The agreement with Iran

 Canadians  Jews  have a unique sensibility.  We care deeply about the country in which  we live, and our role in world affairs, and at the same time   we are dedicated and devoted to Israel, and her safety and security.  I’d like to focus on the interim agreement  recently made between the United States,  China, Russia, Germany, France and Britain, as a group, and Iran, a declared enemy of  Israel. In my opinion it is a good first step but one which can hardly end our concern for Israel.

As we all know, Iran for years has been building up stores of enriched Uranium which were undoubtedly intended  to create nuclear weapons.  With such weapons  in place there’s little doubt that Israel as well as the entire Middle East would be under serious threat. Let’s not forget that it was the current president of Iran, the so-called moderate,  Hassan Rouhani, who planned the bombing of the Jewish Community Center in Buenos Aires in 1994, which took 85 lives. And  the Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia in1996, in which 19 American soldiers were killed. Following his predecessors he  refuses to acknowledge  the Holocaust. He has openly called Israel “a wound” on the Middle East that must be removed. He has  boasted about deceiving the West into believing that Iran, from 2003 to 2005, had stopped enriching uranium. He is part of a theocracy that continues their  savage persecution of  the Bahai, Christians, Jews and anyone in Iran who professes a religion other than Shi’ite Islam.  He is only a slight improvement on his predecessor President Ahminehjad who  consistently and publicly denied the Holocaust and predicted in a speech early in his tenure that Israel would one day be “wiped off the map”, the one who told the world that  “The very existence of the Zionist regime is an insult to humankind and an affront to all world nations… we should wipe out this scarlet letter, meaning the Zionist regime, from the forehead of humanity.”  We unfortunately know all too well that when leaders of countries publicly declare their intentions to destroy Jewish lives, they usually mean it.   

Thus when the 6 countries declared a 6 month agreement freezing  Iran’s  preparation of Uranium for use in nuclear bombs, I’m sure we all felt a twinge of optimism, spiked  with the usual  dose of  Jewish skepticism.

     It wasn’t long before Israeli PM Bibi Netanyah  pointed out  that Iran’s nuclear weapons would endanger not just Israel but Europe and the world at large.  He reminded us of three major problems :  First, how can we trust Iran to follow through on any agreement, in view of their past record of duplicity with regard to inspections of their current nuclear capacity?  Second, the agreement stops Iran from further enriching of uranium but fails to stop it completely.  Third, the agreement ignores the plight of those who are presently victimized by the Iranian government . 

    Professor Howard Adelman in an article this week pointed out that it was the economic sanctions on Iran that brought then to the negotiating table.  Iran is owed 7 billion dollars  on oil sales alone.  It could therefore be argued, why not leave the sanctions in place till Iran gives in completely.

It seems to me that we cannot expect Iran to be reduced to its knees. That in fact it would be dangerous in the long run to do so. In my view,  Iran is already giving up quite a bit.  The world is gaining transparency into what Iran is doing, a freeze on current uranium enrichment and a rollback on what they had been doing.  Inspectors can go in and maintain the parameters of the agreement.  We know sanctions worked and can always be restarted .  We gain at least a negotiating point, to continue talking and working this interim agreement towards a more fulfilling final agreement that accomplish  the goals of preventing a nuclear weapon capable Iran. 

     On the other hand Iran retains stature as an international player having worked an agreement with the US.  Their regional power undoubtedly has been  strengthened.  And there is no relief for the Bahai, Christians and Jews, and any others  persecuted within Iranian borders.

Prime Minister Netanyahu firmly believes the negotiations were all political theatre, and he has asked western powers to not ease the economic sanctions, saying,   

“Although Tehran, led by President Hassan Rouhani, presented a smiling face to the West, it continued to “butcher people in Syria, to promote terrorism” and to support Hezbollah and Hamas.”  He argued that US president Barak Obama did it so he could demonstrate his ability to sign an agreement with the enemy Iran. Other Israeli news sources such as Ynet suggest that the American people are weary of so many conflicts, especially in Iraq and Afghanistan, so that with this agreement, they can focus on domestic and economic issues. 

So where does Canada stand on all this. Officially Rafi Barak the new Canadian embassador called it a "historic mistake", echoing Netanyahu from the previous day, highlighting Israels concerns about the Iranian regime’s conduct in five areas: its nuclear program, its 400 missiles that can reach the eastern Mediterranean Sea, its support of terrorism, its involvement in propping up the Syrian regime and its general attitude towards human rights.

“There are a lot of question marks about the future,” Barak said. “We are concerned that the sanctions were having a positive effect and we should have waited a bit before lifting [them].”

John Baird, our Canadian minister of minister of foreign affairs, speaking  for Prime Minister Stephen Harper expressed similar concerns, and said he remained “skeptical” about the effectiveness of the current interim agreement. John Baird was quoted as saying,

“We are a country that is obviously deeply concerned, not just about the nuclear program, or the spread of the weaponization program, but also, their human rights record is of significant concern,” . “No one more than Canada would like to see this deal be successful… But we are deeply skeptical of Iran’s intention in this regard.”

     It has to be acknowledged that no country has been as fully supportive of Israel’s every move as Canada.   This past weekend our prime minister was honoured by the Jewish National Fund, and helped them raise over 5 million dollars . 

Where should we stand on this current issue?  As Canadians, we are not part of this agreement.  As a responsible member of the United Nations  our goal is to ensure world stability and peace.  A nuclear Iran is a threat to peace and so supporting  economic sanctions is correct.  We should spearhead continued negotiation. We should ensure that nuclear  inspectors do their job with respect to enriched uranium in Iranian nuclear power plants .

    The agreement has  potential but  we should regard it as a small stepping stone while keeping a  close eye on the fulfillment of every aspect of it and continue economic pressure until we are secure.

As Jews, we know that the threat of Iran towards  Israel is real.  Iran supports terrorists such as Hezbollah  who have launched missiles and suicide attacks on Israel before and would attack again.  We should support Israel in her declaration that this agreement is not enough.  We should continue to let Israel monitor  Iran’s nuclear plans closely.  We should keep the world’s attention on Iran to maintain some economic pressure and ensure that Iran never succeeds in obtaining nuclear weapons. 

     We should at the same time remember that simply saying everything Israel does is correct. That’s not what a best friend does.  I am grateful  that Canada supports Israel, but I believe we need a more nuanced approach.  A best friend doesn’t say everything you do is perfect.  A best friend helps put you on the right path when you stray.  

     While we  support Israel and care deeply for her safety and security, the true way to a peaceful middle east is not necessarily simply declaring that this is a historic mistake and end the conversation.  I believe through continued negotiation and containment of Iran, along with western allies, we can ultimately achieve an agreement that works.

    Our torah portion this week reminds us that even brothers that hate each other can reconcile.  Joseph was almost murdered and then sold into slavery by his brothers.  Even they found a way to find love and resolution, and that is the story of our people.  Let us use that as a guide to our lives and hopefully not just as  individuals but also as  countries .