The Israel Relations Normalization Act of 2021 requires the State Dept. to “take certain actions promoting the normalization of relations between Israel, Arab states, and other relevant countries and regions.” Specifically, the State Dept. must develop a strategy on expanding and strengthening the Abraham Accords. The strategy must include a description of how the US government will encourage further normalization of relations with Israel.
Three NY Congress members out of the state’s delegation of 27 have not endorsed the bill, which to date has had 333 sponsors in the House and 73 in the Senate (including both of the state’s senators).
According to the NY Daily News, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who “has a hard time saying anything nice about Israel,” and “twisted herself into a pretzel when she was among a tiny handful not voting to fund Israel’s lifesaving Iron Dome anti-missile defense system in September,” has not been able to force herself to support a peace deal between Israelis and Arabs.
Another NY Squad member to dis the Peace is Jamaal Bowman, who took away his district in the Bronx and Westchester counties from Eliot Engel. Actually, Bowman did sign on to the bill on Sept. 23, but last Wednesday removed his name.
Bowman explained that he changed his mind based on his visit to Israel last year, writing to the Jewish Insider on Feb. 15: “On this visit, I continued to dig deep and engage people directly on the ground, including high level Palestinian and Israeli government officials. While I originally co-sponsored the Israel Relations Normalization Act seeing it as an opportunity to make progress toward justice and healing in the Middle East as well as a path to a two-state solution, my experience on the ground and further conversation with constituents led me to see that it is not the right step to fulfill these goals.”
One wonders who those constituents might have been…
Bowman continued: “Furthermore, I became aware that the deals that this bill supports and seeks to pursue, have included deals at odds with human rights and safety for everyday people in the region, including the recognition of Morocco’s control over Western Sahara, and conversations about arms sales with the United Arab Emirates.
“In the end, it is my estimation that these actions will only escalate violence in the Middle East and make already vulnerable communities less safe. This agreement to normalize relations unhelpfully isolates Palestine and Western Sahara when what we need is a process that engages them. I am writing to notify you that I will be withdrawing my co-sponsorship of this legislation, and should it come to the House Floor for a vote, I will vote No.”
And so, the US extreme left finds itself yet again on the wrong side of history, utilizing rejectionism instead of common sense.
There’s also one Republican Congressman from NY who hasn’t signed the proposed bill: Long Island Republican Lee Zeldin, who also happens to be Jewish. The Daily News recalled Zeldin’s enthusiastic support for the peace agreement, so they suggested Zeldin was too busy running for governor to endorse peace in the Middle East. Happens.
By the way, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) also took his name off the bill because he didn’t agree with the two-state solution the bill also endorses.
