07/14/2015
Jewish Federations' Statement on Iran
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In response to the Iran nuclear deal, the Jewish Federations of North America released the following statement:
Jewish Federations can be found in nearly every city in North America, and our leaders are among the most committed philanthropists in their communities. In just three generations, Jewish Federations across North America forged one of the top 10 philanthropic networks on the continent, helped rescue millions of Jewish refugees from across the globe, helped to build the State of Israel and continue to touch more Jewish lives than any system in the world.
That is why we feel it is so important to speak out on today’s agreement with Iran.
We are hopeful that diplomatic efforts will prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, and we appreciate the hard work President Obama, Secretary of State Kerry and Under Secretary of State Sherman have put into crafting this agreement.
At the same time, we are concerned. Iran’s support for Hezbollah and Hamas, its human rights violations and its aggressive threats toward neighboring countries—including Israel—make the specter of a nuclear-armed Iran untenable.
President Obama and his administration have repeatedly said that any deal with Iran must shut down Iran's uranium enrichment pathway to a weapon, cut off all four of Iran's potential pathways to a bomb, and track Iran's nuclear activities with unprecedented transparency and robust inspections throughout its nuclear supply chain. We agree.
We urge Congress to give this accord its utmost scrutiny.
