They urged the US President to take “concrete action” to send a clear message to Israel that “its actions come with a price.”
Israel-US ties are being tested at the moment amid Netanyahu’s controversial judicial overhaul.
Benjamin Netanyahu (Photo: Fox News)
The letter, organised by American Jews for Peace Now, claims Biden’s previous warnings against the judicial overhaul failed to prevent Netanyahu’s coalition from pushing their plans forward.
The 160 Jewish leaders wrote in the letter: “Your expressions of concern for Israel’s democracy and your frank criticisms of the Israeli government’s campaign to weaken the country’s judiciary has helped buoy the popular opposition to this alarming democratic backsliding.
“Sadly, we must acknowledge that warnings from the United States did not ultimately prevent the Israeli government from acting on this agenda.”
They go on to warn: “As a result, we now find ourselves at a critical juncture where further actions are necessary to safeguard the democratic values the U.S.-Israel relationship is founded upon the leaders offered a series of concrete measures the Biden administration could take.”
The group have made several recommendations to the Biden administration to develop the relationship with Jerusalem in the letter.
This includes appointing a new ambassador to Israel immediately and taking steps to reopen a separate US consulate in Jerusalem which would serve the Palestinian population in the West Bank and Gaza.
Biden’s administration should also ensure that Israel meets all requirements before considering its admission into the visa waiver program.
Joe Biden (Photo: Getty Images)
Long term, Biden’s administration is being urged to no longer automatically prevent efforts to hold Israel accountable at the United Nations for its settlement activities.
The US should also communicate to Israel that the evolving state of Israeli democracy will figure into upcoming deliberations on the next ten-year memorandum of understanding relating to foreign aid.
Hadar Susskind, Americans for Peace Now’s President and CEO, said: “We sent this letter because Prime Minister Netanayhu made it clear that he will not heed President Biden’s words, so it is time to move to actions.
“We are gratified to see that so many Jewish leaders joined us in signing this letter and we hope that President Biden will follow our advice.”
Soros, who is chairman of Open Society Foundations, said: “Americans who care about Israel are horrified to see the government assault on the state’s democratic norms and institutions.
“President Biden’s concerns went unheeded. The time has come to take action to protect Israel's democracy and America’s interests in the region.”
Since Soros took over control of his father’s empire, there has been growing speculation that he would be more actively involved in Jewish and Israeli matters.
He had told the Wall Street Journal he was "more political" than his father, and that one of his top aims would be to push back against a possible second term by former president Donald Trump.
Soros added: "As much as I would love to get money out of politics, as long as the other side is doing it, we will have to do it, too.”
Hungarian-born US investor and philanthropist George Soros (Photo by FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP via Getty Images)
His father George used his wealth amassed as a financier in the 1970s and 80s to create the Open Society Foundations (OSF), which support a broad arrange of causes and NGOs worldwide, ranging from good-governance and democracy-building programs to liberal public policy initiatives.
He has also been one of the biggest donors in the United States to the Democratic Party.
