Earlier this month, a group of self-styled progressive organizations—including the Center for American-Islamic Relations (CAIR, a group with significant ties to Hamas), the Jewish group If Not Now, and the U.S. Presbyterian Church—petitioned Congress not to support the normalization agreements that Israel has signed with four Arab countries, as well as further peacemaking efforts in this vein. While this view might be extreme, it’s worth noting that, in a bizarre exchange in the early days of the Biden administration, a State Department official appeared reluctant even to use the term “Abraham Accords” to describe these agreements. David M. Weinberg comments on this hostility to good relations between former adversaries:
[Contrary to the claims] of the American “progressive” groups mentioned above, the Abraham Accords are not a Trump-tainted gimmick or a Netanyahu-stained end-run around the Palestinians. Rather, they are an authentic breakthrough for both peace and security in the Middle East; a transformation that evinces staying power and deepens by the day.
To assert that only Trumpian razzle-dazzle and arms deals were the basis for the Abraham Accords, as do [these] partisan grouches, is a complete misread of Emirati, Bahraini, and Moroccan purposes in pursuit of peace with Israel. The leaders of the countries want to redefine the self-understanding and global image of Arab Muslims by blending tradition with enlightenment, anchored in an admirable discourse of religious moderation and broadmindedness.
Affiliating with Israel fits perfectly into this agenda because this is exactly how they view Israel too—as a nation that successfully synthesizes strong ethnic and religious identity with modernity. Therefore, the Abraham Accords are deeply rooted in genuine ideological intentions, as well as urgent security realties, and are locked-in for the long term.
Read more on David M. Weinberg: https://davidmweinberg.com/2022/02/18/who-is-afraid-of-the-abraham-accords/