Gary Peters, junior Democratic senator from Michigan, also remains undecided. Some reports indicate he is influenced by his chief of staff, Eric Feldman, a strong backer of Israel, who came to work for Peters after working for former White House Chief of Staff and Congressman Rahm Emanuel, also a strong pro-Israel politician.
Emanuel, however, has indicated his support for the Iran accord. He says he would have supported it were he still in Congress. Emanuel is now Mayor of Chicago.
A New York Times analysis suggested Senator Peters could be guided to support the deal, by "Michigan Representative Sander Levin of Michigan, the longest-serving Jewish House member [who has] endorsed the agreement."
Another Jewish House member, Democratic Representative Jerrold Nadler, of New York, has endorsed the deal. As a result, he has received strong "personal attacks on his loyalty to Israel, from the Orthodox community in Borough Park."
The Democratic caucus in the House is not strong enough to avoid a negative vote on the deal, but a veteran colleague like Nadler, with his strong Jewish credentials, could encourage freshman Michigan Senator Peters to move from undecided to support the agreement.
Congressman Nadler represents a large segment of New York City. His district includes "the largely liberal Upper West Side through conservative Brooklyn neighborhoods of Midwood and Borough Park [and is] said to be the most Jewish congressional district in the country"
Nadler is the first Democrat from the New York area to support the agreement.
So far, the Republican Senate caucus remains solidly in opposition to the deal. Arizona Republican Senator Jeff Flake had been targeted for support of the agreement, but he has announced he will vote with his Republican caucus against the deal.
Meanwhile, outside the halls of Congress, public support for the agreement is growing.
A full-page ad in the New York Times ran on Thursday, August 20, signed by former Jewish leaders who support the Iran deal. "Out of concern for Israel", these leaders say, they are supporting the deal.
Mondoweiss described signees of the ad as "Big Jews," former powerful heads of numerous Jewish Federations, a former head of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, AIPAC, and three former chairs of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.
The ad begins with a quote from "former Israeli Navy commander and Shin Bet head Ami Ayalon, who said that 'when it comes to Iran's nuclear capability, this [deal] is the best option among those actually available to the international community."
The Times ad was organized and published by a non-profit organization, No Nukes for Iran Project, a group assumed to be working with a White House team.
A group of 51 religious leaders issued a statement of support this week. Their statement is signed with their names and religious organizations. They give their reason for support:
"After decades of hostility, the international community has crafted a nuclear accord to limit Iran's nuclear program and prevent the United States from moving closer toward another devastating war in the Middle East."
The religious leaders also assert that the agreement "will dramatically shrink and impose unprecedented constraints on Iran's nuclear program. In exchange, the international community will begin to lift sanctions on Iran. It also establishes the most robust monitoring and inspection regime ever negotiated to verify Iran's compliance with the restrictions on its nuclear program."
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