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Trump’s ambassador to Israel criticizes its government’s plans for judicial reform
(JTA) — When David Friedman served as ambassador to Israel under former President Donald Trump, he was known for helping to shepherd through policies favored by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
That’s why it’s remarkable that he vocally criticized one of Netanyahu’s signature policy goals: the controversial proposal to overhaul Israel’s judiciary.
While attending a session of a conservative political conference last week in Israel, Friedman told Israeli lawmaker Simcha Rothman, an architect of the judicial reform, that the legislation “was going too far for me and for many Americans” according to attendees who spoke to Axios.
Rothman, a member of the far-right Religious Zionism party who chairs the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee, said the reform would make Israel’s courts resemble the U.S. legal system. Friedman countered that that comparison is off-base because an element of the reform, which would allow a majority of parliament to override the court’s authority, could threaten minority rights.
“You compare this to the U.S., but it doesn’t work like that in our system,” Friedman said, according to Axios. The conference was sponsored by the Tikvah Fund and the Hertog Foundation, conservative U.S. Jewish groups that back many of Netanyahu’s policies. Netanyahu has sought American support, particularly among conservatives, for his judicial reforms.
Israel’s Supreme Court has issued rulings protecting the rights of minorities, including Arab citizens of Israel, non-Orthodox Jewish denominations, and LGBTQ people. The U.S. Supreme Court also has struck down laws passed in Congress, citing the U.S. Constitution. Israel lacks a constitution, so its Supreme Court cites a set of foundational acts called basic laws, which function as a quasi-constitution. It also cites common law, the country’s Declaration of Independence, Jewish law and other sources in coming to its decisions.
Friedman did not respond to a request for comment via Twitter direct message.
Friedman, who was Donald Trump’s bankruptcy lawyer and his ambassador to Israel throughout his presidency, forged a close alliance with Netanyahu, helping to see through radical changes in U.S. Israel policy long sought by the Israeli right, including moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, withdrawing the U.S. from the Iran nuclear deal and recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights.
A longtime philanthropic backer of Israeli West Bank settlements, Friedman reportedly worked with Netanyahu to use a peace proposal advanced by Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and top Middle East adviser, as a pretext to annex parts of the West Bank. Kushner opposed Friedman’s initiative and eventually nixed the plan. (That account was revealed in a book by Kushner. Friedman has denied it.)
Friedman’s closeness to Trump and to Netanyahu is a source of pride for him, and he cites both men as friends on the speaking circuit. But this is not the first time he has broken with them on a matter of principle: Last year he earned Trump’s ire by criticizing the former president for meeting with two antisemites, the rapper Kanye West and Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes.
Friedman told Rothman he was in favor of some parts of the judicial reform. Like many American Jewish public figures, he has endorsed Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s calls for compromise between the Knesset’s governing coalition and opposition.
Opposition leaders say they are ready to negotiation as long as Netanyahu stops advancing the court reform legislation. The reforms have sparked a major political crisis in Israel, bringing hundreds of thousands of people into the streets for weekly protests. On Wednesday evening, a group of Israeli lawmakers from the coalition and opposition jointly endorsed compromise negotiations.
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Amid Iran Standoff, Witkoff and Kushner Pose Aboard USS Abraham Lincoln Aircraft Carrier
Steve Witkoff (R) aboard the aircraft carrier Lincoln. Photo via i24 / social media used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law
i24 News – Special US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner visited on Saturday the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier.
The duo, who led the US in the indirect nuclear talks with Iran on Friday, visited the aircraft carrier at the invitation of US Central Command chief, Adm. Brad Cooper.
The carrier arrived in the region last week as part of a US “armada” amid rising tensions with the Islamic regime of Iran. It is stationed in the Arabian Sea.
The visit came hours after US President Donald Trump stated that while the talks went well, “But I think Iran looks like they want to make a deal very badly, as they should. Last time, they decided maybe not to do it, but I think they probably feel differently. We’ll see what the deal is. It’ll be different than last time. And we have a big armada. We have a big fleet heading in that direction. It’ll be there pretty soon. So we’ll see how that works out.”
