WASHINGTON–U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Near East, South Asia, Central Asia, and Counterterrorism, on Monday released the following statement:

“In the face of historic and unprecedented protests, I am deeply disappointed that Prime Minister Netanyahu’s government was unwilling to broker a compromise and instead moved forward unilaterally with its plans to kneecap the Supreme Court. It is clear that the people of Israel remain deeply divided on this latest step to undercut the ability of the judiciary to review government decisions, and many believe it puts the future of their economy, national security, and democracy at risk. While this is an internal matter for Israel to resolve, our bilateral relationship has always been grounded in shared democratic values and I remain concerned by the path Prime Minister Netanyahu is leading his country down.”

In March, Murphy and U.S. Senator Mitt Romney (R-Utah) released a joint statement on Prime Minister Netanyahu’s decision to postpone consideration of judicial reforms.

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