Foreign Minister Eli Cohen spoke on Thursday evening with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
The Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the two discussed the negotiations in Israel regarding the judicial reform, and that Minister Cohen told Blinken that he was “proud to be a citizen and minister in a country like Israel that allows freedom of protest as it exists in the country.”
The statement further said that the two also discussed maintaining calm during the month of Ramadan, as well as expanding the Abraham Accords to other Arab and Muslim countries, in cooperation with the United States.
“Relations with the US are one of the pillars of Israeli foreign policy. We will work in every way to strengthen the discourse with our great friend,” said Minister Cohen.
On Thursday, the Israel Hayom newspaper reported that Cohen has begun briefing influential American officials about the government’s judicial reform plan and committed that it will be reached through a widespread agreement.

Cohen spoke on Wednesday with Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and told him, “There is widespread agreement in Israel regarding the necessity to reform the judicial system, and it will be done through dialogue and discussion.”
Prior to those briefings, the Foreign Minister has refrained from discussing the judicial reforms in his diplomatic discussions. Besides the diplomatic significance, his decision to begin discussing the issue is politically significant as well since he is expressing a view that differs from the government’s, demanding national agreement on the reform.