The recently brokered deal between the Western powers and Iran to ostensibly limit Iran's nuclear development program is, by all accounts, a bad deal for Israel and the world, most Israeli leaders believe. But for MK Meir Porush of United Torah Judaism, the reason Iran was able to “pull the wool” over the eyes of the U.S. and other negotiating countries, who agreed to ease sanctions on Iran in exchange for a promise by Tehran to suspend its uranium enrichment program, has as much to do with Israelis as it has to do with Iran's negotiating savvy.
“This is a bad deal,” said Porush, who is a member of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. “The Prime Minister needs to know that the Torah is the only thing that can defend and save the Jewish people. We as Jews believe that the attempts to harm the world of Torah harms the security of Israel.” By advocating drafting yeshiva students and cutting funding to yeshivas, the government is endangering Israel's security – with one result being that Iran has now been strengthened.
Agreeing with him was MK Eli Yishai (Shas), chairman of the Knesset Committee on Homefront Preparation. “The nations of the world see their narrow financial interests before them, not their responsibility to defend the Jewish people,” he said. “Once again we see that the Jewish people is a nation that dwells alone. We have no one to rely on but our Father in heaven,” he said.
“The deal is a very bad one for Israel,” Yishai said. “This is a deal that allows Iran to remain in its current situation, giving it an opportunity to move ahead with its nuclear program the moment it decides to do so,” he added. “Diplomacy is always the best path, but in this case it has failed dramatically. Even though we are in the opposition, we will support the Prime Minister in his efforts to increase Israel's security.”