Iraqis head to the polls Nov. 11 to elect 329 parliament members for a four-year term, marking the seventh free election since Saddam Hussein’s 2003 fall. Candidates are treading carefully, pledging neutrality in the geopolitical tug-of-war between the United States and Iran while using accusations of “normalization with Israel” as a weapon to discredit rivals.

The specter of Israel looms large in Iraq’s electoral rhetoric, despite the country’s lack of formal ties with the state.

“There are Shiite and Sunni leaders who have given assurances for free normalization with Israel,” said lawmaker Ibrahim al-Sumaidaie, a member of Prime Minister Mohammed al-Sudani’s Reconstruction and Development bloc. “There are political figures who have started to flirt and provide assurances to Washington under the table.”

Al-Sumaidaie, who’s running for another term, predicted “the next cabinet will face pressure to join the Abraham Accords” to normalize relations with Israel but bragged only Sudani can stop the advent of Iraqi peace with Israel. His comments reflect the issue’s sensitivity, as any perceived openness to the Jewish state risks political suicide in a country where anti-Israel sentiment runs deep.

The “assurances” accusation is particularly damaging due to a 2022 law criminalizing any form of backing for Israel. This law, which led to a man’s life sentence for a pro-Israel Facebook post, has made “normalization” a radioactive term in Iraqi politics.

Former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, a Sudani-allied secular Shia with ties to Saudi Arabia, has faced such accusations but firmly rejected them. “Allawi has not and will not call for normalization with the Zionist entity,”........

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