Tick, tock. Tick, tock. The clock is ticking and it is up to us.
I recently attended the four-day 2015 Saban AIPAC Leadership Conference in Washington D.C. Over 450 high school and college leaders from all over the country, both Jewish and non-Jewish, came together to demonstrate their support and activism for the state of Israel. This year, unlike at past conferences, students did not focus on the American-Israeli alliance but rather on the Iranian deal. Monday, July 20, was the start of the 60-day countdown until Congress votes on whether to accept this deal—one which will guarantee that Iran will obtain nuclear weapons in 15 years. Additionally, this deal will provide Iran access to $150 billion from previously frozen assets. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was quoted a few days after the deal was completed as saying that Iran’s political relations with America does not change his beliefs, and he again praised those who shouted death to America. We, the American people, cannot allow this deal to pass.
On the conference’s last day, students met with their congressmen or staff to lobby against this deal. I had the honor to meet with Representative Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-11-NJ) . He shared with us that when it came to Obamacare he received a total of 6,000 emails and letters, but for this deal with Iran he received only 300 (200 against the deal and 100 for it). Frelinghuysen stated that he, along with his fellow congressmen and senators, need to hear more from the people.
I urge everyone to not only call or email their congressmen but to also encourage friends and family to do so. Simply visit the AIPAC website and click on “take action” at the top of the page, or type in the link http://cqrcengage.com/aipac/app/write-a-letter?2&engagementId=117733, and you can easily contact your congressmen and persuade them not to support this destructive Iranian deal. To quote Ari Shavit, Israeli columnist and writer, “Politically speaking, this is the most important moment of our lifetime. We should rise to the challenge and overcome.”
The clock is ticking and it is up to us.
By Elisheva Feldman, RKYHS rising junior
