Nides to Netanyahu: We Can’t Spend Time on Things You Want If Your Backyard Is on Fire

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides echoed President Joe Biden on Thursday during an interview with David Axelrod on his CNN podcast, saying the administration would prefer that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s government reach a consensus on its proposed judicial reforms.

“We’re telling the prime minister, as I tell my kids. Pump the brakes. Slow down, try to get a consensus, bring the parties together. It’s very complicated, they’re trying to do things way too fast, and to pump the brakes, slow down,” Nides told Axelrod, who served under President Barack Obama as a senior advisor.

Netanyahu is barred from directly engaging in legislation on the judiciary due to his ongoing trial on several charges. However, his allies have been pushing through bills aimed at curtailing what they see as judicial overreach.

Some of the provisions of the proposed legislation would allow the Knesset to overturn High Court rulings and place strict limits on when it can strike down legislation or intervene in government decisions. Proponents say this would empower the legislative power to implement the democratic will of the people and say that the Israeli judiciary is stronger than in most democracies.

Nides noted that Netanyahu is well aware of the potentially adverse effects the plan could have on the economy. “The prime minister deserves credit. He was at the forefront of Start-Up Nation. He deserves credit for an economic boom here in Israel. He was at the forefront as minister of finance and as prime minister. He should be concerned, which he is, about the perception that this judicial reform will have impact among businesses about investing here. That’s getting his attention. And justifiably,” Nides said.

“As I’ve said to the prime minister hundreds of times, we can’t spend time on working on the things you want to work on together if your backyard is on fire,” he warned, noting that collaboration on a host of issues from the Abraham Accords to countering Iran.