President Joe Biden should, but very likely won’t, announce a number of key policy shifts during his visit to Israel this week.
For one, the president should declare a suspension to nuclear negotiations with Iran. Appeasement never works, and certainly not when dealing with the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism. Reportedly, Rob Malley, the top U.S. negotiator, has offered Iran so many concessions that it even caused his deputy, Richard Nephew, to leave his team (he has since returned to the State Department in a different role). To coerce Iran into making serious concessions, Biden should declare that the United States will return to the Trump administration’s maximum pressure strategy.
Next, Biden should say that Washington will no longer continue funding the Palestinian Authority and other Palestinian interests. Since Biden took office, the U.S. has given $492 million to the Palestinians even though Palestinian leaders have repeatedly demonstrated that they are unserious about making peace with Israel and stopping payments for terrorists and their families. The United Nations agency tasked with the Palestinian refugee issue, UNRWA, continues to teach children to hate the Jewish state.
Biden should also make known that the U.S. will no longer press Israel to reopen the U.S. Consulate to the Palestinian Authority, based in Jerusalem. The consulate is a bad idea for Israel for numerous reasons. Biden should also reverse his plans for a new Office of Palestinian Affairs that, according to the Washington Free Beacon, “will be established in Jerusalem and act independently of the U.S. ambassador to Israel’s office there.”
On a more positive track, the president should push for more countries to join the Abraham Accords, which so far include the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan. These accords reflect a new Middle East and North Africa. The elephant in the normalization room is Saudi Arabia, to where Biden will travel directly from Israel. It’s a significant sign that Riyadh is interested in creating stronger ties with Israel. The accords are a result of shared alignment on two key interests. First, the need for allies to stand against a common threat — Iran. Second, actions in favor of economic and social modernity.
Biden should also meet with the parents of Malki Roth, an American who was killed in a 2001 bombing in Jerusalem by FBI-most-wanted terrorist Ahlam Tamimi. Roth’s parents have called for a meeting with the president. They deserve to get justice.
Finally, Biden should say that he will push for Congress to pass legislation prohibiting federal contractors from participating in the movement to boycott, divest from, and sanction Israel. Such legislation passed the then-GOP-controlled Senate in 2019 but died in the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives. The constitutionality of these laws is an open question, but the moral import of taking a stand against overt anti-Israel hatred is clear. Companies should not be able to both join this antisemitic movement and work with the government.
At the end of the day, these recommendations would demonstrate American strength and leadership. But for that same reason, don’t hold your breath that Biden will do any of these things.
Jackson Richman is a journalist in Washington, D.C. Follow him @jacksonrichman.
