[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 189 (Wednesday, October 27, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7424-S7426]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 3926. Mr. PORTMAN (for himself, Mr. Booker, Mr. Cardin, and Mr.
Young) submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by him to the
bill H.R. 4350, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2022 for
military activities of the Department of Defense, for military
construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy,
to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:
At the end of title XII, add the following:
Subtitle H--Encouraging Normalization of Relations With Israel
SEC. 1291. SHORT TITLE.
This subtitle may be cited as the ``Israel Relations
Normalization Act of 2021''.
SEC. 1292. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) Support for peace between Israel and its neighbors has
longstanding bipartisan support in Congress.
(2) For decades, Congress has promoted Israel's acceptance
among Arab and other relevant countries and regions by
passing numerous laws opposing efforts to boycott, isolate,
and stigmatize America's ally, Israel.
(3) The recent peace and normalization agreements between
Israel and several Arab states--the United Arab Emirates,
Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco--have the potential to
fundamentally transform the security, diplomatic, and
economic environment in the Middle East and North Africa and
advance vital United States national security interests.
(4) These historic agreements could help advance peace
between and among Israel, the Arab states, and other relevant
countries and regions, further diplomatic openings, and
enhance efforts towards a negotiated solution to the Israeli-
Palestinian conflict resulting in two states--a democratic
Jewish state of Israel and a viable, democratic Palestinian
state--living side by side in peace, security, and mutual
recognition.
(5) These agreements build upon the decades-long leadership
of the United States Government in helping Israel broker
peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan and promoting peace
talks between Israel and Syria, Lebanon, and the
Palestinians.
(6) These agreements also build on decades of private
diplomatic and security engagement between Israel and
countries in the region.
(7) These normalization and peace agreements could begin to
transform the region by spurring economic growth, investment,
and tourism, enhancing technological innovation, promoting
security cooperation, bolstering water security and
sustainable development, advancing understanding, and forging
closer people-to-people relations.
SEC. 1293. APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES DEFINED.
In this subtitle, the term ``appropriate congressional
committees'' means--
(1) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate; and
(2) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of
Representatives.
SEC. 1294. STATEMENT OF POLICY.
It is the policy of the United States--
(1) to expand and strengthen the Abraham Accords to
encourage other nations to normalize relations with Israel
and ensure that existing agreements reap tangible security
and economic benefits for the citizens of those countries;
(2) to develop and implement a regional strategy to
encourage economic cooperation
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between and among Israel, Arab states, and the Palestinians
to enhance the prospects for peace, respect for human rights,
transparent governance, and for cooperation to address water
scarcity, climate solutions, health care, sustainable
development, and other areas that result in benefits for
residents of those countries and regions;
(3) to develop and implement a regional security strategy
that recognizes the shared threat posed by Iran and violent
extremist organizations, ensures sufficient United States
deterrence in the region, builds partner capacity to address
shared threats, and explores multilateral security
arrangements built around like-minded partners;
(4) to support and encourage government-to-government and
grassroots initiatives aimed at normalizing ties with the
state of Israel and promoting people-to-people contact
between Israelis, Arabs, and residents of other relevant
countries and regions, including by expanding and enhancing
the Abraham Accords;
(5) to support a negotiated solution to the Israeli-
Palestinian conflict resulting in two states living side by
side in peace, security, and mutual recognition;
(6) to implement the Nita M. Lowey Middle East Partnership
for Peace Act (title VIII of division K of Public Law 116-
260), which will support economic development and
peacebuilding efforts among Israelis and Palestinians, in a
manner which encourages regional allies to become
international donors to these efforts;
(7) to oppose efforts to delegitimize the state of Israel
and legal barriers to normalization with Israel; and
(8) to work to combat anti-Semitism and support
normalization with Israel, including by countering anti-
Semitic narratives on social media and state media and
pressing for curricula reform in education.
SEC. 1295. UNITED STATES STRATEGY TO STRENGTHEN AND EXPAND
THE ABRAHAM ACCORDS AND OTHER RELATED
NORMALIZATION AGREEMENTS WITH ISRAEL.
(a) In General.--Not later than 90 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the
Secretary of State, in consultation with the Administrator of
the United States Agency for International Development and
the heads of other appropriate Federal departments and
agencies, shall develop and submit to the appropriate
congressional committees a strategy on expanding and
strengthening the Abraham Accords.
(b) Elements.--The strategy required under subsection (a)
shall include the following elements:
(1) An assessment of future staffing and resourcing
requirements of entities within the Department of State, the
United States Agency for International Development, and other
appropriate Federal departments and agencies with
responsibility to coordinate United States efforts to expand
and strengthen the Abraham Accords.
(2) An assessment of opportunities to further promote
bilateral and multilateral cooperation between Israel, Arab
states, and other relevant countries and in the economic,
social, cultural, scientific, technical, educational, and
health fields and an assessment of roadblocks to increased
cooperation.
(3) An assessment of bilateral and multilateral security
cooperation between Israel, the United States, Arab states,
and other relevant countries and regions that have normalized
relations with Israel, including an assessment of potential
roadblocks to increased security cooperation,
interoperability, and information sharing.
(4) An assessment of the likelihood of additional Arab and
other relevant countries and regions to normalize relations
with Israel.
(5) An assessment of opportunities created by normalization
agreements with Israel to advance prospects for peace between
Israelis and Palestinians.
