by Yoni Hersch, Shlomo Cesana and Erez Linn
Left-wing organization seizes on former Israeli security officials' comments in favor of deal in effort to sway Congress, as part of summer campaign, runs full-page ad in New York Times • Ex-Mossad chief quoted in campaign says Iran will likely cheat.
J Street has launched a
campaign to prompt lawmakers to support the nuclear agreement with Ira
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Photo credit: jstreet.org (screenshot)  |
Although most Americans and Israelis say they
oppose the nuclear agreement signed between Iran and world powers
earlier this month, left-wing pro-Israel lobby J Street has tried to
cast it in a different light, all but ignoring the criticism the
agreement has generated.
The group has recently begun running ads aimed
at convincing U.S. Jews to support the deal and apply pressure on their
representatives in Congress as both chambers deliberate the agreement's
provisions.
On Thursday, the organization ran a full-page
ad in The New York Times in support of the deal. The ad, which
effectively ignores the all-too-obvious shortcomings in the deal, reads,
"Do the Math: Iran minus uranium minus plutonium minus centrifuges +
24/7 monitoring = zero pathways to a bomb."
In an ad from last week -- broadcast on
national television and on local networks -- the organization said the
deal would result in unprecedented inspections on Iran's nuclear
program. The ad concludes with the statement: "It's good for America,
good for Israel, and makes both countries safer and more secure."
J Street officials said they would continue
their campaign all through the summer, until Congress decides on the
matter. If opponents of the deal secure a two-thirds majority in both
chambers, the White House will be prevented from lifting U.S. sanctions
on Iran.
The group plans to bring to Washington Israeli
and American defense experts who support to [sic] the deal so that they can
brief U.S. lawmakers on their views before the vote. These experts will
likely be former Shin Bet security agency head Ami Ayalon, former Mossad
chief Efraim Halevy, former head of the Israel Defense Forces
Operations Directorate Israel Ziv and renowned nuclear scientist and
former MK Uzi Even, whose previous remarks in favor of the deal have
been incorporated into a J Street publication called "Organizational
Support for Framework Agreement."
When U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry
appeared before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday, he
cited these same former Israeli officials to make the case for the deal.
When he was accused of being naive he showed the panel an article he
had printed, saying, "This is an article from The Washington Post, I
urge you all to read it, it's called 'How the Iran deal is good for
Israel, according to Israelis who know what they are talking about.'"
He then began to quote from it: "It says here a
host of prominent members of the country's security establishment ...
support the Obama administration's efforts. In an interview with the
Daily Beast, Ami Ayalon ... suggested Israel's politicians were playing
with fears in a fearful society he praised the Vienna agreement as a
useful measure to curb the Iranian threat. I don't think he is naive.
Efraim Halevy ... hailed Obama's victory."
On Friday, Halevy told Channel 2 that he was very
surprised that Kerry mentioned him during the hearing. "The agreement
has several provisions that are very good for Israel, but it also has
provisions that are not so good," he said. Halevy said the Iranians will
likely try to deceive the West, and that the only question is "where
and when." He added that it would take three or four years before we can
render a verdict on the agreement noting that the inspections and
monitoring it stipulated "have flaws." He added that the agreement
essentially "paves the way for Iran's nuclearlization in 10 to 15
years."
Yoni Hersch, Shlomo Cesana and Erez Linn
Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=27135
Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.
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