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Biden weighs in on Israel’s proposed judiciary changes: ‘Genius’ of democracy includes ‘independent judiciary’
(JTA) — President Joe Biden has weighed in against the Israeli government’s proposed judicial reforms, saying that an independent judiciary is part of “the genius of American democracy and Israeli democracy.”
Biden made the comments in a 46-word statement Saturday to New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman, a longtime chronicler of the U.S.-Israel relationship. “This is the first time I can recall a U.S. president has ever weighed in on an internal Israeli debate about the very character of the country’s democracy,” Friedman wrote in his column.
Until now, Biden had not commented on the judiciary proposals, even as a growing number of prominent and often typically nonpartisan voices within Israel, American Judaism, academia and business have decried them.
In the new comments, Biden said — without naming Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — that it was important for Israeli leaders to build support for the changes they seek.
“The genius of American democracy and Israeli democracy is that they are both built on strong institutions, on checks and balances, on an independent judiciary,” Biden said in the statement. “Building consensus for fundamental changes is really important to ensure that the people buy into them so they can be sustained.”
Biden’s comments come as Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, prepares to consider the proposed reforms for the first time this week. Israelis from all over the country plan to call out of work and school to protest outside the Knesset building in Jerusalem on Monday.
Israeli reserve soldiers, veterans and activists protest outside the Supreme Court in Jerusalem against the Israeli government’s planned judicial reforms, Feb. 10, 2023. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Under the terms of the proposed reforms, the Knesset would get the right to overrule decisions of Israel’s Supreme Court. Lawmakers would also get more power over appointing judges. Netanyahu and his allies in the right-wing governing coalition vowed during their campaigns to pursue the changes, arguing that the court is too liberal and does not reflect the attitudes of the people. Changes to the judiciary would also have the effect of insulating Netanyahu from the corruption trial he currently faces.
About a third of Israelis support the proposals and about 40% oppose them, according to recent polling by the nonpartisan Israel Democracy Institute. But previous polling by the organization has found that a majority of Israelis say they support some aspects or goals of the reforms, and the latest poll found that two-thirds of Israelis say they would prefer negotiations leading to a compromise.
Israelis who oppose the reforms have been protesting against them and other aspects of the government’s agenda, particularly the ambition of some of its ministers to limit LGBTQ, Arab and non-Orthodox rights. Saturday night’s protests were the largest yet, with a growing contingent in the Orthodox city of Beit Shemesh as well as a first-time rally in Petah Tikva along with the main demonstration in Tel Aviv and smaller ones in other cities. Israelis living abroad are also holding satellite rallies in cities around the world.
The proposals have alarmed foreign investors and credit agencies, which see countries that move away from democratic norms as risky investments. Israeli companies have already moved $780 million from Israeli banks to banks abroad amid the concern, according to a new report from the Israeli business news site Calcalist, which reported that many of the companies making the changes are not active in the anti-government protests.
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Rep. Ilhan Omar says Stephen Miller’s comments on immigrants sound like how ‘Nazis described Jewish people’
Rep Ilhan Omar, Democrat of Minnesota, on Sunday likened the Trump administration’s immigration rhetoric to Nazi depictions of Jews.
“It reminds me of the way the Nazis described Jewish people in Germany,” Omar said in an interview on CBS’s Face the Nation, commenting on a social media post by Stephen Miller, President Donald Trump’s senior adviser, in which he suggested that “migrants and their descendants recreate the conditions, and terrors, of their broken homelands.” Miller, who is Jewish, is the architect of the Trump administration’s immigration policy.
Omar called Miller’s comments “white supremist rhetoric” and also drew parallels between his characterization of migrants seeking refuge in the U.S. to how Jews were demonized and treated when they fled Nazi-era Germany. “As we know, there have been many immigrants who have tried to come to the United States who have turned back, you know, one of them being Jewish immigrants,” she said.
Now serving as Trump’s deputy chief of staff for policy, Miller is central to the White House’s plans for mass deportations and expanded barriers to asylum. During Trump’s first term, Miller led the implementation of the so-called Muslim travel ban in 2017, which barred entry to the U.S. for individuals from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen, and pushed to further reduce a longtime refugee program.
