Republicans Try to Use BDS Issue to Paint Democrats as Somehow Less Pro-Israel

Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, June/July 2019, pp. 28-30

Congress Watch

By Shirl McArthur

AS REPORTED IN THE MARCH/APRIL ISSUE of the Washington Report, the first Senate measure introduced in the 116th Congress was S.1, titled “Strengthening America’s Security in the Middle East,” introduced by Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) on Jan. 3. The legislation re-introduces four bills strongly promoted by AIPAC that did not make it into law in the 115th Congress. It would authorize aid and weapons transfers to Israel; extend defense cooperation with Jordan; impose additional sanctions related to the conflict in Syria; and allow state or local governments to divest assets from entities applying boycotts, divestments, or sanctions (BDS) against Israel.

During the partial government shutdown brought about by President Donald Trump’s insistence on funding for his wall along the Mexican border, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) declared that he would only bring measures to a vote that Trump said he will sign. Senate Democrats responded that they would not support any bill, including S. 1, until McConnell relents and the government is reopened.

Over the next two weeks, in an effort to paint Senate Democrats as somehow less pro-Israel because of their concern about the anti-BDS provision, McConnell called for three cloture votes on the bill, and all three failed to get the necessary two-thirds majority. On Jan. 28 a fourth cloture motion passed by a vote of 74-19, (“no” votes were all Democrats plus Sen. Bernie Sanders [I-VT]). On Feb. 5 the full Senate passed the bill by a vote of 77-23. When passed it had 13 cosponsors, including Rubio. It was sent to the House Feb. 6, which has yet to act on it.

Upon passage of the bill, the ACLU, referring to the BDS section, issued a statement saying, in part, “Today the Senate chose politics over the Constitution and trampled on the First Amendment rights of all Americans.” But, while the First Amendment objection to the bill is getting the most attention, it is also objectionable because it applies not just to Israel, but also to “Israeli-controlled territories.”

The House’s companion bill, H.R. 336, was introduced Jan. 8 by Foreign Affairs Committee Ranking Republican Michael McCaul (R-TX). It was referred to five different House committees, and has not been reported out by any of them. It has 54 cosponsors, including McCaul.

Perhaps in an effort to avoid the charge of being somehow less pro-Israel, Democrats introduced identical, non-binding resolutions in the Senate and House “opposing efforts to delegitimize the State of Israel and the Global Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement Targeting Israel.” H. Res. 246 was introduced March 21 by Rep. Bradley Schneider (D-IL), and S. Res. 120 was introduced March 25 by Sen. Benjamin Cardin (D-MD). Strongly pushed by AIPAC, H. Res. 246 now has 277 cosponsors, including Schneider, and S. Res. 120 has 55 cosponsors, including Cardin. These measures seem to be modest improvements in that they do not specifically equate the occupied territories with Israel and they give lip service to a two-state solution, but they still are objectionable on First Amendment grounds.

SEVERAL OTHER PRO-ISRAEL MEASURES GET SUPPORT

Surrounding AIPAC’s March 24-26 annual meeting, many other pro-Israel bills were introduced. The most significant is H.R. 1837, the “U.S.-Israel Cooperation Enhancement and Regional Security” bill, introduced March 21 by Rep. Ted Deutch (D-FL). The bill is an updated version of last year’s H.R. 5141, described in this column as a “wish list of goodies for Israel.” Among other things, H.R. 1837 would authorize several new “cooperative” programs, extend the authorization for several security assistance programs, including the $3.8 billion per year called for in the 2016 Memorandum of Understanding, and loan guarantees.

The revised bill includes a new section intended to “fix” the unintended consequence of the “Anti-Terrorism Clarification Act” (ATCA) passed last year. While the purpose of the ATCA was clearly to cut off aid to the Palestinian Authority (PA) or PLO, its wording could also apply to any country accepting any amount of the described aid, effectively sacrificing the use of aid as a foreign policy tool. The new section, called “Justice for U.S. Victims of Palestinian Terrorism,” fixes the problem by simply eliminating that provision. Under pressure from AIPAC, the bill has 173 cosponsors, including Deutch.

