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US ambassador: Biden will host Netanyahu after Passover, but no date set yet
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Less than a day after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu paused his push to enact a far-reaching judicial overhaul, the U.S. ambassador to Israel said President Joe Biden would likely host Netanyahu in Washington after the Passover holiday, according to Israel’s Army Radio.
In a tweet Tuesday morning, Army Radio quoted Ambassador Tom Nides as saying that an invitation would reach Netanyahu “relatively soon, I assume after Passover.”
“There’s no question as to whether he’ll come and meet Biden,” Nides said, according to Army Radio. “They’ve been friends for 40 years.”
A report in Reuters, however, quoted an anonymous source as saying that no invitation had yet been extended. Nides later told The New York Times that no date had yet been set for the meeting.
The White House did not return multiple requests for comment.
Biden has criticized Netanyahu’s judicial overhaul which, if passed, would sap the Israeli Supreme Court of much of its power and influence. His administration has also criticized the speed of the legislative push. The turmoil in Israel over the judicial reforms rattled U.S.-Israel relations and is seen as responsible for the unusual delay in the U.S. president inviting a new Israeli prime minister for a summit. Netanyahu, who led Israel from 1996-1999 and then from 2009-2021, returned to office in December at the head of a coalition that includes far-right parties.
On Monday night, in the face of massive protests and internal dissent in his coalition, Netanyahu backed down from his insistence on passing the first major piece of the judicial overhaul before Passover, which starts next week. He said he would negotiate with the opposition about the reforms, and expected to return to the legislative process as soon as May.
The two major reforms, which are now paused, would give the governing coalition the final say in the selection of some judges, and would essentially eliminate the Supreme Court’s ability to review Knesset laws. The courts are seen as a bulwark protecting vulnerable populations, including women, the non-Orthodox, Arabs and the LGBTQ community.
The Biden administration had made its unhappiness with the reforms known in ways that are unusually public in the history of U.S.-Israel relations, withy Biden himself commenting on the issue. Just an hour prior to Netanyahu’s concession, John Kirby, the spokesman for the National Security Council, spent 30 minutes on the phone with reporters saying the matter was an urgent one for Netanyahu to address.
Kirby said the Biden administration was concerned especially by Netanyahu’s recent firing of his defense minister, Yoav Gallant, who had joined calls for a pause on the legislation.
“We remain deeply concerned by recent developments, which further underscored our view [of] the urgent need for compromise,” Kirby said on the call.
Kirby was peppered with reporters by questions about whether Netanyahu government officials would be welcome at a Summit for Democracy the Biden administration is convening this week. He was noncommittal. The summit is being held live and virtually.
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Exclusive: Israeli Officials Harshly Critical of Steve Witkoff’s Influence on US Policy on Gaza, Iran, i24NEWS Told
US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, Washington, DC, Jan. 20, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Carlos Barria
i24 News – Amid growing disagreements with the Trump administration over the composition of the Board of Peace for Gaza and the question of a strike on Iran, officials in Israel point to a key figure behind decisions seen as running counter to Israeli interests: Special Envoy Steve Witkoff.
The officials mention sustained dissatisfaction with Witkoff. Sources close to the PM Netanyahu told i24NEWS on Saturday evening: “For several months now, the feeling has been that envoy Steve Witkoff has strong ties, for his own reasons, across the Middle East, and that at times the Israeli interest does not truly prevail in his decision-making.”
This criticism relates both to the proposed inclusion of Turkey and Qatar in Gaza’s governing bodies and to the Iranian threat. A senior Israeli official put it bluntly: “If it turns out that he is among those blocking a strike on Iran, that is far more than a coincidence.”
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EU Warns of Downward Spiral After Trump Threatens Tariffs Over Greenland
European Union flags flutter outside the EU Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, on June 17, 2022. Photo: Reuters/Yves Herman
European Union leaders on Saturday warned of a “dangerous downward spiral” over US President Donald Trump‘s vow to implement increasing tariffs on European allies until the US is allowed to buy Greenland.
“Tariffs would undermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral. Europe will remain united, coordinated, and committed to upholding its sovereignty,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and EU Council President Antonio Costa said in posts on X.
The bloc’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas said tariffs would hurt prosperity on both sides of the Atlantic, while distracting the EU from its “core task” of ending Russia’s war in Ukraine.
“China and Russia must be having a field day. They are the ones who benefit from divisions among allies,” Kallas said on X.
“Tariffs risk making Europe and the United States poorer and undermine our shared prosperity. If Greenland’s security is at risk, we can address this inside NATO.”
Ambassadors from the European Union’s 27 countries will convene on Sunday for an emergency meeting to discuss their response to the tariff threat.
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Israel Says US Gaza Executive Board Composition Against Its Policy
FILE PHOTO: Displaced Palestinians shelter at a tent camp in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, January 14, 2026. REUTERS/Haseeb Alwazeer/File Photo
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on Saturday that this week’s Trump administration announcement on the composition of a Gaza executive board was not coordinated with Israel and ran counter to government policy.
It said Foreign Minister Gideon Saar would raise the issue with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
The statement did not specify what part of the board’s composition contradicted Israeli policy. An Israeli government spokesperson declined to comment.
The board, unveiled by the White House on Friday, includes Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan. Israel has repeatedly opposed any Turkish role in Gaza.
Other members of the executive board include Sigrid Kaag, the U.N. special coordinator for the Middle East peace process; an Israeli‑Cypriot billionaire; and a minister from the United Arab Emirates, which established relations with Israel in 2020.
Washington this week also announced the start of the second phase of President Donald Trump’s plan, announced in September, to end the war in Gaza. This includes creating a transitional technocratic Palestinian administration in the enclave.
The first members of the so-called Board of Peace – to be chaired by Trump and tasked with supervising Gaza’s temporary governance – were also named. Members include Rubio, billionaire developer Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.