II Calendar No. 95 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1061 To encourage the normalization of relations with Israel, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MARCH 25, 2021 Mr. PORTMAN (for himself, Mr. BOOKER, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. YOUNG, Ms. ROSEN, Mr. RISCH, Mr. COONS, Ms. COLLINS, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. GRASS- LEY, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. SASSE, Mr. WARNOCK, Mr. BOOZMAN, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. TILLIS, Mr. KAINE, Mr. HAWLEY, Mrs. CAPITO, Mr. TESTER, Ms. SINEMA, Mrs. BLACKBURN, Mr. WYDEN, Mr. SCOTT of South Carolina, Ms. STABENOW, Mr. MORAN, Mr. CRAPO, Mr. CORNYN, Mr. BENNET, Mr. ROUNDS, Mr. MANCHIN, Mr. WICKER, Mr. HICKENLOOPER, Mr. PADILLA, Mr. BRAUN, Mr. KELLY, Mr. HOEVEN, Ms. DUCKWORTH, Mr. THUNE, Mr. PETERS, Mrs. HYDE-SMITH, Mr. INHOFE, Mrs. FISCHER, Mr. PAUL, Ms. MURKOWSKI, Mr. LUJA´N, Mr. MARSHALL, Mr. MURPHY, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Ms. CANTWELL, Mr. CRAMER, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. BLUNT, Mr. RUBIO, Mr. HAGERTY, Mr. LANKFORD, Mr. SULLIVAN, and Ms. HASSAN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Re- lations JUNE 24, 2021 Reported by Mr. MENENDEZ, with an amendment [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] A BILL To encourage the normalization of relations with Israel, and for other purposes. VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:14 Jun 25, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\S1061.RS S1061 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1061 RS Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Israel Relations Nor- 4 malization Act of 2021’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress makes the following findings: 7 (1) Support for peace between Israel and its 8 neighbors has longstanding bipartisan support in 9 Congress. 10 (2) For decades, the United States Congress 11 has promoted Israel’s acceptance among Arab and 12 other relevant countries and regions to enact numer- 13 ous laws opposing efforts to boycott, isolate, and 14 stigmatize America’s ally, Israel. 15 (3) The recent peace and normalization agree- 16 ments between Israel and several Arab states—the 17 United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan, and Mo- 18 rocco—have the potential to fundamentally trans- 19 form the security, diplomatic, and economic environ- 20 ment in the Middle East and North Africa and ad- 21 vance vital United States national security interests. 22 (4) These historic agreements could help ad- 23 vance peace between Israel, the Arab states, and rel- 24 evant countries and regions, further diplomatic 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:14 Jun 25, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1061.RS S1061 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1061 RS openings, and enhance efforts towards a negotiated 1 solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict resulting 2 in two states—a democratic Jewish state of Israel 3 and a viable democratic Palestinian state—living 4 side by side in peace, security, and mutual recogni- 5 tion. 6 (5) These agreements build upon the decades- 7 long leadership of the United States Government in 8 helping Israel broker peace treaties with Egypt and 9 Jordan and promoting peace talks between Israel 10 and Syria, Lebanon, and the Palestinians. 11 (6) These agreements also build on decades- 12 long private diplomatic and security engagement be- 13 tween Israel and countries in the region. 14 (7) These normalization and peace agreements 15 could begin to transform the region by spurring eco- 16 nomic growth, enhancing technological innovation, 17 advancing understanding, and forging closer people- 18 to-people relations. 19 (8) These agreements could promote invest- 20 ment, tourism, and direct flights, and promote co- 21 operation on security, telecommunications, tech- 22 nology, energy, healthcare, culture, the environment, 23 water security, and sustainable development. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:14 Jun 25, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1061.RS S1061 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1061 RS SEC. 3. APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES DE- 1 FINED. 2 In this Act, the term ‘‘appropriate congressional com- 3 mittees’’ means— 4 (1) the Committee on Foreign Relations and 5 the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate; and 6 (2) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the 7 Committee on Armed Services of the House of Rep- 8 resentatives. 9 SEC. 4. