Not big fans of peace: Some New York legislators haven’t signed onto a bill to build on the terrific Israel-Arab Abraham Accords

Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News
·2 min read
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The Israel Relations Normalization Act before Congress, encouraging Arab states to make peace with the Jewish state under the Trump-inspired and Biden-endorsed Abraham Accords, has growing support with 333 House sponsors and 73 senators, with the party divide in both chambers right down the middle. Among New York’s 27 members of Congress, there only are three not currently on the bill.

One of them is Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who it seems really has a hard time saying anything nice about Israel, opposing even peace treaties with formerly hostile states. She twisted herself into a pretzel when she was among a tiny handful not voting to fund Israel’s lifesaving Iron Dome anti-missile defense system in September.

Another member not on the bill is Long Island Republican Lee Zeldin, who may be too busy running for governor to focus on his day job in Washington. Zeldin, one of only two GOP Jews in Congress, loves the Abraham Accords and even nominated Jared Kushner for the Nobel Peace Prize. We checked the list over and over, but Zeldin ain’t there and it’s easy to spot his name, as he is the only Z in either house of Congress. We trust this will remind him to get in his sponsorship papers, assuming he’s still a congressman.

The third missing New Yorker is Jamaal Bowman, the Bronx/Westchester freshman who last time beat Eliot Engel, one of the most pro-Israel members and Foreign Affairs Committee chair. Bowman was a sponsor, signing on Sept. 23, months after the April introduction by three Republicans and three Democrats, including Greg Meeks, who now chairs Foreign Affairs and is also the Queens Democratic Party leader. But on Wednesday, Bowman yanked his name, joining Sen. Ted Cruz as the only lawmaker to back away from the bill.

Cruz quit the bill last summer, saying he didn’t like that the legislation supports a two-state solution. Bowman claims that the Abraham Accords, and various side deals “will only escalate violence in the Middle East and make already vulnerable communities less safe.” That’s simply ridiculous.