Israelis who have been demonstrating for over six months
against the government and its anti-democratic policies and practices. We stand in solidarity with them and
encourage them to further escalate their protest. By embarking on its anti-democratic “legal reform” today, the
governing coalition underscored the protesters’ assertion that the government, while legally elected, is
illegitimate and should be treated as such.
We hope that some members of the ruling government coalition would appreciate and understand what the
demonstrators are concerned about, change course, and work to protect the rights of all citizens of Israel - Jewish
and non-Jewish alike. We also encourage Israelis to look beyond specific legislation to push for creating a
constitution that would protect all Israelis and avoid the fiasco that Israel has been experiencing in the past few
months.
Produced by the Foundation for Middle East Peace in cooperation with Americans for Peace Now, where the Legislative Round-Up was conceived.
1.Bills, Resolutions
& Letters
2.
Israeli President on the Hill
3. Thou Shalt Not Call Israel
“Racist”!
4.
Hearings & Events
5. Media & Reports
6. Members on the Record
(Israel/Palestine)
7. Members on the Record (Iran &
other Mideast countries)
Yossi Alpher is an independent security analyst. He is the former director of the Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies at Tel Aviv University, a former senior official with the Mossad, and a former IDF intelligence officer. Views and positions expressed here are those of the writer, and do not necessarily represent APN's views and policy positions.
By Madeleine Cereghino, Director of Government Relations
Yesterday, House Republicans forced a vote on a resolution intended to specifically target Democratic members of Congress who have been vocal in their opposition to the Israeli government’s ongoing occupation and anti-democratic practices.
While we may not agree with every comment made about Israel, it is crucial to emphasize that criticizing Israeli policies and actions is not inherently antisemitic. Still, it is disappointingly obvious that Speaker McCarthy is only concerned with antisemitism when it is politically expedient. This was the clear impetus for yesterday’s messaging resolution, which says that Israel is not a racist or apartheid state, rejects antisemitism, and reaffirms United States support of Israel. For Congress, it was about as groundbreaking as the renaming of a post office.
Voting for or against yesterday’s non-binding resolution is inconsequential. It requires little effort to
claim to "stand with Israel." But what does it mean to “stand with Israel?” Do House Republicans stand with Israel
as its Prime Minister seeks to dismantle the judicial check on the Knesset's power, jeopardizing the country’s
democracy? Do they stand with Israel as sitting members of its government incite violence and then allow the
military to stand by and watch as settlers rampage through Palestinian towns? The answer, unfortunately, is a
resounding yes.
After nearly six decades of occupation and seventy-five years of conflict, we cannot settle for mere platitudes. As Israel's closest ally, the United States must stand not just with Israel but FOR Israel and FOR the individual and national rights of the Palestinian people. We must stand FOR a democratic and secure Israel that coexists harmoniously with its neighbors, and FOR a Palestine that is free, independent, and sovereign.
The United States should stand for practices and policies that bring us closer to a viable long-term solution. Even when it means confronting difficult truths, we must be willing to speak out. The United States, as Israel's closest ally, has a responsibility to champion policies that pave the way for a brighter future—a future of justice, self-determination, and equality for both Israelis and Palestinians.
Yossi Alpher is an independent security analyst. He is the former director of the Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies at Tel Aviv University, a former senior official with the Mossad, and a former IDF intelligence officer. Views and positions expressed here are those of the writer, and do not necessarily represent APN's views and policy positions.