In response to How dare Netanyahu speak in the name of America’s Jews? February 9, 2015

Bradley Burston asserts that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is not voicing the concerns of American Jews on Iran, but this is actually untrue.

Mr. Netanyahu will be echoing the thoughts and concerns of the majority of American Jews when he warns against a negotiated deal that allows Iran to become a nuclear threshold state. After all, the American Jewish Committee’s 2013 Survey of American Jewish Opinion found that 52 percent of American Jews do not believe that sanctions (such as they still are) and diplomacy will prevent Iran going nuclear. 52 percent also favor military action against Iran if this is the case.

Whether or not President Obama fostered “security cooperation with Israel, including additional funding for the Iron Dome rocket defense system” has only limited bearing on the Iranian issue – and for the record, Obama cut funding to Iron Dome already in 2012 and unprecedentedly withheld Hellfire missiles during the 2014 Gaza war. Indeed, the bulk of the strong U.S.-Israeli defense relationship stems from the George W. Bush era and would require Congressional authorization to reverse.

Morton A. Klein

National President

Zionist Organization of America

New York, NY