On Thursday 26 of May, the Iraqi Parliament passed a law, titled “Criminalizing Normalization and Establishment of Relations with the Zionist Entity”, 275 lawmakers voted in favor of it in Iraq’s 329-seat assembly. The legislation says that violation of the law is punishable with the death sentence or life imprisonment.
The Iraqi parliament released a statement saying the legislation is “a true reflection of the will of the people”. Shortly after, the influential Shia cleric Muqtada Al-Sadr posted a tweet praising the new law as a “great achievement” and called on his followers to come out on the streets to celebrate. Hundreds responded to his call and gathered in downtown Baghdad, chanting anti-Israel slogans.
The Iraqi Parliament, since the fall of the regime of Saddam Hussain in 2003, has failed time and time again to form a functional government. Iraq’s economy is extraordinarily corrupt, the country has a poor quality of education and health system. There is a staggering youth unemployment rate that reached as high of 30% in 2021, along with a total governmental failure to combat violence against women and children. Between 2020 and 2021, reported acts of violence against this vulnerable group increased by 125%.
Rather than addressing Iraq’s many challenges, the Iraqi Parliament seems to be more interested in drafting a law that threatens the death penalty or life imprisonment for those who are calling for normalization with Israel.
The legislation will apply to Iraqis and foreign nationals living in Iraq but it can be applied to foreign nationals of Iraqi origin. The new legislation also entails risks to international companies operating in Iraq and foreign nationals of Iraqi origin who may wish to visit Iraq. For instance, Britain’s Education Secretary, Nadhim Zahaw, who was born in Baghdad and a staunch supporter of Israel, might be handed a death penalty notice upon arrival to Baghdad!
Ned Price, the State Department spokesperson, released a statement, it reads that “The United States is deeply disturbed by the Iraqi Parliament’s passage of legislation that criminalizes normalization of relations with Israel. In addition to jeopardizing freedom of expression and promoting an environment of antisemitism, this legislation stands in stark contrast to progress Iraq’s neighbors have made by building bridges and normalizing relations with Israel, creating new opportunities for people throughout the region. The United States will continue to be a strong and unwavering partner in supporting Israel, including as it expands ties with its neighbors in the pursuit of greater peace and prosperity for all”
One of the most key clauses of this law is the criminalization of any political, security, economic, technical, cultural, sports, and scientific cooperation with Israel and Israelis under any circumstances.
According to the bill’s Article 1 - the new law will aim to achieve the following:
1. Criminalizing normalization with the Zionist entity in any form.
2. Preventing the establishment of diplomatic, political, military, economic or cultural relations or any other form of relations with the occupying Zionist entity.
Article 2 deals with the provisions of this law and to whom it applies:
1- Iraqis inside and outside Iraq, including officials, state employees, and those charged with public service, including civilians, military, and foreigners residing outside Iraq.
2- All state institutions and their federal authorities and independent bodies.
3- Regional governments, their parliaments, and their offices.
4- Governors, provincial councils that are not organized in a region, local administrations, and the departments related to them.
5- Iraqi media.
6- Social media.
7- Civil society organizations in Iraq.
8- Private companies, foreign companies and institutions, and foreign investors working in Iraq.
Article 6 – paragraph 2, reads “Private companies and civil society institutions and organizations operating in Iraq shall be expelled if it is proven that they have committed any of the acts mentioned in Article 4 without prejudice to the penal responsibility of individuals working in these institutions, and these institutions shall be prevented from establishing and re-working in Iraq.”
Pleasing the Master, Iran
The anti-Israel bill was proposed by the Sadrist faction, which won the most seats in the country’s October parliamentary elections. On April 23, its leader the Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr announced on a Tweet that his coalition had submitted a proposal calling on the criminalization of relations or interaction with the Zionist regime. Lawmakers from Sadr party came up with this law to curb claims by Iranian-backed rival parties and militias that al-Sadr was making coalitions with Sunni and Kurds who may have secret ties with Israel.
The minute Sadr’s party proposed the bill, it was backed by the pro-Iran Fateh Alliance, its leader Mohammed Al-Hayani reportedly saying “We, as Fateh Alliance, totally refuse the issue of normalizing ties with the Israeli entity. We will certainly vote in favor of the bill in the parliament.” Al-Hayani said there is an urgency to introduce such a law “because currently there are political sides that try to normalize relations with Israel.” He did not name those parties.
Muhammad Al-Halbousi, the speaker of the Iraqi Parliament, was also a big backer of the bill and has recently called on the Arab League to stop using the term “State of Israel” but rather use “the occupying Israeli regime.”
Iran has had a solid grip on Iraq since the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime, and it channels its orders through the use of pro-Iranian militias and politicians in the Iraqi government. This new law can be used to silence opponents, such as Sunni politicians who oppose Iran’s power enlargement in Iraq.
Once the bill is law, it can be used to silence opponents including the average Iraqis who been protesting and demanding a stop to the mismanagement of state funds and calling for a fairer society. It also can be used as a lethal weapon against Sunni politicians who oppose Iran’s power enlargement in Iraq.
This new law will also put a lot of pressure on the autonomous Kurdish region, who long been accused of having warm ties with Israel. Iranian-backed militias and some politicians in Iraq have for years claimed there is an Israeli presence in the Kurdish region. Earlier this year, Iran fired a dozen ballistic missiles toward the Kurdish city of Irbil, claiming it was targeting an Israeli spy base. The residence of Baz Karim, the CEO of the oil company KAR GROUP, was heavily damaged in the attack. KAR has been accused in the past of quietly selling oil to Israel.
This anti-Israel law is a golden opportunity to Iran and its Iraqi-backed militias, such as Kataib Hezbollah, now it has the ‘legal’ impunity to step up its attacks on the Kurdish Region and murder Kurdish and Sunni-Arab Iraqi opponents under the guise of opposing Israel.
The backers of the law claim that their reasons are “to preserve the national, Islamic and humanitarian principles in Iraq, and prevent the great danger that ensues from normalization with the Zionist entity, promoting, communicating, or establishing relations with this entity, in addition to blocking the road for anyone who wants to establish any kind of relations with the Zionist entity. This law is to put a deterrent punishment and preserve the unity among the people and keep their national and Islamic identity.”
It is unclear how this new law will be implemented, but one thing for sure is this anti-Israel and anti-Semitic law is just a reminder of the fragility of the Iraqi state and its incompetence in dealing with state corruption, and political fragmentation, and social injustice. But it is also a move to please its master, Iran, Israel’s most bitter enemy.
