Bibi bites the Biden hand that feeds him, knowing DeSantis will feed him

[yankeedoodle]

Netanyahu tells Biden to stay out of Israeli business
Israel will not tolerate meddling in its internal affairs, even from the "best of friends," the PM said
https://www.rt.com/news/573771-netanyahu-biden-israel-pressure/

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has responded after President Joe Biden voiced concerns about proposed judicial reforms in Israel, insisting his country would make its own decisions and not succumb to "pressure from abroad."

In a series of tweets shared on Tuesday night, Netanyahu noted that he has known his US counterpart for "over 40 years" and commended Biden for his "longstanding commitment to Israel." However, he urged Washington not to meddle in his country's internal affairs, after Biden said he was "very concerned" about the upcoming legal changes.

"My administration is committed to strengthening democracy by restoring the proper balance between the three branches of government, which we are striving to achieve via a broad consensus," Netanyahu said, adding "Israel is a sovereign country which makes its decisions by the will of its people and not based on pressures from abroad, including from the best of friends."

The controversial judicial reform would allow Israel's parliament to override decisions by the Supreme Court through a simple majority vote, a move critics say will weaken the judiciary's traditional check on government power. The reform has prompted major protests across Israel, and drawn criticism from some foreign states, including close allies like the US.

On Monday, however, Netanyahu announced that the government would take a "timeout" on the proposal until the next Knesset session, hoping the additional time would help lawmakers "reach an understanding on the legislation." Nonetheless, the decision failed to stop criticism of the reform.

Speaking to reporters earlier on Tuesday, Biden was asked to comment on the legal change, saying that he hopes Netanyahu "walks away" from the plan before it is enacted into law, adding "They cannot continue down this road."

"Like many strong supporters of Israel, I'm very concerned, and I'm concerned that they get this straight," he continued. "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."

The president also noted that Netanyahu would not be invited to visit the White House "in the near term," despite his recent re-election as premier – his third stint in the position.

US 'extremely troubled' over Israeli lawREAD MORE: US 'extremely troubled' over Israeli law
As the White House appears to escalate its criticism of Israeli policies, Florida's Republican Governor Ron DeSantis is preparing for a trip to Jerusalem next month, where he will give a keynote address at an event hosted by the Jerusalem Post and the Museum of Tolerance. While DeSantis has yet to make a formal announcement for a 2024 presidential bid, he is widely seen as a potential frontrunner among prospective Republican candidates and has grown popular among conservatives due to his vocal opposition to Covid-19 mandates.

The governor's office capitalized on the spat between Biden and Netanyahu ahead of his visit, declaring that "Florida serves as a bridge between the American and Israeli people" at a time of "unnecessarily strained relations" between Israel and the United States.

[yankeedoodle]

Ron DeSantis is heading to Jerusalem to talk about 'unnecessarily strained relations' between the US and Israel
https://www.jta.org/2023/03/29/politics/ron-desantis-is-heading-to-jerusalem-to-talk-about-unnecessarily-strained-relations-between-the-us-and-israel

Even though he hasn't officially declared his Republican presidential campaign (yet), Ron DeSantis has been pitching his governance of Florida as a model for running the United States — telling Fox News last week, for example, that "we can get America back on track and back on our foundations" by following Florida's example.

This week, he repeated the pitch with a twist: His close relations with Israel are a template for the U.S.-Israel relationship, he said — and he's ready to make that case next month in Jerusalem.

"At a time of unnecessarily strained relations between Jerusalem and Washington, Florida serves as a bridge between the American and Israeli people," DeSantis said, announcing his participation in a conference on April 27 cosponsored by The Jerusalem Post and the Simon Wiesenthal Center's Museum of Tolerance. The event is called "Celebrate the faces of Israel."

The "unnecessary strain" DeSantis mentioned is likely a reference to increasingly fraught relations between the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Biden administration over Netanyahu's planned overhaul of the Israeli judiciary, which would sap the Supreme Court of much of its power and independence.

"They cannot continue down this road," Biden said Tuesday regarding Netanyahu's judicial reform, which the prime minister recently paused in the face of massive protests. Netanyahu responded to Biden on Twitter, praising the U.S.-Israel alliance but adding, "Israel is a sovereign country which makes its decisions by the will of its people and not based on pressures from abroad, including from the best of friends."

In his statement to the Post, DeSantis noted how Israel-adjacent his administration has been: He held one of his first Cabinet meetings, in 2019, in Jerusalem, and has toughened laws restricting the state's dealings with companies that boycott Israel. He also alluded to the influx of Orthodox Jews to his state during the pandemic, a period when Florida's restrictions on schools were less strict than in the northeast.

"A few months after my inauguration for my first term as governor of Florida, I traveled to Israel for a state visit with the largest ever trade delegation from the sunshine state to the Jewish state," DeSantis said in the statement. "Since that time, we have strengthened the relationship between Florida and Israel through increased investment by Israeli companies in our state, fighting the scourge of BDS, and being home to the fastest growing Jewish population in the United States."

DeSantis has also been popular with organizations representing the interests of Orthodox Jews, who tend to vote Republican. This week he signed into law a bill that transfers roughly $8,000 per year to any parent who wants to send their child to private schools, a decision that was effusively welcomed by Orthodox Jewish groups and will impact parents who pay tuition at Jewish day schools.

Maury Litwack, managing director of public affairs at the Orthodox Union, which has pressed to enact a similar voucher program nationwide, said the Florida law could act as a template. "The historic achievement of universal scholarships in Florida is just the beginning," Litwack said in a release.

The announcement of the trip comes as DeSantis has, for the first time, begun to parry attacks by former President Donald Trump — who has made clear that he sees DeSantis as his chief rival for the 2024 Republican nomination. Trump officially declared his candidacy last year. Last week, DeSantis mocked Trump for potentially facing legal trouble over an alleged payoff to an adult film actress.

That was seen as a signal that DeSantis is closer to making a decision about running in 2024. And this week, an independent political action committee backing DeSantis hired a roster of Republican power players. DeSantis has already banked $80 million in his state political committee, a stunning amount for a governor who, due to term limits, cannot run for reelection.

The Jerusalem Post noted that at next month's conference, DeSantis will speak to "a crowd of 400 participants, including around 120 U.S. Jewish philanthropists," at least some of whom will likely be major political donors.