J Street To Schumer: Don’t Play Ball With Trump On Iran

Senator Chuck Schumer Image by Getty Images

By Nathan Guttman October 17, 2017

updated, 6:43 p.m.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has already made clear he opposes abandoning the Iran nuclear deal and even got slammed for this position by President Trump.

The dovish pro-Israel lobby J Street wants to thank Schumer for his effort and make sure he and fellow Democrats don’t waver in the face of the president’s attack.

In an email to Washington DC-based supporters Tuesday, J Street urged them to reach out and “tell Leader Schumer you support Democrats holding the line and doing everything they can to save the Iran deal.”

Why would J Street feel the need to pressure Schumer?

The group explained in its email to supports that while Democrats have pledged not to support the current Iran legislation sponsored by senators Corker and Cotton, “other legislation could come quickly, and its intent might not be so obvious.”

J Street’s vice president for political affairs Dylan Williams explained that the purpose was not to single out Schumer for pressure, but rather to express “clear praise” for his opposition to Trump and to “demonstrate the depth of support for his efforts as the leader of the caucus that overwhelmingly supported the nuclear agreement to hold the line in defense of the deal.”

Schumer opposed the Iran nuclear deal when presented by Obama in 2015, but has since said he believes it should be preserved.

Contact Nathan Guttman at guttman@forward.com or on Twitter @nathanguttman

Nathan Guttman, staff writer, was the Forward’s Washington bureau chief. He joined the staff in 2006 after serving for five years as Washington correspondent for the Israeli dailies Haaretz and The Jerusalem Post. In Israel, he was the features editor for Ha’aretz and chief editor of Channel 1 TV evening news. He was born in Canada and grew up in Israel. He is a graduate of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

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