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Pentagon Says It Will Cut Academic Ties With Harvard University
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth arrives to administer the oath to U.S. Army National Guard soldiers during a re-enlistment ceremony at the base of the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C., U.S., February 6, 2026. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said on Friday his department was ending professional military education, fellowships, and certificate programs with Harvard University, marking the Trump administration’s latest escalation against the school.
President Donald Trump’s administration has cracked down on top US universities, including Harvard, over a range of issues such as pro-Palestinian protests against US ally Israel’s assault on Gaza, diversity programs, transgender policies and climate initiatives.
“Starting now and beginning in the 2026-27 school year, I am discontinuing all graduate level Professional Military Education (PME), all fellowships and certificate programs between Harvard University and the War Department for active duty service members,” Hegseth, who himself holds a master’s degree in public policy from the Harvard Kennedy School, said on X.
The policy will apply to service members enrolling in future programs while those currently enrolled will be allowed to finish their courses, Hegseth said.
He also added that the Pentagon will evaluate similar relationships with other universities in the coming weeks.
Rights advocates have raised free speech, academic freedom and due process concerns over the government’s actions against universities.
A Harvard spokesperson directed Reuters to a page on the history of the university’s ties with the US military that says Harvard has played a “significant role” in America’s military traditions since the nation’s founding.
TRUMP-HARVARD TENSIONS CONTINUE
The university has previously sued the Trump administration over the government’s attempt to freeze federal funding.
Hegseth accused Harvard of “hate America activism,” also calling the university antisemitic in a reference to pro-Palestinian protests.
Protesters, including some Jewish groups, say the government wrongly equates criticism of Israel’s assault on Gaza with antisemitism and advocacy for Palestinian rights with support for extremism.
Harvard has condemned discrimination on campus. Its antisemitism and Islamophobia task forces found last year that Jews and Muslims faced bigotry after the start of Israel’s war in Gaza following an October 2023 Hamas attack.
Trump’s attempts to freeze federal funds for Harvard have faced legal resistance and the two sides have failed to reach a deal thus far.
Trump said this week his administration was seeking $1 billion from Harvard to settle probes into school policies.
Some Ivy League schools have reached agreements with the Trump administration and accepted certain government demands. Columbia University has agreed to pay more than $220 million to the government while Brown University has agreed to pay $50 million to support local workforce development.
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Netanyahu Expected to Meet Trump in US on Wednesday and Discuss Iran
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signs the joint declaration of mutual recognition with Somaliland President Muse Bihi Abdi, officially establishing full diplomatic relations between the two nations. Photo: Screenshot
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to meet US President Donald Trump on Wednesday in Washington, where they will discuss negotiations with Iran, Netanyahu’s office said on Saturday.
Iranian and US officials held indirect nuclear talks in the Omani capital Muscat on Friday. Both sides said more talks were expected to be held again soon.
A regional diplomat briefed by Tehran on the talks told Reuters Iran insisted on its “right to enrich uranium” during the negotiations with the US, and that Tehran’s missile capabilities were not raised in the discussions.
Iranian officials have ruled out putting Iran’s missiles – one of the largest such arsenals in the Middle East – up for discussion, and have said Tehran wants recognition of its right to enrich uranium.
PRIME MINISTER SEEKS MISSILE CURBS
“The Prime Minister believes any negotiations must include limitations on ballistic missiles and a halting of the support for the Iranian axis,” Netanyahu’s office said in a statement.
Wednesday’s meeting would be the seventh between Netanyahu and Trump since the US president returned to office in January last year.
The pair had been expected to meet on February 18, but the talks were brought forward amid the renewed engagement with Iran. A spokesperson for Netanyahu did not immediately comment on why the date was moved up.
Last June, the US joined an Israeli military campaign against Iran’s uranium enrichment and other nuclear installations, marking the most direct American military action ever against the Islamic Republic.
Iran retaliated by launching a missile attack on a US base in Qatar.
The US and Israel have repeatedly warned Iran that they would strike again if Tehran pressed ahead with its enrichment and ballistic missile programs.
World powers and regional states fear a breakdown in the negotiations would ignite another conflict between the US and Iran that could spill over to the rest of the oil-producing region.
Iran has vowed a harsh response to any strike and has cautioned neighboring Gulf Arab countries that host US bases that they could be in the firing line if they were involved in an attack.