Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Breaking News

Longest-Serving Jew in Congress Supports Iran Deal

The longest-serving Jewish member of Congress, who is also an Israel backer, said he will support the Iran nuclear deal.

Rep. Sander Levin, D-Mich., announced his support in a statement Tuesday explaining his decision.

Levin, who has served in the House of Representatives since 1983, called on Congress to “act to bolster the security of our ally Israel,” including increasing funding for the Iron Dome missile defense system and accelerating the co-development by the U.S. and Israel of the Arrow-3 and David’s Sling missile defense systems.

“I along with my brother and late sister when we were in our teens experienced with our parents great personal joy when President Truman announced U.S. recognition of Israel. It was something that we could take hold of amidst the unfolding horrors of the years before,” Levin said in the statement. “Israel’s security has and always will be of critical importance to me and our country. I believe that Israel, the region, and the world are far more secure if Iran does not move toward possession of a nuclear weapon. I believe the Agreement is the best way to achieve that.”

Levin’s statement came as the House Foreign Affairs Committee met to question three Obama administration officials about the agreement reached this month between Iran and six world powers led by the United States.

Congress has two months to consider whether to reject the deal to roll back sanctions in exchange for restrictions on its nuclear program. Israel’s government says the deal does not go far enough and leaves Iran a nuclear threshold state.

On Monday, the State Department announced that Secretary of State John Kerry would visit the Middle East, including Egypt and Qatar, to discuss the deal but would not visit Israel.

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse..

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.