In the weeks since I penned an article urging people to contact their Congressmen and ask them to vote against the Iran nuclear deal I received a number of pertinent questions, to which I respond here.

1. 1.     Are the phone calls making an impact? Has the public pressure convinced any members of Congress?

Yes, the phone calls appear to be helping. One Congressional staffer told a caller that she has been on the receiving end of a “phone bomb.” The public pressure on Senators Schumer and Menendez likely played at least some role in their decision to oppose the deal. And ­­­­eleven Democratic members of the House—all from Jewish districts—have announced their opposition to the deal.

1. 2.     Is it still important to contact my Congressman? Or are their minds already made up?

Many lawmakers have not yet taken sides regarding the deal. For example, Maryland Senator Ben Cardin, ranking member on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has stated that he does not plan to announce a decision until after Labor Day. New Jersey Senator Cory Booker is likewise undecided.

1. 3.      When will the vote actually take place?

The vote is expected to take place during the first week or two after Labor Day. Thus the next couple of weeks are crucial for the many Congressmen who have yet to come to a conclusion regarding their vote.

1. 4.     If the deal’s opponents fail to muster the two thirds Congressional votes necessary to counter a presidential veto, will a Congressional majority vote against the deal count for anything?

Yes. This deal does not have the legal status of a treaty and therefore need not be followed by a future president. A Congressional vote of disapproval on the deal would make it easier for a future president to undo the damage wrought by the deal. Moreover, because this deal is perceived by many as a culmination of the current administration’s cooler attitude regarding America’s unique relationship with Israel, a Congressional majority-based rejection would signal that the U.S. does not endorse the shift.

1. 5.     Is the deal really so bad? After all, the secretary of state and two other cabinet secretaries argued in Congressional hearings very forcefully and, some would say, persuasively that this deal is the best the US can possibly get to prevent an Iranian bomb. Wasn’t that the whole point of the sanctions?

If the current deal was really a good deal we would not witness the vast majority of the Israeli political echelon and security establishment opposing it. Informed American Jewish organizations have lined up against the deal. Aside from the organizations that released statements opposing the deal when it was first announced, some others have spent weeks studying the deal from many angles and have concluded that it should be opposed. This latter category includes the American Jewish Committee, American Jewish Congress, and Anti-Defamation League, not known as right-leaning organizations. The Chicago Jewish Federation, composed of many with longstanding ties to President Obama, recently announced its opposition to the deal. All these groups are advocating that instead of the current deal the U.S. should instead escalate the sanctions in an attempt to achieve a better deal.

1. 6.     As a Torah Jew, is lobbying my Congressman really the proper approach? Doesn’t lev melachim v’sarim b’yad hashem mean that Hashem will directly orchestrate global matters of this level of consequence, and that our actions in these realms are worthless? Shouldn’t we confine our hishtadlus to tefillah?

That is incorrect. Hishtadlus b’derech hatevah is necessary regarding communal and global issues to the same degree as it is necessary for individual ones. We find many incidents in the gemara and throughout Jewish history where gedolei yisrael traveled to meet Kings and Emperors in an attempt to avert decrees through diplomatic means. Moreover, Agudath Israel of America, at the direction of its Moetzes Gedolei Hatorah, has been actively lobbying against the Iran deal.

1. 7.     But doesn’t the approach taken by Prime Minister Netanyahu – where he is seen by many to be directly confronting the President of the world’s most powerful country – contravene Chazal’s directive that our approach to dealing with threats in galus should be with hachna’a (Chazal and Ramban, Parshas Vayishlach)?

It is true that many secular Israeli leaders may not have an appreciation of how to deal with the umos haolam in the derech of Yaakov Avinu while in galus. But even Yaakov Avinu prepared milchama when his situation became dire. Prime Minister Netanyahu believes that this just such a situation.

1. 8.     But doesn’t advocating against a deal brokered by America’s leader risk creating resentment by ordinary Americans who will see Israel as intruding on their country’s decision-making?

Whether Prime Minister Netanyahu’s decision to address Congress was appropriate is immaterial to our decision of whether to advocate against the deal. The deal with Iran, as Malcom Hoenlein recently noted, involves uniquely compelling circumstances that requires American Jews to speak up. Black-Americans would be expected to lobby for a bill that is beneficial to their specific community. So would Mexican-Americans. So should we. We are lobbying our elected officials because, as American citizens, they are our representatives and are expected to represent our interests.

1. 9.     Ok – you have convinced me. Whom do I call? And what do I say?

SENATORS

NJ

• Senator Cory A. Booker (D- NJ): phone: 202-224-3224;     fax: 202-224-8378            http://www.booker.senate.gov/?p=contact

MD:

• Senator Benjamin L. Cardin (D- MD): phone: 202-224-4524; fax: 202-224-1651    http://www.cardin.senate.gov/contact/
• Senator Barbara Mikulski (D- MD): phone: 202-224-4654; fax: 202-224-8858            http://www.mikulski.senate.gov/contact

You can find your House Representative and his phone number at this page: http://www.contactingthecongress.org/.