Daniel Reiser 115 Prospect Park SW Apt. 5, Brooklyn, NY 11218 | (850) 508-‐0509 |
[email protected] | TheGreatSchnoz.blogspot.com
July 24, 2015 | 8 Av, 5775 The Honorable Charles E. Schumer United States Senate 322 Hart Senate Office Building Washington, D.C. 20510-‐3203 Dear Senator Schumer, My name is Daniel Reiser, and like you, I am a proud American Jew. In May of 2016, I will be ordained a rabbi by the Hebrew Union College-‐Jewish Institute of Religion -‐-‐ the seminary of Reform Judaism. As part of my rabbinical studies, my wife and I spent a year living, studying, and working in Jerusalem. We care deeply about the state of Israel. I have been following the Iran nuclear deal closely. I am aware that many commentators believe that your vote for or against the Iran deal will be a bellwether for other congressional Democrats. I am aware that many of your other pro-‐Israel (and particularly, Jewish) constituents have been lobbying hard for you to oppose the Iran deal. I am writing so that you will hear a Jewish, pro-‐Israel voice that is in support of the deal, however hesitantly. Like many, I worry about the risks of this deal. In particular, I worry that the Iranian regime will use its newly restored cash flow not for the betterment of its westward-‐looking youth population, but rather to extend its destabilizing arm throughout the Middle East. Additionally, I worry that the inspections process and the snapback option may not be strong enough to stop Iran's nuclear ambitions with any certainty. Unfortunately, life doesn't provide us with many certainties. The best we can do is take cues from those who think critically. In the realm of foreign affairs, I take cues from Jeffrey Goldberg, who wrote last week in the Atlantic that critics of this deal seek “a perfect solution to the Iranian challenge. There is no perfect solution. … It is very difficult to stop a large nation that possesses both natural resources and human talent, and a deep desire for power, from getting the bomb.”
In the realm of Jewish thought, I take cues from Yehuda Kurtzer, president of the Shalom Hartman Institute of North America, who wrote last week in the Times of Israel that both the classical rabbinic tradition and the modern Zionist project “insist on the possibility of the Jewish people assuming a sense of agency to respond to historical realities and changing times. … It is difficult for me to fathom a reality of Jewish politics in which the normative position is so deeply risk-‐averse.”
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Daniel Reiser 115 Prospect Park SW Apt. 5, Brooklyn, NY 11218 | (850) 508-‐0509 |
[email protected] | TheGreatSchnoz.blogspot.com
I don’t know what will come of this nuclear deal. I believe in President Obama when he says that this deal is “by a wide margin the most definitive path by which Iran will not get a nuclear weapon.”
I resonate with the president when he says, “Twenty years from now ... if Iran has a nuclear weapon, it’s my name on this.” One hundred years from now, when my great-‐grandchildren (God willing) uncover this letter and see that “it’s my name on this,” will they say that I made the right decision? I say to you what I would say to them: “Who can possibly know what is best for a person to do in life -‐-‐ the few days of one’s fleeting life? For who can tell a person what the future holds for him or her under the sun?” (Ecclesiastes 6:12) For these reasons -‐-‐ with doubt and hope intermingled, as ever -‐-‐ I lend to you my voice as a proud American Jew who cares deeply about Israel, and say: support the deal with Iran. It may not be certain, but nothing ever is. Sincerely,
Daniel Reiser
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