The Iraqi parliament passed a law on Thursday stipulating draconian penalties for any connection to Israel and its citizens. Iraqi citizens, as well as foreigners working in Iraq, are prohibited from maintaining any business, private, or even familial ties to Israel. Failure to do so could result in the death penalty or life imprisonment.
Shiite majority after parliamentary elections
According to reports from the state-run Iraqi news agency INA, all members of parliament voted in favor of the bill, which had been introduced by the Shiite majority. The mastermind behind the law, which targets the normalization agreements between Arab states and Israel, is the cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and his Shiite bloc in parliament. Al-Sadr called on his supporters to hold public celebrations after the bill's passage. His followers cheered in the streets of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad.
Before the parliamentary elections last October, al-Sadr claimed he wanted to rid Iraq of foreign influence. His movement won the most votes in the election. Iraq belongs only to Iraqis, he said. In the past, al-Sadr and his militia had primarily used force against US troops stationed in Iraq. But the Shiite politician also criticized the growing Iranian influence.
Al-Sadr's connections to Iran
It is al-Sadr himself who has significantly increased Iranian power in Iraq and maintains excellent relations with the Shiite hegemonic power. As early as 2003, he was personally received in Tehran by Iran's supreme cleric, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Al-Sadr spent several years in exile in Iran, where he attempted to ascend to the rank of Ayatollah through academic study. His return to Iraq in 2011 strengthened Iranian influence in the country.
Nevertheless, other factions within the Shiite bloc of the Iraqi parliament have accused al-Sadr of forming coalitions with Sunnis and Kurds who may have secret ties to Israel. The proposed law is a response to these claims, according to the Israeli newspaper "Jerusalem Post.".
The attempt to unite the Shiite bloc against all reformist voices and pro-Israel aspirations appears to have succeeded. "The passage of the law is not only a victory for the Iraqi people, but also for the heroes in Palestine and Hezbollah in Lebanon," rejoiced Hassan Salim, another Shiite politician whose group is supported by Iran.
USA: A setback
A spokesperson for the US State Department expressed concern about the recent developments in Iraq. The law promotes antisemitism and stands in stark contrast to the progress made by Iraq's neighbors in building bridges and normalizing relations with Israel. The US shares Israel's security concerns and has itself been the target of anti-Israeli attacks by Iran on Iraqi soil. Top Iranian terrorist Qassem Soleimani, whom the US killed with a drone strike in January 2020, also operated partly from Iraq.
Impoverished Iraq experienced its last period of prosperity before World War II, when well over 100,000 Jews still lived there. Due to pogroms before and after the founding of the State of Israel, almost all of them left the country. Today, only a handful of Jews remain in Iraq. Under the new legislation, they too must sever all ties with their families in Israel under threat of the death penalty. The parliament's decision likely marks the end of the millennia-old history of Jewish life in Iraq.