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 10 It is the policy of the United States— 11 (1) to expand and strengthen the Abraham Ac- 12 cords to encourage other nations to normalize rela- 13 tions with Israel and ensure that existing agree- 14 ments reap tangible security and economic benefits 15 for the citizens of those countries; 16 (2) to develop and implement a regional strat- 17 egy to encourage economic cooperation among Israel, 18 Arab states, and the Palestinians to enhance the 19 prospects for peace, respect for human rights, and 20 transparent governance, and for cooperation to ad- 21 dress water scarcity, climate solutions, health care, 22 sustainable development, and other areas that result 23 in benefits for residents of those countries; 24 (3) to develop and implement a regional secu- 25 rity strategy that recognizes the shared threat posed 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:14 Jun 25, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1061.RS S1061 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1061 RS by Iran and violent extremist organizations, ensures 1 sufficient United States deterrence in the region, 2 builds partner capacity to address shared threats, 3 and explores multilateral security arrangements built 4 around like-minded partners; 5 (4) to support and encourage government-to- 6 government and grassroots initiatives aimed at nor- 7 malizing ties with the state of Israel and promoting 8 people-to-people contact between Israelis, Arabs, and 9 other relevant countries and regions, including by 10 expanding and enhancing the Abraham Accords; 11 (5) to oppose efforts to delegitimize the state of 12 Israel and legal barriers to normalization with 13 Israel; 14 (6) to work to combat anti-Semitism and sup- 15 port normalization with Israel, including by coun- 16 tering anti-Semitic narratives on social media and 17 state media and pressing for curricula reform in 18 education; and 19 (7) to encourage partnerships and collaboration 20 on climate solutions, water, health, sustainable de- 21 velopment, and other areas. 22 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:14 Jun 25, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1061.RS S1061 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 1061 RS SEC. 5. UNITED STATES STRATEGY TO STRENGTHEN AND 1 EXPAND ABRAHAM ACCORDS AND OTHER RE- 2 LATED NORMALIZATION AGREEMENTS WITH 3 ISRAEL. 4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 5 date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, 6 the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Adminis- 7 trator of the United States Agency for International De- 8 velopment, the Secretary of Defense, and the heads of 9 other appropriate Federal departments and agencies, shall 10 develop and submit to the appropriate congressional com- 11 mittees a strategy on expanding and strengthening the 12 Abraham Accords. 13 (b) ELEMENTS.—The strategy required under sub- 14 section (a) shall include the following elements: 15 (1) An assessment of future staffing and 16 resourcing requirements of entities within the De- 17 partment of State, the United States Agency for 18 International Development, the Department of De- 19 fense, and other appropriate Federal departments 20 and agencies with responsibility to coordinate United 21 States efforts to expand and strengthen the Abra- 22 ham Accords. 23 (2) An assessment of the bilateral and multilat- 24 eral cooperation between Israel, Arab states, and 25 other relevant countries and regions that have nor- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:14 Jun 25, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1061.RS S1061 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 1061 RS malized relations with Israel, including an assess- 1 ment of cooperation in the economic, social, cultural, 2 scientific, technical, educational, and health fields, 3 and an assessment of roadblocks to increased co- 4 operation. 5 (3) An assessment of bilateral and multilateral 6 security cooperation between Israel, the United 7 States, Arab states, and other relevant countries and 8 regions that have normalized relations with Israel, 9 including an assessment of potential roadblocks to 10 increased security cooperation, interoperability, and 11 information sharing. 12 (4) An assessment of the likelihood of addi- 13 tional Arab and other relevant countries and regions 14 to normalize relations with Israel. 15 (5) A detailed description of how the United 16 States Government will leverage diplomatic lines of 17 effort and resources from other stakeholders (includ- 18 ing from foreign governments, international donors, 19 and multilateral institutions) to encourage normal- 20 ization, economic development, and people-to-people 21 programming. 22 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:14 Jun 25, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1061.RS S1061 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •S 1061 RS SEC. 6. REPORT ON INTERNATIONAL EFFORTS TO PRO- 1 MOTE NORMALIZATION. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 3 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, 4 in coordination with the Administrator of the United 5 States Agency for International Development and the 6 heads of other relevant Federal departments and agencies, 7 shall submit a report to the Committee on Foreign Rela- 8 tions of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs 9 of the House of Representatives regarding options for 10 United States international efforts to promote strength- 11 ening of ties between Israel, Arab states, and other rel- 12 evant countries and regions. 