By Luis Arellano
A year after it was first signed the Abraham Accords remain under siege. A renewed effort must be made to ensure the historic agreement that brought together Israel with her Arab neighbors must be preserved against a number of emerging threats.
While the Biden administration in this regard has continued to the policy of the Trump administration to support and develop these relationships the real struggle is being waged at a much lower level. The countries of the European Union which were neither party to the accords or participated in the negotiations in the development should at least have some interest in supporting the deals success. A more stable Middle East is in the interest of everyone, including the Biden administration who wishes to proceed with the Iran nuclear deal.
The deal is far from secure. Examples abound of countries reversing policy on Israel from Lebanon to Mauritania. The Accords have been a rallying cry for Islamists and in particular those that attack the accords and call for violence against governments which support it are sadly growing. The case of Mohamed Hajib, a Moroccan Islamist living in, is atypical of this trend.
From the safety of Germany continues to use a variety of anti-Semitic tropes in his attack on the Abraham Accords but, has gone one step further – calling for armed overthrow of the government of Morocco. Criticism of the accord are perfectly within the realm of free speech but, the advocacy of violence in over-turning them is in violation of even the most basic counter-terrorism standards.
Luckily the case is beginning to attract attention, Sean Reyes the Attorney General of the Utah has spoken out against his gate filled speech and the potential damage. As has Adam Boehler a former American government official. I add my own voice to this chorus and hope others in Europe will as well. That Germany continues to harbor a dangerous Islamist whose continued ability to use the internet to spread his hateful message to call for the establishment of an Islamist run state in Morocco is disconcerting. The United States should pressure its European allies to work closely on ensuring that such hateful voices do not find safe harbor on the internet or elsewhere.