10 | OCTOBER 7 • 2021

PURELY COMMENTARY

I

n a logical world, the
United Nations — and
especially the United
States — would be loudly
celebrating the first
anniversary of the Abraham
Accords.
This
momentous
agreement
marked the
first peace
deals between
Israel and any
Arab nation
in 26 years. The Accords
between the Jewish state and
the United Arab Emirates
and Bahrain — followed by
normalization agreements
with Morocco, Sudan and
then Kosovo — have spurred
massive increases in trade,
diplomacy and tourism.
After 73 years of Arab war
and calumny against Israel,
we see the promise of an end
to hostilities. A warm peace.
You’d think such a miracle
might deserve a Nobel Peace
Prize.
Indeed, the new Middle
East peace has opened up
phenomenal economic
opportunities. Comparing
the full year of 2020 with the
first seven months of 2021,
trade between Israel and Arab
countries grew by 234%.
UAE-Israel trade
skyrocketed from $50.8
million to $613.9 million —
an increase of 1,208%. Trade

with Jordan jumped from
$136.2 million to $224.2 —
40%. Egypt’s trade shot up
from $92 million to $122.4
million — almost 25%.
Morocco’s trade with Israel
increased by 28 percent.
UAE economy minister
Abdulla Bin Touq projects
growth of economic ties to
Israel to reach $1 trillion
over the next decade. In the
last year, more than 200,000
Israelis visited the UAE —
most flying direct to Dubai,
where kosher food is readily
available.
So why is the Biden
administration now
virtually ignoring this
earthshaking breakthrough
and its potential to realign
Middle East geopolitics —
particularly the formation
of a bloc opposing nuclear-
bound Iran?
The resistance seems to
stem from Team Biden’s
overriding determination
to a) fashion a new Iran
disarmament deal and b)
restore support to Palestinian
statehood. The additional fact
that the Abraham Accords
were initiated by the Trump
administration, of course,
doesn’t help their digestive
tracts.

DEALING WITH IRAN
As for Iran, Biden’s State
Department seems at pains
— as was President Obama

— not to exert too much
pressure on Iran or ruffle its
feathers.
But in the hands of the
right negotiators, a growing
front of Middle East — and
Muslim — countries opposed
to U.S. arch-enemy Iran
should be good news. It only
strengthens the American
hand in attempting to bring
the Islamic Republic to heel.
Given this momentum to
ally with Israel — the Middle
East’s strongest military
power — Saudi Arabia
may soon join the alliance,
especially with a bit of U.S.
prodding. Surely, if Iran
acquires nuclear weapons,
Saudi Arabia will want them,
too. In short, the Abraham
Accords provide every reason
for Iran to negotiate peace
sooner rather than later.
Likewise, the Biden
administration apparently
wants to make nice with
the Palestinians — who
have roundly condemned
the Abraham Accords.
Palestinian president-for-
life Mahmoud Abbas called
them “a stab in the back.” No
wonder, since this agreement
killed the Palestinians’
ability to hold an Arab peace
hostage to their maximalist
demands.
Indeed, the U.S. argument
for the obstinate Palestinians
to give up their sacred
ambitions of expunging Israel

from the region should only
be fortified by fellow Arabs
abandoning that mission
after seven long decades.
That war is over.
Unfortunately, despite the
harmony of these foreign
policy leverage points
with Biden administration
priorities, neither seems to
resonate.
Instead, the United States
is trying to woo Iran with
offers to cancel crippling
sanctions.
It’s trying to regain
credibility with the
Palestinians by restoring
funding halted by the
previous administration
because Palestinian
leadership uses the money to
incentivize terrorists with its
“Pay-for-Slay” program.
In fairness, Secretary of
State Antony Blinken held
a Zoom reception for the
parties to the Accords at the
State Department earlier
this month to mark the
anniversary of the diplomatic
breakthrough. While Blinken
mouthed commitments to
“foster” ties and “deepen”
relationships among Middle
East nations, in truth,
the administration has
announced no specific plans
to seize the opportunities.

THE NAYSAYERS
Perhaps the biggest surprise
among those rejecting the

James
Sinkinson
JNS.org

opinion

Happy Anniversary,
Abraham Accords! Time for
the U.S. to Rejoin the Party.