US ambassador to Israel Tom Nides praised in statements on Monday the incoming Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and called for ‘pacing oneself’ and awaiting for Netanyahu's government's actions before judging his policy.
Nides affirmed in a lengthy interview with Haaretz on Sunday that Netanyahu has a “very good” relationship with US President Joe Biden.
“We believe that he is very smart, understands American politics very well, and we believe that he has a very good relationship with Biden,” Nides said.
Despite the differences in their views on some issues, they will work together in friendship, partnership and cooperation, the ambassador stressed.
He called for judging the government on its actions not on what some politicians may say during the campaign.
“I’ve known him (Netanyahu) for a long time,” Nides said, noting that he has talked to him a lot since the election and discussed almost all issues.
Nides first met Netanyahu when he was serving as Hillary Clinton’s deputy secretary of state for management and resources between 2010-2013.
He made it clear that the administration will persist in its intention to reopen the consulate in Jerusalem and will pressure the new government in Jerusalem to consent to the move.
However, he said that the US has a very robust office in Jerusalem, basically the same size as the office that it had in 2018 when Trump’s administration decided to cancel the role of consul for Palestinian affairs in Jerusalem.
“We have 65 or 70 individuals who work every day on the West Bank and Gaza under the leadership of George Knoll, working on almost half a billion dollars of USAID programs for the Palestinian people," he said.
Nides also explained that the Biden administration does not work by giving instructions and orders to friends, and therefore it does not impose anything on Israel.
However, he said that the “friendship between them” allows it to voice concern about the two-state solution, refuse to expand settlements, and be wary of the extreme positions of senior figures in the impending coalition.” But he affirmed that it chooses to wait and see.
He added that the administration is following statements by Netanyahu, in which he affirms he will not abandon democracy, adding that it is also following statement by far-right politicians against the Palestinians, in general, and the Arabs in Israel, in particular, and against the judiciary and is voicing its concerns to Israel in this regard.
But at the end of the day, he stressed that the US has Israel’s back.
“Make no mistake, there are many things that we will agree with. These include the threat of Iran, the threat of the proxies, trying to eliminate any kind of security threat to this country and we’ll work closely with the Israelis to accomplish that.”
Nides made the remarks after The New York Times published an editorial on Saturday warning that Netanyahu’s presumed incoming hard-right, ultra-religious government represents a danger to Israel’s democracy.
The article, titled “The Ideal of Democracy in a Jewish State Is in Jeopardy,” stated that while Netanyahu clearly has the support of the Israeli electorate, his coalition’s victory was narrow and cannot be seen as a broad mandate to make concessions to ultra religious and ultranationalist parties that are putting the ideal of a democratic Jewish state in jeopardy.
“This board has been a strong supporter of Israel and a two-state solution for many years, and we remain committed to that support. Netanyahu’s government, however, is a significant threat to the future of Israel — its direction, its security and even the idea of a Jewish homeland,” the newspaper stressed.
