Why a former U.S. ambassador joined Israel's pro-democracy protests

Martin Indyk, who served as U.S. ambassador to Israel twice, made an unusual stop during a recent trip to Israel: He joined the massive Tel Aviv demonstration against Benjamin Netanyahu's plan to weaken the Israeli judicial system. 

“I am dismayed and very concerned about this judicial revolution and the impact it will have on Israel’s democracy – and therefore the impact it will have on U.S.-Israel relations,” Indyk told hosts Amir Tibon and Allison Kaplan Sommer on the latest episode of Haaretz Weekly. 

“Undermining the basic tenets of the Israeli Declaration of Independence and the idea of being Jewish and democratic goes against everything American Jews believe in and support, and that’s deeply troubling to the vast majority of them,” he added. 

While the United States has in recent years been acting like an “indulgent uncle that is not willing to hold Israel to account when it acts against U.S. interests,” Indyk warned that this may not last forever. “The United States is a dinosaur that you can poke and poke, but it doesn’t respond until one day it wakes up. And then it lifts its tail and comes down with a mighty thump.”

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