Over Pesach and in the immediate aftermath of much analyzed and criticized framework agreement with Iran, the President of the United States reached out to Jewish community leaders and asked them to come to the White House to discuss the matter.
Mr. Fagin though, feels comfortable discussing the setting and the atmosphere at the meeting. The President, he says, did most of the talking, though there was time after he concluded his remarks for participants to ask questions. The week prior the same group met at the State Department in a longer more detailed session with Secretary of State John Kerry.
I asked Allen Fagin about his impression of the awesomeness of such a conclave that impacts so dramatically on Israel specifically and in general that of the worldwide Jewish community. “Actually I am in awe of the emphasis placed on the view of the Jewish community more than anything else,” Fagin said as we discussed the mood that surrounds these types of high level encounters.
This is an interesting item to dwell on even beyond the substance of the meeting and fabric of what was accomplished at the meeting. Mr. Fagin said though that after listening to the President for well over an hour, he sensed that the President was somewhat at a loss or puzzled by so much criticism being directed at him and his administration by segments of the Jewish community.
And those sentiments were made known to the President as they were the previous week to Secretary Kerry. Neither the President or the Secretary for that matter view what is taking place in that context.
To this issue Allen Fagin says that on the core issues like a nuclear Iran and foundational support for Israel there is far greater unity among the leaders of various Jewish representative groups than one might otherwise believe. He says when it comes to the safety and security of Israel there is far more agreement on the issues than there are debates or disagreements amongst the various factions.
Perhaps one of the most fascinating or dynamic aspects of the current exchange between the Jewish community and the White House is over the Iranian support of terror and terror groups around the world while at the same time seeking to enter into an honorable and serious agreement on nuclear arms with the United States of America.
This might be the greatest point of contention today between the Jewish community and the White House. After all, the objective of the talks with Iran is to reduce crippling economic sanctions against the despots and zealots that have firm control of that country. If and when access to frozen Iranian assets and other monies become available, it unfortunately follows quite logically that parts of that same money will be used by Iran to fund their terror campaigns in Yemen, Lebanon, Syria and Gaza.
Today the administration’s policy is that the current negotiations are strictly about nuclear weapons. Terrorism is not to be discussed and the administration feels that committing terror acts or funding terror acts is placed on the agenda the entire process might collapse.
The fascinating thing here is the importance with which the Obama White House sees Jewish opinion. We briefly discussed why it is that way, why in this vast universe of over seven billion people what Jewish leaders and Jewish communities in general think about various policies is so important so as to have leadership groups invited to the White House for lengthy discussions.
And he added that the reality is that the community generates an impression of articulation, that it is influential, vocal, smart and that our leadership and prominent personalities play important roles in industry, the professions, and media.