13 (b) ELEMENTS.—The report required under para- 14 graph (1) shall include the following elements: 15 (1) A description of options for leveraging con- 16 tributions of international donors, institutions, and 17 partner countries to facilitate people-to-people and 18 government-to-government relations between Israelis 19 and Arabs. 20 (2) Identification of existing investment funds 21 that support Israel-Arab state cooperation and rec- 22 ommendations for how such funds could be used to 23 support normalization and increase prosperity for all 24 relevant stakeholders. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:14 Jun 25, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1061.RS S1061 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •S 1061 RS (3) A proposal for how the United States Gov- 1 ernment and others can utilize the scholars and Ara- 2 bic language resources of the United States Holo- 3 caust Museum to counter Holocaust denial and anti- 4 Semitism. 5 (4) An assessment for creating an Abrahamic 6 Center for Pluralism to prepare educational mate- 7 rials, convene international seminars, promote toler- 8 ance and pluralism, and bring together scholars as 9 a means of advancing religious tolerance and coun- 10 tering political and religious extremism. 11 (5) An assessment of the value to Israel and its 12 neighbors of participating in a regional conference 13 on climate solutions, water, health, and sustainable 14 development. 15 (6) An assessment of the feasibility and value 16 of increasing the capacity of existing Department of 17 State and United States Agency for International 18 Development-funded programs for developing people- 19 to-people exchange programs for young people be- 20 tween Israel, Arab states, and other relevant coun- 21 tries and regions. 22 (7) Recommendations to improve Department 23 of State cooperation and coordination, particularly 24 between the Special Envoy to Monitor Anti-Semitism 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:14 Jun 25, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1061.RS S1061 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •S 1061 RS and the Ambassador at Large for International Reli- 1 gious Freedom, and the Office of International Reli- 2 gious Freedom, to combat racism, xenophobia, 3 Islamophobia, and anti-Semitism, which hinder im- 4 provement of relations between Israel, Arab states, 5 and other relevant countries and regions. 6 (8) An assessment of the value and feasibility 7 of Federal support for interparliamentary exchange 8 programs for Members of Congress, Knesset, and 9 parliamentarians from Arab and other relevant 10 countries and regions, including through existing 11 Federal programs that support such exchanges. 12 SEC. 7. BREAKING DOWN BARRIERS TO NORMALIZATION 13 WITH ISRAEL. 14 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This section may be cited as the 15 ‘‘Strengthening Reporting of Actions Taken Against the 16 Normalization of Relations with Israel Act of 2021’’. 17 (b) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find- 18 ings: 19 (1) The Arab League, an organization com- 20 prising 22 Middle Eastern and African countries 21 and entities, has maintained an official boycott of 22 Israeli companies and Israeli-made goods since the 23 founding of Israel in 1948. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:14 Jun 25, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1061.RS S1061 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •S 1061 RS (2) Longstanding United States policy has en- 1 couraged Arab League states to normalize their rela- 2 tions with Israel and has long prioritized funding co- 3 operative programs that promote normalization be- 4 tween Arab League States and Israel, including the 5 Middle East Regional Cooperation program, which 6 promotes Arab-Israeli scientific cooperation. 7 (3) While some Arab League governments are 8 signaling enhanced cooperation with the state of 9 Israel on the government-to-government level, most 10 continue to persecute their own citizens who estab- 11 lish people-to-people relations with Israelis in non- 12 governmental fora, through a combination of judicial 13 and extrajudicial retribution. 14 (4) Some Arab League states maintain draco- 15 nian anti-normalization laws that punish their citi- 16 zens for people-to-people relations with Israelis, with 17 punishments including imprisonment, revocation of 18 citizenship, and execution. Extrajudicial punish- 19 ments by these and other Arab states include sum- 20 mary imprisonment, accusations of ‘‘treason’’ in gov- 21 ernment-controlled media, and professional black- 22 listing. 23 (5) Anti-normalization laws, together with the 24 other forms of retribution, effectively condemn these 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:14 Jun 25, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILL [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]