President Joe Biden says he won't be inviting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House anytime soon over his plan to move forward with a judicial overhaul after mass protests and strikes brought the country to a standstill, reports CNN.
"Like many strong supporters of Israel, I'm very concerned," Biden told reporters in North Carolina on Wednesday. "I'm concerned that they get this straight.
"They cannot continue down this road. I've sort of made that clear. Hopefully the prime minister will act in a way that he can work out some genuine compromise. That remains to be seen."
When asked whether Netanyahu would be invited to the White House, the president replied bluntly: "No. Not in the near term."
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, called Biden's take "utterly disgraceful."
"Biden gleefully hosts anti-American radicals like [Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva] Lula, while shunning close American allies like Netanyahu. It's clear that Biden and his officials are high from funding what they believe to be successful anti-government protests in Israel," he tweeted Wednesday.
In separate remarks on Tuesday, Biden added of Netanyahu's overhaul: "I hope he walks away from it."
Netanyahu responded defiantly with a statement late on Tuesday evening, in which he noted Biden's "longstanding commitment to Israel" but added: "Israel is a sovereign country which makes its decisions by the will of its people and not based on pressures from abroad, including from the best of friends."
While Biden has been quick to lecture the Mideast's only democracy about its activities, he has met with leaders from such anti-democratic regimes as Congo, Liberia, and Nigeria, at the same time welcoming Iran and Venezuela into normalized relations.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.