No fewer than five other bills were introduced promoting U.S.-Israel cooperation in various areas. H.R. 1459, the “U.S.-Israel Cooperation Expansion” bill, was introduced Feb. 28 by Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC) with two cosponsors; H.R. 1795, the “U.S.-Israel Directed Energy Cooperation” bill, was introduced March 14 by Reps. Ted Lieu (D-CA) and Elise Stefanik (R-NY); H.R. 1820, the “U.S.-Israel International Development Cooperation” bill, was introduced March 18 by Reps. Lois Frankel (D-FL) and Randy Weber (R-TX); H. Res. 324, “Recognizing the Importance of the “U.S.-Israel Economic Relationship,” was introduced April 18 by Reps. Lieu and Rick Allen (R-GA); and H. Res. 2488, the U.S.-Israel Cybersecurity Center of Excellence” bill, was introduced May 2 by Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI) and four cosponsors.

Identical bills were introduced Feb. 26 in the Senate and House, “Clarifying that it is U.S. policy to recognize Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights.” S. 567 was introduced by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and 23 all-Republican cosponsors, and H.R. 1372 was introduced by Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) and 55 all-Republican cosponsors.

H.R. 1850, introduced March 21 by Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL), with 17 cosponsors, would impose “sanctions with respect to foreign persons and agencies and instrumentalities of foreign states supporting Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, or any affiliate or successor thereof.”

PRO-PALESTINIAN MEASURES INTRODUCED

A couple of pro-Palestinian measures were introduced. On April 11 Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and five cosponsors introduced S.Res. 171 “expressing the sense of Congress regarding restoring U.S. bilateral assistance to the West Bank and Gaza.” It says that the executive branch should expend before the end of FY 2019 all bilateral assistance that Congress appropriated. On April 30 Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN) introduced H.R. 2407, similar to her H.R. 4391 in the 115th Congress, that would “require that U.S. funds do not support military detention, interrogation, abuse, or ill-treatment of Palestinian children” living under Israeli military occupation.

Two resolutions were introduced regarding the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. The first, H. Res. 138, was introduced Feb. 19 by Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-FL). “Expressing support for addressing the Arab-Israeli conflict in a concurrent track with the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and commending Arab and Muslim-majority states that have improved bilateral relations with Israel,” it gives passing reference to the importance of a two-state solution, but the rest of the measure seems designed to support Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s “regional” approach. It has 24 cosponsors, including Hastings.

The second resolution strongly supports a two-state solution. H. Res. 326, “Expressing the sense of the House regarding U.S. efforts to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through a negotiated two-state solution,” was introduced April 25 by Rep. Alan Lowenthal (D-CA). It says that any U.S. proposals that fail to expressly endorse a two-state solution will likely put a peaceful end to the conflict further out of reach. It has 106 cosponsors, including Lowenthal, all Democrats.

CONGRESSIONAL REACTION TO THE KHASHOGGI ASSASSINATION CONTINUES

Congressional reaction to the murder of Saudi journalist and Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2 has taken several forms. Apart from the barrage of congressional statements and letters expressing outrage, reactions range from measures dealing specifically with Saudi actions regarding Khashoggi to measures aimed at Saudi actions in Yemen and the Saudi nuclear program.

Previous reporting described the Oct. 10 letter to Trump signed by then-chairman and ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations committee Sens. Bob Corker (R-TN) and Bob Menendez (D-NJ), which triggered an investigation under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act. The act requires the president, upon receipt of a request from the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, to determine whether a foreign person is responsible for an extrajudicial killing, torture, or other gross violations of internationally recognized human rights against an individual exercising freedom of expression, and report to the committee within 120 days with a determination and a decision on the imposition of sanctions on that person or persons.

