Israeli President Isaac Herzog has assured US President Joe Biden that he is determined to find a solution to the crisis in his country. The Americans are also concerned about the planned justice reform.
“Israeli democracy is healthy, strong and resilient,” Herzog said Tuesday at the White House. He said that society is going through a painful time and difficult moments. “We must always strive for a peaceful consensus.” He said he was determined to find a way out of the “crisis”.
Herzog is visiting Washington at a time when there are again major protests in his country. Many thousands of Israelis took to the streets again on Tuesday, blocking stations and highways across the country. In this way, protests are being made against the controversial judicial reform. The demonstrators see the plans of the far right and strongly religious government of Benjamin Netanyahu as a threat to democracy.
© REUTERS
Herzog’s attempts to find a compromise between the government and opponents of the reform have so far failed.
The course of Netanyahu’s government has also strained Israel-US relations in recent months. However, Biden assured Tuesday that the friendship between the two countries is “simply unbreakable”. “America’s commitment to Israel is firm and unwavering,” Biden said.