On Monday, a bipartisan, bicameral group of American Congress members formed the Abraham Accords Congressional Caucus. The Caucus' goal is to strengthen and expand the Abraham Accords' peace agreements between Israel and its neighboring countries and increase the legislative branch's involvement in the Accords.
According to Congressman Brad Schneider's website, Representatives Schneider (D-IL), Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), David Trone (D-MD), and Ann Wagner (R-Mo) will co-chair the Caucus in the House, while Senators Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Joni Ernest (R-IA) and James Lankford (R-OK) will co-chair the Caucus in the Senate.
The lawmakers asserted in a press release that the goal of the Caucus is to "provide an opportunity to strengthen the Abraham Accords by encouraging and partnerships among the existing Abraham Accords countries and expanding the agreement to include countries that do not currently have diplomatic relations with Israel."
In a document on his website, Senator Rosen laid out a list of ways the Senate Caucus plans to build upon the "success of the Abraham Accords."
He writes that the group will:
- "Encourage and seek to incentivize expansion of the Abraham Accords to include countries that do not currently have diplomatic relations with Israel;
- Highlight the importance of the Abraham Accords to achieving lasting peace in the Middle East between Israel and its neighbors, including through a negotiated solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that ensures mutual recognition and guarantees that Israelis and Palestinians live side by side with freedom, security, and prosperity;
- Engage partner countries, including European allies, in multilateral efforts to promote the Abraham Accords;
- Foster religious freedom and tolerance throughout the Middle East through interfaith and intercultural dialogue between Israel and Abraham Accords countries;
- Support and work to enable U.S. Government investments, including through the International Development Finance Corporation and United States Agency for International Development, in cooperative projects in furtherance of the Abraham Accords; and
- Serve as a forum for conversations and connections among leaders in Abraham Accords countries as well as Egypt, Jordan, and among the Palestinian people seeking to advance cooperative and sustainable development partnerships in the areas of energy security, water infrastructure, biomedicine, cybersecurity, and emerging technologies, with the intent of furthering economic development and cooperation in the region."
According to The Times of Israel, the Abraham Accords were signed on September 15, 2020, with the help of the United States. The agreement, brokered during the Trump Administration and largely hailed as one of the greatest accomplishments of Donald Trumps' presidency, works to ensure peace and normalized relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco.
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Kayla Koslosky has been the Editor of ChristianHeadlines.com since 2018. She has B.A. degrees in English and History and previously wrote for and was the managing editor of the Yellow Jacket newspaper. She has also contributed to IBelieve.com and Crosswalk.com.