Israel Relations Normalization Act of 2021
Bill: H.R.2748 | Sponsor: Rep. Schneider, Bradley Scott (D-IL)
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
Israel Relations Normalization Act of 2021
This bill requires the Department of State to take certain actions promoting the normalization of relations between Israel, Arab states, and other relevant countries and regions.
Specifically, the State Department must develop a strategy on expanding and strengthening the Abraham Accords (the term used to refer collectively to agreements between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and between Israel and Bahrain marking the public normalization of relations between the two Arab countries and Israel). The strategy must include a description of how the U.S. government will encourage further normalization of relations with Israel.
In addition, the State Department must report on options for U.S. international efforts to promote the strengthening of ties between Israel, Arab states, and other relevant countries and regions. The State Department must also report on the status of the normalization of relations with Israel, including information on (1) laws that punish individuals for people-to-people relations with Israelis (i.e., anti-normalization laws), and (2) evidence of steps taken by Arab governments toward permitting or encouraging normalized relations between their citizens or residents and Israeli citizens.

To encourage the normalization of relations with Israel, and for other 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Israel Relations Normalization Act 
of 2021''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Support for peace between Israel and its neighbors has 
        longstanding bipartisan support in Congress.
            (2) For decades, the United States Congress has promoted 
        Israel's acceptance among Arab states and other relevant 
        countries and regions and has enacted 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 agreements build upon the decades-long leadership 
        of the United States Government and other governments in 
        helping Israel broker peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan and 
        promoting peace talks between Israel and Syria, Lebanon, and 
        the Palestinians.
            (5) These agreements also build on decades long private 
        diplomatic and security engagement between Israel and countries 
        in the region.
            (6) These normalization and peace agreements could begin to 
        transform the region by spurring economic growth, enhancing 
        technological innovation, advancing understanding, and forging 
        closer people-to-people relations.
            (7) These agreements have the potential to promote 
        investment, tourism, and direct flights, and promote 
        cooperation on security, telecommunications, technology, 
        energy, healthcare, culture, the environment, water security 
        and sustainable development.

SEC. 3. 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 among Israel, Arab states, and 
        the Palestinians to enhance the prospects for regional peace, 
        respect for human rights, transparent governance, and 
        cooperation to address water scarcity, climate solutions, 
        health care, sustainable development, and other areas that 
        result in benefits for residents of those countries;
            (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 peoples from other countries and regions, 
        including by expanding and enhancing the Abraham Accords;
            (5) to continue to support 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;
            (6) to implement the Nita M. Lowey Middle East Partnership 
        for Peace Act of 2020 (title VIII of division K of Public Law 
        116-260), which supports economic cooperation and peacebuilding 
        efforts among Israelis and Palestinians;
            (7) to oppose efforts to delegitimize the state of Israel 
        and legal barriers to normalization of relations with Israel;
            (8) to work to combat anti-Semitism and support 
        normalization of relations with Israel, including by countering 
        anti-Semitic narratives on social media and state media and 
        pressing for educational curriculum reform; and
            (9) to encourage partnerships and collaboration on climate 
        solutions, water, health, sustainable development, and other 
        areas.

SEC. 4. UNITED STATES STRATEGY TO STRENGTHEN AND EXPAND ABRAHAM ACCORDS 
              AND OTHER 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, the Secretary of Defense, 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 
also include each of 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, the 
        Department of Defense, 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 the bilateral and multilateral 
        cooperation between Israel, Arab states, and other relevant 
        countries and regions that have normalized relations with 
        Israel, including an assessment of cooperation 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 potential roadblocks to 
        increased security cooperation, interoperability, and 
        information sharing.
            (4) An assessment of the likelihood of additional Arab 
        states 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.
    (c) Form.--
            (1) Unclassified matter.--Subject to paragraph (2), the 
        report required by subsection (a) and each of the elements 
        described in paragraphs (1) through (5) of subsection (b) shall 
        be submitted in unclassified form.
            (2) Classified annex.--The report required by subsection 
        (a) shall also include a classified annex, transmitted 
        separately, that contains only the matter included in the 
        report pursuant to paragraph (6) of subsection (b).
    (d) Appropriate Congressional Committees Defined.--In this section, 
the term ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
            (1) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee on 
        Armed Services, and the Committee on Appropriations of the 
        House of Representatives; and
            (2) the Committee on Foreign Relations, the Committee on 
        Armed Services, and the Committee on Appropriations of the 
        Senate.

SEC. 5. REPORT ON INTERNATIONAL EFFORTS TO PROMOTE NORMALIZATION.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in coordination with the 
Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development 
and the heads of other relevant Federal departments and agencies, shall 
submit a report to the appropriate congressional committees regarding 
options for United States international efforts to promote 
strengthening of ties between Israel, Arab states, and other relevant 
countries and regions.
    (b) Elements.--The report required under subsection (a) shall also 
include each of the following elements:
            (1) A description of options for leveraging contributions 
        of international donors, institutions, and partner countries to 
        facilitate people-to-people and government-to-government 
        relations between Israelis and Arabs.
            (2) Identification of existing relevant 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.
            (3) 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.
            (4) An assessment of the benefit to Israel and its 
        neighbors of participating in a regional conference on climate 
        solutions, water, health, and sustainable development.
            (5) An assessment of the feasibility and benefit of 
        increasing the capacity of existing Department of State and 
        United States Agency for International Development-funded 
        programs for developing people-to-people exchange programs for 
        young people between Israel, Arab states, and other relevant 
        countries and regions.
            (6) Recommendations to improve Department of State 
        cooperation and coordination, particularly between the Special 
        Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism, the Ambassador at 
        Large for International Religious Freedom, and the Director of 
        the Office of International Religious Freedom, to combat the 
        racism, xenophobia, Islamophobia, and anti-Semitism that hinder 
        improvement of relations between Israel, Arab states, and other 
        relevant countries and regions.
            (7) A proposal for the manner in which the United States 
        Government and others can use existing Federal resources to 
        counter Holocaust denial and anti-Semitism abroad.
            (8) An assessment of the value and feasibility of Federal 
        support for inter-parliamentary exchange programs among Members 
        of Congress, of the Knesset, and parliamentarians from Arab 
        states and other relevant countries and regions, including 
        through existing Federal programs that support such exchanges.
    (c) Appropriate Congressional Committees.--In this section, the 
term ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
            (1) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on 
        Appropriations of the House of Representatives; and
            (2) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on 
        Appropriations of the Senate.

SEC. 6. 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) Annual Reporting.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 90 days after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the 
        Secretary of State shall submit to the appropriate 
        congressional committees a report on the status of the 
        normalization of relations between Israel, Arab states, and 
        other relevant countries and regions.
            (2) Elements.--The report required under paragraph (1) 
        shall include the following information:
                    (A) The status of ``anti-normalization laws'' in 
                each country within the jurisdiction of the Bureau of 
                Near Eastern Affairs, including efforts within each 
                country to sharpen existing laws, enact new or 
                additional ``anti-normalization legislation'', or 
                repeal such laws.
                    (B) Instances of 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 actions described in subparagraph (B).
                    (D) Evidence of steps taken by Arab governments 
                toward permitting or encouraging people-to-people 
                relations between their citizens or residents and 
                Israeli citizens.
                    (E) Instances where Arab governments used state-
                owned or state-operated media outlets to promote anti-
                Semitic propaganda.
    (d) Appropriate Congressional Committees.--In this section, the 
term ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
            (1) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on 
        Appropriations of the House of Representatives; and
            (2) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on 
        Appropriations of the Senate.

SEC. 7. SUNSET.

    This Act 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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