US Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides defended his right to criticize Israel’s judicial overhaul program, as he pushed back at Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli’s past suggestion that he mind his own business.
“Some official, I don’t know who he is, I never met him, suggested I should stay out of Israel’s business,” Nides said when he spoke Tuesday night at Tel Aviv University Institute of National Security Studies.
He then quipped, “I really think that most Israelis do not want America to stay out of their business.”
“I really think that most Israelis do not want America to stay out of their business.”
Tom Nides
Nides underscored the importance Israeli democracy plays in the relationship between the two countries and in the Biden administration’s ability to defend the Jewish state in International arenas.
Nides wants Israel to slow down on judicial reform
Nides has in the past called on Israel to slow down its judicial overhaul plan and to allow more time to build consensus around the issue.
He repeated that phrase again at the INSS stating, “I have said.. as many Israelis have said, slow down a little bit. This is just my opinion, slow down a little bit, maybe bring people together, try to bring some consensus” to the situation, Nides said.