US Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides reassured American Jews that Israeli democracy is doing fine despite its recent political turmoil, in his remarks to the American Jewish Committee’s Global Forum in Tel Aviv on Sunday.
“It’s not lost upon anyone that Israel is going through an unusual period in its history,” Nides said, referring to the vociferous public debate on the government’s planned judicial reforms.
“People call me and ask ‘what’s going on in Israel? Is democracy ending in Israel?’” Nides recounted. “I say, what’s going on here is that for the past 26 weeks, 150-300,000 people, regardless of what side they’re on, are showing up [to protest] every Saturday. That would be the equivalent of six or seven million Americans showing up at the Mall [in Washington DC] every Saturday.”
Nides pointed out that there has been “virtually no one arrested and no property damage.”
“The reality is that democracy is alive and well in Israel and we should all appreciate that,” he added.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid told the AJC conference that “no one seems to tie the fact that Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East with our success,” arguing that the latter would not have happened without the former.
Lapid encouraged US Jews to continue to support Israel even if they are frustrated with the current government, saying that he feels the same, but that they love Israel because of the people and the history.
“You see the divisions and you see the struggle, but don’t you find yourself really proud when you seen hundreds of thousands of Israelis marching in the streets and saying, I won’t give up on our democracy or our values as a beacon of freedom in this region?” he asked.
Security is the most important issue in the US-Israel relationship
The most important issue in the US-Israel relationship is security, Nides said.
Noting that Palestinian Islamic Jihad shot over 800 rockets into Israel last month, Nides said: “No country anywhere in the world would tolerate that.”
“The US supports the view and the importance of Israel not only taking care of itself, but [Israel’s security] is utmost in the minds of the US as we focus collectively on the security issues,” Nides stated.
The ambassador also touted the Abraham Accords, giving credit to the Trump administration for “probably one of the most significant foreign policy achievements in the Middle East in a very long time.”
“I spent an enormous amount of time with the Emiratis, Bahrainis and Moroccans making sure that this administration builds on the success of the previous administration…Let us not forget the importance of Egypt and Jordan. The combination of these countries creates a safer State of Israel,” he said.
“Wouldn’t it be grand that we wake up one day to the normalization of Saudi Arabia and the State of Israel?” Nides asked.
The ambassador referred to past statements by Biden and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken that they plan to work on bringing Jerusalem and Riyadh to establish relations.
“It’s not easy, not simple, but I think it is in the best interest of the US, Israel, and the Middle East to get that done,” he stated.
As for the Palestinians, Nides highlighted what he said was the importance of a two-state solution, while joking that he probably will not get a Nobel Peace Prize for making it happen in the 40 days he has left on the job.
“Jews, Palestinians, Arabs living side by side is the only solution for longtime peace in the region,” he said.
Though it was not necessarily part of his job, Nides made sure to help improve Palestinians’ lives, he said.
“I fundamentally believe most Palestinians living in the West Bank want the same thing as most Jews living in Green Line Israel,” he said. “They want security, healthcare, a future.”
A two-state solution would “make Israel a more secure, democratic, Jewish state,” he argued.