Biden warns Netanyahu about the health of Israel's democracy

President Joe Biden raised “hard issues,” including protecting the “checks and balances” in a democracy, in a Wednesday meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, pushing Netanyahu to find a compromise on a planned judicial overhaul that has set off protests in Israel and concerns in Washington.

The two leaders sat down and took time to chat one-on-one on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. It was their first meeting since Netanyahu took office at the helm of his country’s far-right government late last year.

Netanyahu tried to play down concerns at the start of the meeting about his contentious proposed judicial overhaul, saying there is “one thing that will never change and that is Israel's commitment to democracy."

Biden opened the meeting by stressing the U.S. friendship with Israel as being “ironclad” and saying that “without Israel, there’s not a Jew in the world who is secure. Israel is essential.” But Biden also acknowledged the tensions with Netanyahu’s government and its policies.

“We’re going to discuss some of the hard issues, that is upholding democratic values that lie at the heart of our partnership, including the checks and balances in our systems,” Biden said. He said they would also talk about a path to a negotiated two-state solution with Palestinians and “ensuring that Iran never, never acquires a nuclear weapon.”

A senior Biden administration official said Biden pushed Netanyahu to find a compromise on his planned changes to the Israeli court system. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the private meeting, did not want to characterize Netanyahu's reaction to what Biden said, only that the Israeli leader understood the need for a compromise.

The location of the long-anticipated meeting — a New York hotel room on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meetings rather than the grandeur of the Oval Office — has been widely interpreted in Israel as a sign of US displeasure with Netanyahu’s new government.

Netanyahu has been a frequent White House visitor over the years, and Israeli leaders are typically invited within weeks of starting their tenure to the Oval Office. But his judicial proposals have raised concerns within Israel as well as the U.S. about his commitment to a democratic system.

Bien held out the possibility of the coveted Oval Office meeting, saying, “I hope we’ll see each other in Washington by the end of the year.” The US later formally invited Netanyahu to the White House, eyeing a meeting in November or December.

Despite the cordiality between the two leaders, the Manhattan setting and Biden's past misgivings about Netanyahu's restructuring of the courts was a sign of the strains in the alliance.

“Meeting at the White House symbolizes close relations and friendship and honor, and the denial of that shows exactly the opposite,” said Eytan Gilboa, an expert on U.S.-Israeli relations at Israel’s Bar-Ilan University.

Biden administration officials have repeatedly raised concerns about Netanyahu’s plan to overhaul Israel’s judicial system.

Netanyahu says the country’s unelected judges wield too much power over government decision-making. Critics say that by weakening the independent judiciary, Netanyahu is pushing Israel toward authoritarian rule.

His plan has divided the nation and led to months of mass protests against his government. Those demonstrations followed him to the United States, with large numbers of Israeli expatriates waving the country's flag in protest Wednesday in New York. Hundreds of Israelis also protested outside the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv on Wednesday.

Early this year, Biden voiced his unhappiness over the judicial overhaul, saying Netanyahu “cannot continue down this road” and urging the Israeli leader to find a compromise. Netanyahu's negotiations with the opposition have stalled and his coalition has moved ahead with its plan, pushing the first major piece of the legislation through parliament in July.

The Saudi foreign minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, told reporters “there is no other way” to solve the conflict than by establishing a Palestinian state. But senior ministers in Netanyahu’s government have already ruled out any concessions to the Palestinians.