New York, NY, March 3, 2015 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to Congress was a clear and passionate appeal for the strongest possible deal to remove the Iranian nuclear threat.
Barry Curtiss-Lusher, ADL National Chair, and Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director, attended the speech and issued the following statement:
Prime Minister Netanyahu’s passionate and determined address made clear to Members of Congress, the American people, and the international community that an agreement that leaves intact a path for Iran to achieve its ambitions for nuclear weapons is not sufficient.
One of the most significant elements of the speech was the message sent to Iran, both by Prime Minister Netanyahu and by the support he received from Members of Congress, that there are serious and legitimate concerns about the direction of the negotiations and that the Iranian regime should not assume it will get its way.
It was important to emphasize that the alternative to a bad deal is not necessarily war, but rather resolve to push for a better deal and to make suggestions of how to strengthen the negotiating posture. For example, an Iranian government seeking concessions and sanctions relief while it publicly calls for Israel’s destruction is unacceptable.
We recognize the good intentions of President Obama and his administration on this issue, and take seriously, while not necessarily agreeing with their concerns about what the alternatives may be to reaching an agreement.
We take cognizance of the shared objective that the U.S. and Israel have in preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
We hope the speech and continued bilateral conversations and consultations will help bolster efforts to ensure that any deal reached fundamentally eliminates the danger posed by Iran to the region and to international security.