Mike Pompeo awarded for combating anti-Semitism, predicts expanded Abraham Accords

• Published date: 01 March 2021
• Date: 01 March 2021
• Author: Arutz Sheva Staff
• Publication title: Israel National News (Israel)

The event, which was attended by thousands of people from tens of countries, marked two years since the establishment of CAM. Grassroots activists and distinguished international speakers from across the world discussed achievements during the past year, best practices and the challenges that lie ahead.

Pompeo said that the Abraham Accords between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco represented a paradigm shift in Middle East policy. He commented, "For decades and decades there was a central understanding. If you cannot resolve once and for all and in its totality, the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, you can't advance peace, you can't advance stability... that was just all wrong."

He revealed that "There was resistance in the US policy community" towards developing the Abraham Accords and "The Russians would have preferred this didn't happen, there were quarters in Europe that would have preferred that this did not happen... they wanted to maintain the fiction that this conflict between Israel and the Palestinians was the end all and be all of the Middle East and Middle East stability."

Pompeo said that the Abraham Accords are an "historic understanding that will change the face of the globe for decades and decades to come." Asked whether additional countries will join the process, he said "I don't think there will be just one, I think there will be many more. I hope that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia can find its way to join the Abraham Accords, I know that many inside that country want that to take place. But there are other nations too that can join… Muslim nations, not just in the Middle East but places like Indonesia as well."

Reflecting on the process, Pompeo said "The Abraham Accords would not have happened, it was not possible for it to happen, without the United States changing its policy with respect to Iran 180 degrees from how the previous administration had addressed that issue," which he said had "frankly created an inevitable pathway for a nuclear weapon for the Iranians. We came in and just flipped the script."

He said that sanctions on Iran had "worked tremendously," explaining they had denied Tehran "resources to underwrite Hezbollah, to underwrite Shia militias in Iraq, to underwrite their activities in Syria", which "reduced the risk of terror throughout the region." Pompeo explained that Iranian General Qasem Soleimani "had been responsible for so much harm throughout the region" and that when Arab...