Obama meets Jewish leaders in bid for Iran deal support

President Barack Obama held a private meeting at the White House Tuesday with Jewish leaders — some who support the Iran nuclear deal, some who oppose it, and others whose organizations are undecided — in a bid to drum up support ahead of a Congressional showdown.

Among the roughly two-dozen leaders joining Obama in the Cabinet Room were Michael Kassen and Lee Rosenberg of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which is vehemently opposed to the deal, as well as Jeremy Ben-Ami of J Street, who is among the deal’s most vocal proponents. The White House said representatives from the Orthodox Union, the Reform Movement, the World Jewish Congress and the Anti-Defamation League also attended.

In the meeting, also attended by Vice President Joe Biden, National Security Advisor Susan Rice and Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes, the president reviewed the nuclear deal reached last month point by point and addressed issues raised by its opponents.

Tuesday’s meeting between Obama and Jewish leaders from across the political spectrum was the latest by senior administration officials. The White House said Obama emphasized that the deal would allow the world to verify that Iran wasn’t acquiring a nuclear weapon and affirmed his support for Israel’s security.

Jewish leaders who attended the nearly two-hour powwow said Obama spent most of the time responding to their queries, and emphasized his commitment to Israel’s security. The president reportedly proffered little new information in attempting to sway opponents to the agreement.

A White House official said that in a speech Obama will deliver Wednesday at American University, the president would note that lawmakers opposing diplomatic engagement with Iran were the same ones who backed war with Iraq, and that rejection of the deal reached last month would be a “historic mistake.”

The meeting came amid direct appeals by both Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the American Jewish community, and as supporters and opponents of the nuclear agreement lobby on Capitol Hill.

Lawmakers plan to vote on the nuclear deal next month. The vote will be one of Congress’ most significant national security decisions in recent years.

The White House is preparing for the likelihood that lawmakers will vote against the deal and is focusing its lobbying efforts on getting enough Democrats to sustain a veto. Only one chamber of Congress is needed to sustain a veto.

Obama spokesman Josh Earnest said Monday that the White House is confident it can sustain a veto “at least in the House.”

The president got a boost in the Senate Tuesday with Sens. Barbara Boxer, Tim Kaine and Bill Nelson announcing their support for the deal. However, the administration lost the backing of three prominent Jewish Democrats — Reps. Steve Israel, Nita Lowey and Ted Deutch.

Earlier on Tuesday, Netanyahu made his case in a live webcast with more than 10,000 participants, according to the US Jewish groups that organized the event. The prime minister railed against the agreement to curb Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for billions of dollars in sanctions relief, calling it a “bad deal” that leaves Tehran on the brink of a bomb.

“The nuclear deal with Iran doesn’t block Iran’s path to the bomb,” he said. “It actually paves Iran’s path to the bomb.”

Netanyahu, one of the fiercest critics of the nuclear accord, also disputed Obama’s assertion that opponents of the diplomatic deal favor war. He called that assertion “utterly false,” saying Israel wants peace, not war.