In an opinion article for the New York Times on Wednesday, senior analyst Thomas Friedman claims President Joe Biden implored Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to advance the government judicial reform legislation without even the semblance of a national consensus. According to Friedman, he was invited by the President to the Oval Office to "make sure that Biden’s position is crystal clear to all Israelis." Friedman writes that Biden is distraught about Israel's stability and future. "His message to the Israeli prime minister and President could not have been clearer: Please stop now. Don’t pass anything this important without a broad consensus, or you are going to break something with Israel’s democracy and with your relationship with America’s democracy, and you may never be able to get it back," he noted. "This is obviously an area about which Israelis have strong views, including in an enduring protest movement that is demonstrating the vibrancy of Israel’s democracy, which must remain the core of our bilateral relationship,” Biden reportedly told the analyst. “Finding consensus on controversial areas of policy means taking the time you need. For significant changes, that’s essential. So my recommendation to Israeli leaders is not to rush. I believe the best outcome is to continue to seek the broadest possible consensus here.” It should be noted that Friedman's reporting has been found to be fallible in the past. Just last week, the analyst claimed that the American administration intended to reassess its relationship with the Jewish state, a claim that both Israeli and US officials denied. During their conversation on Tuesday, Biden told Israeli President Isaac Herzog that the conversation between him and Prime Minister Netanyahu on Monday was good and even defined it as "cordial and constructive".
