"Only Biden can save the State of Israel": This is the headline given by the New York Times to his Pulitzer-winning journalist Thomas Friedman, in which he addresses the 46th president of the United States in an open letter asking him to intervene in the crisis in Israel.
"In October 1973, the Egyptian and Syrian armies launched a surprise attack on Israel. With the Israeli military in short stocks of ammunition, your predecessor Richard Nixon ordered the delivery of weapons by airlift that helped save the only Jewish democracy from destruction," Ferdiman wrote, adding, "Fifty years later, Mr. President, this Jewish democracy desperately needs another airlift to save it from collapse from within. It needs an urgent supply of the hard facts – something no one else can provide."
Biden: "U.S. Commitment to Israel's Security Strong" // Reuters
Later in the column, Friedman points an accusing finger at Prime Minister Netanyahu and blames him for the crisis. "If Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continues to try to pass a bill that would strip the Israeli Supreme Court of its most important legal authority – to oversee radical appointments or decisions – it would break the Israeli military and undermine not only the shared values between the United States and Israel but also vital interests of the United States."
Thomas Friedman (archive), photo: AFP
In his article, Friedman addresses President Biden and reminds him of their meeting last week and the resentment created in Israel after his recent publications: "Mr. President, when we met last Tuesday and you gave me your very calculated statement calling on Netanyahu not to 'rush' with this legislation without the 'widest possible consensus' – which he clearly does not have – it was like an electric shock to the Israeli political system."
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