Israeli judicial reforms still on hold, Netanyahu says

Speaking to Todd, Netanyahu said that even though he’s not resuming his efforts now, his goal remains the same, limiting judicial overreach and balancing the branches of government.

“We’re trying to bring it back into a proper balance,” he said.

Opponents of Netanyahu’s plan have said the proposed changes would undermine the nation’s basic freedoms. “It’s an attack on the very soul and nature of our democracy,“ former Prime Minister Ehud Barak said last month.

During the “Meet the Press” interview, Netanyahu criticized Todd for how he described his proposed reforms and Israel’s current political environment — and also took umbrage at Todd’s question linking the judicial plan to Netanyahu’s personal legal problems.

“Here’s another fib, another lie. It’s just not true. My own legal proceedings, which by the way are crumbling, all these charges against me have been crumbling,” Netanyahu said, adding: “My case is completely independent from this.”

The prime minister also said he still felt close to President Joe Biden (“a great friend of Israel”) despite Biden’s concerns about the proposed judicial reforms.

“Friends can have disagreements on occasion,” Netanyahu said.