On Feb. 7 a senior Trump administration official said the administration would not meet the deadline, citing constitutional separation of powers. This action was expected, prompting Menendez and six cosponsors to introduce on Feb. 7 S. 398 “to support the peaceful resolution of the civil war in Yemen, to address the resulting humanitarian crisis, and to hold the perpetrators responsible for murdering a Saudi dissident.” It would impose sanctions on persons responsible for the death of Khashoggi.

Also, on Feb. 25 Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) and four cosponsors introduced S. 544 to require the director of national intelligence to submit a report on the death of Khashoggi. On April 2 Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-NJ) and 10 cosponsors introduced H.R. 2037, “to encourage accountability” for Khashoggi’s murder.

At least five measures were introduced requiring congressional approval of any nuclear agreement with Saudi Arabia. On Feb. 12 Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and two cosponsors introduced S.Con.Res. 2; on Feb. 28 Sens. Edward Markey (D-MA) and Rubio introduced S. 612; on Feb. 28 Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA) and 11 cosponsors introduced H.R. 1471; also on Feb. 28 Rep. Andy Levin (D-MI) and four cosponsors introduced H.Con.Res. 23, and on March 5 Reps. Schneider and Meadows introduced H.R. 1541.

SENATE FAILS TO OVERRIDE TRUMP’S VETO OF YEMEN MEASURE

On April 16 Trump vetoed S.J. Res. 7, “A joint resolution to direct the removal of U.S. Armed Forces from hostilities in the Republic of Yemen that have not been authorized by Congress.” The Senate then, on May 2, tried to override Trump’s veto, but failed to get the necessary two-thirds majority in the 53-45 vote. The resolution, introduced by Sanders on Jan. 30, was passed by the full Senate on March 13 by a vote of 54-46 and by the House on April 4 by a vote of 247-175. It had 20 Senate cosponsors, including Sanders.

A nearly identical measure, H.J.Res. 37, was introduced Jan. 30 in the House by Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA). It was passed by the full House Feb. 13 by a vote of 248-177, with 97 cosponsors, including Khanna, but the Senate chose to go with the Sanders measure instead. Other measures to limit or prohibit U.S. participation in the Saudi actions in Yemen were H.R. 910, the “Yemen Refueling Prohibition” bill, introduced Jan. 30 by Lieu and two cosponsors, and H.J.Res. 56, introduced April 10 by Rep. Justin Amash (R-MI), which is similar to the Khanna measure.

AS USUAL, MORE ANTI-IRAN MEASURES INTRODUCED

At least four new measures were introduced that would impose sanctions on Iran or Iranian organizations. On Feb. 28 Rep. David Kustoff (R-TN) and three cosponsors introduced H.R. 1441 to “Stop Corrupt Iranian Oligarchs and Entities”; on March 28 Sen. Cornyn and five cosponsors introduced S. 925, the “Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Economic Exclusion” bill; on April 8 Reps. McCaul and Robert Aderholt (R-AL) introduced H.R. 2118, the “Iran Ballistic Missiles and International Sanctions Enforcement” bill; and on May 8 Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) with 12 cosponsors introduced S. Res. 195 opposing the lifting of sanctions on Iran without addressing other Iranian actions deemed objectionable. On April 10, Rep. Raul Ruiz (D-CA) introduced H.R. 2280, the “Stop Iran from Smuggling Weapons to Terrorists” bill.

Positively, however, at least four measures were introduced aimed at preventing a war with Iran without congressional approval. S. 1039 was introduced April 4 by Sen. Tom Udall (D-NM) and 19 cosponsors; H.R. 2354, introduced April 25 by Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA), now has 46 cosponsors, including Eshoo; H.J.Res. 58 was introduced May 15 by Reps. Seth Moulton (D-MA) and Gil Cisneros (D-CA), and H.R. 2829 was introduced May 17 by Reps. Levin and Tom Massie (R-KY).

Shirl McArthur is a retired foreign service officer. He lives in the Washington, DC metropolitan area.