Rep. Ilhan Omar: “When I think about Stephen Miller and his white supremacist rhetoric, it reminds me of the way the Nazis described Jewish people in Germany.” pic.twitter.com/GAjIMqFq26
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) December 7, 2025
Miller’s comments echoed similar rhetoric by Trump after an Afghan refugee was accused of shooting two National Guard members near the White House last month, killing one.
Trump told reporters at a cabinet meeting last week that Somali immigrants are “garbage” and that he wanted them to be sent “back to where they came from.” The president also singled out Omar, a Somali native who represents Minnesota’s large Somali-American community. “She should be thrown the hell out of our country,” Trump said.
In the Sunday interview, Omar called Trump’s remarks “completely disgusting” and accused him of having “an unhealthy obsession” with her and the Somali community. “This kind of hateful rhetoric and this level of dehumanizing can lead to dangerous actions by people who listen to the president,” she said.
The post Rep. Ilhan Omar says Stephen Miller’s comments on immigrants sound like how ‘Nazis described Jewish people’ appeared first on The Forward.
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Nigeria Seeks French Help to Combat Insecurity, Macron Says
French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, Sept. 15, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/Pool
Nigerian President Bola Tinubu has sought more help from France to fight widespread violence in the north of the country, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Sunday, weeks after the United States threatened to intervene to protect Nigeria’s Christians.
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, has witnessed an upsurge in attacks in volatile northern areas in the past month, including mass kidnappings from schools and a church.
US President Donald Trump has raised the prospect of possible military action in Nigeria, accusing it of mistreating Christians. The government says the allegations misrepresent a complex security situation in which armed groups target both faith groups.
Macron said he had a phone call with Tinubu on Sunday, where he conveyed France’s support to Nigeria as it grapples with several security challenges, “particularly the terrorist threat in the North.”
“At his request, we will strengthen our partnership with the authorities and our support for the affected populations. We call on all our partners to step up their engagement,” Macron said in a post on X.
Macron did not say what help would be offered by France, which has withdrawn its troops from West and Central Africa and plans to focus on training, intelligence sharing and responding to requests from countries for assistance.
Nigeria is grappling with a long-running Islamist insurgency in the northeast, armed kidnapping gangs in the northwest and deadly clashes between largely Muslim cattle herders and mostly Christian farmers in the central parts of the country, stretching its security forces.
Washington said last month that it was considering actions such as sanctions and Pentagon engagement on counterterrorism as part of a plan to compel Nigeria to better protect its Christian communities.
The Nigerian government has said it welcomes help to fight insecurity as long as its sovereignty is respected. France has previously supported efforts to curtail the actions of armed groups, the US has shared intelligence and sold arms, including fighter jets, and Britain has trained Nigerian troops.
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Netanyahu Says He Will Not Quit Politics if He Receives a Pardon
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu participates in the state memorial ceremony for the fallen of the Iron Swords War on Mount Herzl, Jerusalem on Oct. 16, 2025. Photo: Alex Kolomoisky/POOL/Pool via REUTERS
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that he would not retire from politics if he receives a pardon from the country’s president in his years-long corruption trial.
Asked by a reporter if planned on retiring from political life if he receives a pardon, Netanyahu replied: “no”.
Netanyahu last month asked President Isaac Herzog for a pardon, with lawyers for the prime minister arguing that frequent court appearances were hindering Netanyahu’s ability to govern and that a pardon would be good for the country.
Pardons in Israel have typically been granted only after legal proceedings have concluded and the accused has been convicted. There is no precedent for issuing a pardon mid-trial.
Netanyahu has repeatedly denied wrongdoing in response to the charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust, and his lawyers have said that the prime minister still believes the legal proceedings, if concluded, would result in a complete acquittal.
US President Donald Trump wrote to Herzog, before Netanyahu made his request, urging the Israeli president to consider granting the prime minister a pardon.
Some Israeli opposition politicians have argued that any pardon should be conditional on Netanyahu retiring from politics and admitting guilt. Others have said the prime minister must first call national elections, which are due by October 2026.