Obama tells Jewish groups that abuse over Iran deal is troubling

WASHINGTON—President Barack Obama said Friday that he and other supporters of the Iran nuclear deal have received more rhetorical abuse than they’ve dished out in the debate over the agreement.

Speaking to two Jewish groups in a live webcast from the White House, Obama said he had to “challenge a little bit the idea that there’s been an equivalence in the heated rhetoric.”

He noted that Rep. Jerrold Nadler was labeled a “traitor” and other slurs last week after he became the lone Jewish Democrat from New York to endorse the deal, which would lift economic sanctions on Iran in exchange for limits on nuclear enrichment.

Nadler has been “attacked in ways that are appalling,” Obama said. It was “the kind of stuff that people have to be deeply concerned about.”

In response to questions, Obama denied he had labeled critics of the deal “warmongers.” But he repeated his argument that rejecting the deal would allow Iran to continue enriching uranium and leave few options but military action to stop the country from obtaining enough for a nuclear weapon.

Congress faces a self-imposed Sept. 17 deadline to vote on a resolution to reject the deal. But the White House appears to have built a firewall in the House, where more than enough Democrats have signaled they will support a presidential veto if necessary, and may get enough support in the Senate.

Critics who say Congress should reject the deal and the White House should restart the negotiations are misinformed, Obama said. The United States can’t renegotiate the agreement without the support of the five other countries who bargained for the current deal, nor could it force Iran back to the table with U.S. sanctions alone.

He took questions from leaders of the Jewish Federations of North America and the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.

With Israel’s government fiercely opposed to the deal, the issue has deeply divided American Jews and led to bitter conflicts in some congregations.

Many American Jewish organizations oppose the deal, although some polls suggest that the majority of American Jews support it.