Who’s the toughest on Iran and who has time for that anyway?
The Israel Project took to Capitol Hill toady to launch its petition against Iran’s nuclear bomb. The initial invitation to the event stated that “all presidential candidates have been invited to speak” but none of them showed up in person. Barack Obama sent a staffer with a statement and the rest just emailed in their own. Actually, not all of them. Republican front runners Rudy Giuliani and John McCain didn’t even send a note, but their views on Iran are probably well known by now. The statements are strikingly similar: we will not agree to a nuclear Iran, if elected we will make sure they don’t get a bomb, we support divestment from Iran. Naturally, some are tougher than others -Newt Gingrich went all the way with the Ahmadinejad = Hitler comparison, while John Edwards, for example, spoke about “carrots and sticks” when dealing with Tehran. Some politicians did make it personally to the event: Democrats Brad Sherman, Eliot Engel and Republicans Jon Porter and Mark Kirk. They are probably less busy these days than their campaigning colleagues.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30
