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Iraqi Parliament Speaker Has Gone Out of His Way to Shun Israel

(Times of Israel) Michael Nahum - Mohamed al-Halbousi, the Speaker of Iraq's parliament, presents an appealing persona to outside powers, a man with whom the West feels it can do business. Back home in Iraq, his ascent to the speakership was due largely to an alliance with Moqtada al-Sadr, the former chief of Iran's largest militia in Iraq. Halbousi's enthusiastic support for key elements of the Sadrist agenda include the recent "Law Criminalizing Normalization with the Zionist Entity." It prescribes the death penalty or life imprisonment for Iraqis who attempt to forge any contact at all with Israelis. Halbousi played a decisive role in whipping Sunni and tribal votes to ensure its swift passage. On August 31, 2021, Halbousi asserted, "There will never be normalization with that usurping entity. Never! Whether I'm in or out of power. Iraqis will never extend their hands to the Israelis. Never!" However, survey data indicates that close to 50% of the Iraqi public want relations with Israel and its people. More than 750,000 Iraqis follow Israel's official Arabic platforms on Facebook and Twitter. Thus, Halbousi has gone far out of his way to promote the anti-normalization agenda even where there is no domestic political imperative to do so. The writer is Chief Operating Officer of the Center for Peace Communications.
2022-06-16 00:00:00
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