JERUSALEM, June 7 (Xinhua) -- Israel's Foreign Minister Eli Cohen rebuked on Wednesday U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris for speaking out against the government's contested judiciary overhaul plan.
In an interview on Israel's state-owned Kan Bet Radio, Cohen chided Harris, saying that he believes she has not read the reform's bills. "I can tell you that if you ask her what bothers her about the reform, she won't be able to tell you even a single thing," he said.
Cohen later wrote on Twitter that he has "deep respect for our ally the United States of America and for Vice President Harris, a true friend of Israel." The reform is "an internal issue," he wrote.
On Tuesday, during a speech at the Israeli embassy in Washington, Harris stressed the importance of an independent judicial system. She said that "the bedrock of the U.S.-Israel relationship" are shared values and that democracies are "built on strong institutions, checks and balances, and, I'll add, an independent judiciary."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's new far-right government has been promoting the controversial reform, which aims to weaken the Supreme Court and transfer power from the court to the government, despite nationwide large-scale protests in the country.
U.S. President Joe Biden, along with European leaders, has publicly criticized the reform. The remarks highlight the ongoing tensions between the Biden administration and Netanyahu's coalition government, the most right-wing government in Israel's history.
