[Peace] J Street: Final Push on the Iran Deal

[Robert Naiman]

An update on the state of play. Here in IL-13, there's not much prospect of
movement from current representatives. Durbin strongly backs the deal; Kirk
is totally opposed; Davis is strongly opposed.

But a bunch of Illinois Democrats have not come out. Duckworth has not come
out. Quigley has not come out. Foster has not come out. Illinois Democrat
Cheri Bustos just came out for the deal; these people who haven't come out
could come out any day.

We all know people who live in the districts of the Democrats who haven't
come out. In the case of Duckworth, we don't live in her district, but
Duckworth wants to represent us; she is running against Kirk, and her
primary opponent has already come out for the deal.

So: just because our prospects of moving Davis are small, doesn't mean that
there's nothing useful we can do...

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Alan Elsner, J Street <alanelsner at jstreet.org>
Date: Sun, Aug 30, 2015 at 10:04 AM
Subject: Word on the Street: Final Push on the Iran Deal
To: "Mr. Robert Naiman" <naiman at justforeignpolicy.org>


View this email as a web page.
<http://act.jstreet.org/mailings/view/4124?akid=4124.183166.Y_uDFn> [image:
J Street - The political home for pro-Israel, pro-peace Americans]

Robert,

The political battle to ensure that Congress does not prevent President
Obama’s landmark agreement to block all of Iran’s pathways to developing a
nuclear weapon is reaching a climax – and our victory is within reach.

On Friday, Senator Tom Carper of Delaware became the 30th Democrat in the
Senate to support the deal – with only two publicly against. We need four
more to ensure that the President will have the votes he needs to sustain
his veto – and we still think we have an outside chance of getting to 41 -
which would prevent the issue coming to the floor in the US Senate and make
a presidential veto unnecessary.

In the US House, we’re around halfway to the 146 votes needed to sustain a
veto and the number keeps rising steadily day by day. We are not writing
off a single vote in either chamber.

Congress is expected to begin debating and voting on the agreement when it
returns from its recess the day after Labor Day. That gives us just over
one more week to make a difference – and we are pulling out all the stops
to ensure that the President receives the backing he needs and deserves
from his own party in Congress.

This week, we will launch a new ad
<http://act.jstreet.org/go/3516?t=1&akid=4124.183166.Y_uDFn> in swing
states where important senators and members of the House have yet to
declare their position – places like Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Michigan and
Colorado.

Next week, we’re bringing Brig. Gen. (ret.) Uzi Eilam
<http://act.jstreet.org/go/3514?t=2&akid=4124.183166.Y_uDFn>, the former
head of Israel’s Atomic Energy Agency, to meet with lawmakers in Michigan,
Illinois and the state of Washington. Uzi has an amazing record of service
at the highest levels of the Israeli defense establishment, including terms
as a commanding officer in the paratroopers and military R&D at IDF
headquarters. When someone of that caliber speaks in favor of the agreement
- making the argument that it is in Israel’s security interests - people
must take note.

The following week, as Congress reconvenes, we’re bringing four more very
distinguished Israeli experts to Washington DC: former minister of internal
security Shlomo Ben-Ami; Ambassador Alon Pinkas, a former Israeli
Consul-General in New York; current Knesset member Omer Bar-Lev of the
Zionist Union and a former commander of an elite special forces unit; and
Maj. Gen. (ret.) Amiram Levin, a former deputy director of the Mossad.

We’ve also been helping you, our supporters, place op-ods and letters to
the editor in key newspapers. If you would like to write a letter and need
help, please contact me at alan at jstreet.org.

Your role remains crucial. *If you haven’t already called your Senator or
Representative urging them to support the agreement, please do so now
<http://act.jstreet.org/call/call-congress-support-deal/?t=3&akid=4124.183166.Y_uDFn>.
And ask your friends, neighbors and colleagues to do the same*. Members of
Congress need to hear from our community on this issue
<http://act.jstreet.org/call/call-congress-support-deal/?t=4&akid=4124.183166.Y_uDFn>
– the more the better.

This is a battle that will have important implications for all of our work
going forward. In Israel, commentators are already asking why and how Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu misjudged the mood of America so badly. Author
Ari Shavit provided one answer in a thought-provoking article
<http://act.jstreet.org/go/3515?t=5&akid=4124.183166.Y_uDFn> in Haaretz in
which he wrote:

“Over the past six years the Israeli government has insisted on turning
Israel into another red (Republican) state…Netanyahu and his patron,
Sheldon Adelson, have forged a dangerous link between Zionist issues and
conservatism (while) Israel-loving Democrats feel battered by Israel’s
policies (occupation, settlement, exclusion of women and discrimination
against minorities).”

We strongly hope that the end of this battle is followed by some
soul-searching in Israel and among the American Jewish organizations which
followed Netanyahu’s lead so blindly. But all that lies ahead. Right now,
we need to nail down our victory – so let’s keep working for every vote.

Alan Elsner,
Vice President for Communications, J Street

© 2015 J Street

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