By Gordon Haas, Chair, CRC of Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest

On June 2, more than 125 community members attended a CRC co-sponsored program entitled “The Emerging Nuclear Iran Deal.”  Attendees came from all corners of the Greater MetroWest community – Morris, Essex, Union, and Sussex counties. Although members from the community at large were invited to attend, the audience was primarily Jewish. It is, after all, the Jewish community that seems most engaged and concerned about Iran’s nuclear threat to the United States, Israel, the Gulf region, and our allies.

The Jewish community has taken the lead on calling for ending Iran’s nuclear enrichment program and has strongly advocated for sanctions. In New Jersey we successfully worked to implement both national and statewide sanctions. We will continue to make sure that our voices are heard loud and clear now that the P5 + 1 is on the negotiating table. 

This is clearly a divisive issue with solidly held positions on both sides. Many in the Jewish community have been working on this issue intensely for the past eight years as we have so much at stake in the outcome. Our primary focus has been, and continues to be, the security of Israel and our allies throughout the region, and, therefore, we must not let our engagement in the public sphere be muddied by partisan politics or inflammatory media coverage. It is imperative that we continue to exercise our democratic right to advocate for what we believe in throughout this process, until the final document is signed.  

Therefore, I would like to encourage you to reach out to your friends, colleagues, and neighbors and to share with them your concerns about a nuclearized Iran. Help them to understand that this is not just a concern for the Jewish community but that it can and will affect the safety and security of everyone, everywhere. 

If Iran gets the bomb, now or ten years from now,

• it will drastically change the balance of power in the region;
• it will push Arab states into a nuclear arms race;
• it could threaten to annihilate the United States, Israel, and Europe (Iran already has the missile capability to reach Israel and Europe);
• it will be emboldened to increase its already blatant human rights violations and terrorist campaigns.

We hope you will support any further actions needed to pressure our elected officials to seek the strongest possible outcome. 

The clock is ticking!