[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

[[Page S7425]]

     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.

[[Page S7426]]

  

                                 ______