Israel Consul General, ZOA President Discuss Iran in Iranian Americans for Liberty Webinar

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

65% : Newman expressed optimism that one day Iran and Israel will be friends again.
65% : Newman expressed optimism that one day Iran and Israel will be friends again.
58% : "We see the people of Iran as friends, potential allies."
55% : Newman then turned to the history of Israel-Iran relations, calling 1947-1953 a "period of ambivalence" until Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi seized back power after the 1953 coup, which then resulted in a "extended period of wonderful relations between Israel and Iran."
53% : In fact, according to Newman, "much of the infrastructure that still exists in Tehran today was built by an Israeli company."
53% : Newman concluded the webinar by stating that "the people of Iran understand that Israel cares for them."
50% : Newman also said that the recent Abraham Accords, forging peace between Israel and various Arab Gulf nations, "shows how the direction of the world is toward more cooperation more understanding" and these alliances are isolating Iran.
48% : He argued that the Iran nuclear deal's sunset clauses--the provisions limiting Iran's nuclear enrichment capability that expire after 10 years--essentially pave the way for Iran to get nukes and would grant them "legitimacy" in doing so.
47% : National President Morton Klein discussed the history between Israel and Iran in a July 22 webinar hosted by Iranian Americans for Liberty.
44% : "The maligned activity of Iran is like an octopus ...
44% : "We should all open our eyes," Newman said, arguing that too many governments seem to think they can take the "tame the lion" approach with Iran.
42% : He also expressed concern that when the threat of Iran subsides, Israel's newfound normalcy with the Arab countries under the Abraham Accords will "revert back to normal," citing the fact that there has merely been a "cold peace" in Israel's relations with Egypt and Jordan.
41% : but he's already doing so, and pointed out that Iran is enriching uranium to 63% capacity in violation of the deal; they need to reach 90% in order to obtain nuclear weapons
41% : Klein interjected, citing Winston Churchill's quote that "an appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile -- hoping it will eat him last," and that the quote aptly applies to dealing with Iran.
40% : "Israel saw Iran as a natural ally," Newman said, as during the Cold War, Israel's main enemies were in the pan-Arab states; it wasn't necessarily a battle between Judaism and Islam.
40% : Still, Israelis who were living in Iran at the time of the revolution had their lives threatened as a result and had to flee, per Newman.
39% : The issue of Iran potentially obtaining nuclear weapons is "an existential threat ... to Israel and the Western world ... due to the fact that they have such an extreme radical ideology, you can't bank on anything [to check them]," Newman said.
38% : He called for "extreme pressure and sanctions" against Iran in order to push its government to "the brink" to pressure it into changing its policy.
35% : Newman then weighed in, saying that while Iran is "Israel's biggest problem" among the bloc of Muslim countries, Israel feels for the people of Iran as they struggle with shortages of water and other basic commodities.
33% : "Without Iran, Hamas wouldn't be able to launch these wars against Israel," Klein said.
33% : Leib then pointed out that it's "widely known that the Islamic Republic of Iran are the main funders behind terrorist organizations like Hamas like Hezbollah" and that "Israel's leadership to their credit has repeatedly stated that they will do whatever is necessary to ensure that this evil regime never obtains a nuclear bomb."
33% : " Iran is also a threat to the Western world at large, Newman argued.
33% : Leib pointed out that "Iran is in a de-facto state of war with the United States and with Israel and with other countries as well through the terrorist proxies that they fund.
31% : Newman pointed out that Iran isn't just an enemy to Israel; it's also an enemy to the United States, as the Iranian government frequently refers to the U.S. as the "Great Satan.
26% : He also argued that Biden pledged to not revoke sanctions against Iran in order to get them to re-enter the deal
18% : Additionally, Klein pointed out that Iran helped al-Qaeda with the 9/11 terror attacks and that Dennis Ross, a former diplomat under President Bill Clinton, told him on a phone call that it's "at least 8 years" before the Iranian government gets a nuke.

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