September 3, 2015
By Stuart Appelbaum, Jewish Labor Committee President
New York, NY – The Jewish Labor Committee condemns the recent spate of hate speech directed against members of the United States Congress because of their position on the pending Iran Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on Iran's nuclear program.
While this is a complicated issue with valid points in support of or in opposition to the Iran deal, vitriolic attacks by persons or organizations against Senators or Representatives who take a position for or against the Iran deal is not only unwarranted but damaging to our democratic process.
Those for the deal who attack someone such as Senator Chuck Schumer as a “war monger” and those against the deal who attack someone such as Representative Jerry Nadler as a “kapo” only add to the ultra-bitter atmosphere surrounding this issue, contribute nothing to the debate on this contentious plan, and contribute to the extreme partisanship that has deadlocked our government. Both Senator Schumer and Representative Nadler, and those like them, are strong supporters of Israel, and are progressive political leaders who work tirelessly to improve the lives of average citizens.
