The White House responded to accusations made by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's son about the role of the United States in the protests unfolding in the country.
Last week, Yair Netanyahu shared an article from the far-right website Breitbart claiming that the U.S. is funding the anti-government protests unfolding in Israel in order to overthrow his father and force his government to come to an agreement with Iran.
"These accusations are completely false," a U.S. State Department spokesperson told the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
The spokesperson said that the Movement for Quality Government—an independent, non-partisan, non-profit, pro-democracy organization that has been part of the demonstrations in Israel—"received a modest grant from the State Department that was initiated during the previous administration," adding that "the last disbursal of funds came in September of 2022, well before the last Israeli election."
The grant, according to the spokesperson, "supported an educational program for Jerusalem schools that supplemented their civic studies curriculum."
But fears and suspicions that the U.S. might be interfering with Israel's affairs appear to go beyond just the prime minister's son. A senior Israeli official quoted by Haaretz said that this is "not the first time the U.S. has interfered in Israel's domestic affairs. They tried to remove Netanyahu from office twice before. They have rudely interfered in the past. [Former U.S. President Bill] Clinton tried to get rid of Netanyahu. He admitted as much."
Pressure on Netanyahu's government has been growing in recent weeks as hundreds of thousands of demonstrators have taken to the streets to protest against a controversial judicial reform that the prime minister intends to push through.
The planned change to the country's justice system would allow Netanyahu's government—the most right-wing in the history of Israel—to take control over the committee which appoints judges and overrules courts' decisions.
One reform, removing the power of the attorney general to pronounce a sitting prime minister as unfit for office, has already been approved. Critics of the policy say Netanyahu wants to pass the legislation to avoid being prosecuted for corruption, fraud and breach of trust—all charges which he denies.
Protests are expected to escalate on Monday when right-wing activists said they would join the demonstrations. Netanyahu on Twitter encouraged protesters on "right and left to behave responsibly and not act violently."
The protest movement is largely leaderless and comes from different sectors of society, including—rather surprisingly—military reservists.
Newsweek reached out to the State Department via email for comment.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Giulia Carbonaro is a Newsweek Reporter based in London, U.K. Her focus is on U.S. and European politics, global affairs ... Read more
