“I can tell you that if you ask Harris what she’s actually opposed to in the reform, she won’t be able to answer,” said Foreign Minister Eli Cohen.
By World Israel News Staff
During an event celebrating the 75th anniversary of the founding of the State of Israel, Vice President Kamala Harris made a dig at potential reforms to Israel’s judicial system and insinuated that Israel’s court should remain in its current form.
“Under President Joe Biden and our administration, America will continue to stand for the values that have been the bedrock of the U.S.-Israel relationship, which include continuing to strengthen our democracies, which… are both built on strong institutions, checks and balances — and I’ll add an independent judiciary,” Harris said to a crowd of thousands in Washington, D.C. on Monday evening.
Religious Zionism MK Simcha Rothman, a prominent legal scholar who drafted much of the framework for the reforms, was seated in the audience when Harris made the remarks. He did not applaud after the statement referring to the independent judiciary.
In an interview with radio station Kan Reshet Bet on Wednesday morning, Foreign Minister Eli Cohen responded to Harris’ comments. “I can tell you that if you ask her what she’s actually opposed to in the reform, she won’t be able to answer,” he said.
He surmised that Harris “would not be able to quote from a single clause” in any of the judicial reform bills.
Cohen said during a recent trip to Washington, “I heard comments from [Biden administration] officials [against the reform.] I asked them, ‘What exactly bothers you [about the legislation]?’ And no one knew what to tell me.
“I don’t know if [Harris] actually read the laws. My assessment is that she did not.”
The Biden administration has repeatedly expressed its disapproval of the floated changes to Israel’s legal system, much to the chagrin of some American lawmakers and Israeli politicians.
Biden told media that he was “very concerned” about the reforms and insinuated that he was refusing to invite Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House due to the ongoing legislation.
The U.S. government has also reportedly funded numerous protest groups involved in organizing the ongoing demonstrations aimed at stopping the reforms and bringing down the current ruling coalition.