(6) A detailed description of how the United States
Government will leverage diplomatic lines of effort and
resources from other stakeholders (including from foreign
governments, international donors, and multilateral
institutions) to encourage normalization, economic
development, and people-to-people programming.
(7) Identification of existing investment funds that
support Israel-Arab state cooperation and recommendations for
how such funds could be used to support normalization and
increase prosperity for all relevant stakeholders.
(8) A proposal for how the United States Government and
others can utilize the scholars and Arabic language resources
of the United States Holocaust Museum to counter Holocaust
denial and anti-Semitism.
(9) An assessment for creating an Abrahamic Center for
Pluralism to prepare educational materials, convene
international seminars, promote tolerance and pluralism, and
bring together scholars as a means of advancing religious
tolerance and countering political and religious extremism.
(10) Recommendations to improve Department of State
cooperation and coordination, particularly between the
Special Envoy to Monitor Anti-Semitism and the Ambassador at
Large for International Religious Freedom, and the Office of
International Religious Freedom, to combat racism,
xenophobia, Islamophobia, and anti-Semitism, which hinder
improvement of relations between Israel, Arab states, and
other relevant countries and regions.
(11) An assessment on the value and feasibility of Federal
support for inter-parliamentary exchange programs for Members
of Congress, Knesset, and parliamentarians from Arab and
other relevant countries and regions, including through
existing Federal programs that support such exchanges.
(c) Form.--The report required under subsection (a) shall
be in unclassified form but may contain a classified annex.
SEC. 1296. BREAKING DOWN BARRIERS TO NORMALIZATION WITH
ISRAEL.
(a) Short Title.--This section may be cited as the
``Strengthening Reporting of Actions Taken Against the
Normalization of Relations with Israel Act of 2021''.
(b) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
(1) The Arab League, an organization comprising 22 Middle
Eastern and African countries and entities, has maintained an
official boycott of Israeli companies and Israeli-made goods
since the founding of Israel in 1948.
(2) Longstanding United States policy has encouraged Arab
League states to normalize their relations with Israel and
has long prioritized funding cooperative programs that
promote normalization between Arab League States and Israel,
including the Middle East Regional Cooperation program, which
promotes Arab-Israeli scientific cooperation.
(3) While some Arab League governments are signaling
enhanced cooperation with the state of Israel on the
government-to-government level, most continue to persecute
their own citizens who establish people-to-people relations
with Israelis in nongovernmental fora, through a combination
of judicial and extrajudicial retribution.
(4) Some Arab League states maintain draconian anti-
normalization laws that punish their citizens for people-to-
people relations with Israelis, with punishments, including
imprisonment, revocation of citizenship, and execution.
Extrajudicial punishments by these and other Arab states
include summary imprisonment, accusations of ``treason'' in
government-controlled media, and professional blacklisting.
(5) Anti-normalization laws, together with the other forms
of retribution, effectively condemn these societies to mutual
estrangement and, by extension, reduce the possibility of
conciliation and compromise.
(6) Former Israeli President Shimon Peres said in 2008 at
the United Nations that Israel agrees with the Arab Peace
Initiative that a military solution to the conflict ``will
not achieve peace or provide security for the parties''.
(7) Despite the risk of retaliatory action, a rising tide
of Arab civic actors advocate direct engagement with Israeli
citizens and residents. These include the Arab Council for
Regional Integration, a group of 32 public figures from 15
Arab countries who oppose the boycott of Israel on the
grounds that the boycott has denied Arabs the benefits of
partnership with Israelis, has blocked Arabs from helping to
bridge the Israeli-Palestinian divide, and inspired divisive
intra-Arab boycotts among diverse sects and ethnic groups.
(8) On February 11, 2020, a delegation of the Arab Council
to the French National Assembly in Paris testified to the
harmful effects of ``anti-normalization laws'', called on the
Assembly to enact a law instructing the relevant French
authorities to issue an annual report on instances of Arab
government retribution for any of their citizens or residents
who call for peace with Israel or engage in direct civil
relations with Israeli citizens, and requested democratic
legislatures to help defend the region's civil peacemakers.
(9) On May 11, 2020, 85 leaders in France published an
endorsement of the Arab Council's proposal, calling on France
and other democratic governments to ``protect Arabs who
engage in dialogue with Israeli citizens'' and proposing
``the creation of a study group in the National Assembly as
well as in the Senate whose mission would be to ensure a
legal and technical monitoring of the obstacles which Arab
proponents of dialogue with Israelis face''.
(10) Arab-Israeli cooperation provides significant
symbiotic benefit to the security and economic prosperity of
the region.
(c) Additional Reporting.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 90 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter for 5
years, the Secretary of State shall submit to the appropriate
congressional committees a report on the status of efforts to
promote normalization of relations with Israel and other
countries.
(2) Elements.--The report required under paragraph (1)
shall include the following information:
(A) The status of ``anti-normalization laws'' in countries
comprising the Arab League, including efforts within each
country to sharpen existing laws, enact new or additional
``anti-normalization legislation'', or repeal such laws.
(B) Instances of the use of state-owned or state-operated
media outlets to promote anti-Semitic propaganda, the
prosecution of citizens or residents of Arab countries for
calling for peace with Israel, visiting the state of Israel,
or engaging Israeli citizens in any way.
(C) Instances of extrajudicial retribution by Arab
governments or government-controlled institutions against
citizens or residents of Arab countries for any of the same
actions referred to in subparagraph (B).
SEC. 1297. SUNSET.
This subtitle shall cease to be effective on the date that
is 5 years after the date of the enactment of this Act.
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