The Jewish Federation of Greater Houston opposes the Iran nuclear deal. Photo: Nanking2012 via Wikimedia Commons.

JNS.org – The Jewish Federation of Greater Houston on Wednesday became the latest individual Jewish federation to officially oppose the Iran nuclear deal.

While the Jewish federations of Los Angeles, Miami, Boston, Detroit, Dallas, Phoenix, and South Palm Beach, Fla., have also opposed the deal, an overwhelming majority of the 151 affiliates of the Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) umbrella group have not issued definitive opinions about the agreement. JFNA itself has also not directly opposed the deal, saying it is “concerned” due to “Iran’s support for Hezbollah and Hamas” and “its aggressive threats toward neighboring countries—including Israel,” but also “hopeful that diplomatic efforts will prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.”

The Houston federation said in a statement that it believes the deal “is cause for great concern” and that, “Regretfully, we have no choice but to oppose it and we urge others to join us.” While acknowledging “that there are diverse views within our community,” the federation said the agreement “puts Israel and others in harm’s way against a sworn and evil enemy in the world’s most volatile region.”

“We recognize we are not nuclear experts but we must heed the large, diverse and growing number of independent and nonpartisan experts and organizations who have raised serious concerns since the release of the details of the agreement,” said the Houston federation. “In particular, critical issues have been raised relating to inspections and verification, weaponization activity, infrastructure dismantlement of nuclear facilities, and the duration of some of the most sensitive components in the agreement. These issues, and the resulting vulnerabilities, are sufficient reasons to let our elected officials know that the existing agreement is too risky to approve and tougher terms will be needed. Therefore, it is critical that we urge their disapproval of the agreement.”