Thousands of Israeli academics and artists have urged the US president and UN chief to shun Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his visit to New York next week.
Over 3,500 signers, including well-known Israeli writer David Grossman and painter Tamar Getter, in a recent open letter called on President Joe Biden and United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres not to meet with Netanyahu or invite him to speak at the UN General Assembly’s yearly meeting of world leaders.
“Netanyahu incites citizens against each other, threatens the country’s security and economy, and turns his face away from the historical conflict that tears Israel apart – the forceful domination of the Palestinian people,” the open letter read.
“From the outset of establishing his extreme right-wing government, Mr. Netanyahu’s coalition has worked tirelessly to undermine the gatekeepers of Israel’s democracy, weaken the Supreme Court, neutralize the media and destroy the few checks and balances safeguarding the health of our nation,” they wrote.
The letter underlines the divide between Israel’s far-right regime and segments of its population.
Netanyahu’s office has said the premier will travel to the US next week to visit high-tech leaders in California before flying to New York to address the UN.
Netanyahu’s public itinerary so far does not feature an appointment with Biden at the White House. Biden said earlier this year he had no intention to meet Netanyahu “in the near term.”
Israel’s rightward lurch under Netanyahu’s extremist regime that took office late last year has strained the country’s critical ties with the US, Israel’s main backer.
The Israeli prime minister’s US trip comes as his plan to overhaul the judicial system has plunged Israel into one of its gravest domestic crises in history.
Once again in the focus was Netanyahu’s so-called judicial overhaul plan. Netanyahu’s push for the highly controversial judicial overhaul has drawn strong criticism from Washington.
Proponents of the plan say it helps redistribute the balance of power between the politicians and the judiciary. Its opponents, however, accuse Netanyahu of trying his hand at a power grab. They say the premier, who is on trial on several counts of corruption charges, is also attempting to use the scheme to quash possible judgments against him.
The major grievance of the anti-regime demonstrators has been the highly controversial judicial overhaul scheme presented by the cabinet of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Israeli academics, artists, businessmen and even military reservists have come out against the controversial overhaul.
Biden expressed concerns when Israel’s parliament slammed through the first piece of legislation in July, calling the outcome “unfortunate.” On Tuesday, Israel’s supreme court, for the first time in its history, convened its entire 15-judge bench on Tuesday, September 12, to hear an appeal against that bill.
The Biden administration has also voiced increased frustration with the Israeli regime’s settlement growth in the occupied West Bank, which the US and most of the international community consider a main obstacle to peace with the Palestinians.
