By COLlive reporter
New York Senator Chuck Schumer, the chamber’s third-ranking Democrat, has decided against President Barack Obama‘s nuclear deal with Iran, he announced on Thursday evening.
Schumer, the influential Jewish Democrat who’s poised to assume leadership of his party in the Senate, wrote, “After deep study, careful thought and considerable soul-searching, I have decided I must oppose the agreement and will vote yes on a motion of disapproval.”
“I will vote to disapprove the agreement, not because I believe war is a viable or desirable option, nor to challenge the path of diplomacy,” he wrote. “It is because I believe Iran will not change, and under this agreement it will be able to achieve its dual goals of eliminating sanctions while ultimately retaining its nuclear and non-nuclear power.”
CNN reports that Schumer’s thinking on the deal has been closely watched since the plan to loosen sanctions on Tehran in exchange for access to potential nuclear sites was announced in early July.
He said publicly over the past several weeks that he was going through the deal with a “fine-tooth comb” and received briefings from top administration officials to digest the deal’s inner workings, the network reported.
At Jewish functions in New York, Schumer often relates that his surname “is the same as a shomer” (a guardian in Hebrew), adding that “We need to be guardians of America and its strongest ally – Israel.”
In the past, Schumer has voiced criticism of the Obama administration on its policies towards Israel. “This has to stop,” he said in 2010 about the president’s “counterproductive” policy on Israel.
House Foreign Affairs Committee Ranking Member Eliot Engel, Schumer’s New York colleague, also officially announced he was against the deal, despite a one-on-one meeting with Obama last week, CNN reported.
VIDEO:
President Obama is taking heat for his rhetoric while trying to sell the Iran nuclear deal. CNN’s Jim Acosta has more.
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No doubt all the emails and petitions made a difference.
New York’s junior senator has said that she will vote for the deal, we must try to get her to reverse her position.
Call her
New York office – 212-688-6262
D.C. office – 202-224-4451
There is indication that Senator Gillibrand will vote for the deal, let’s call her as well and urge her to oppose it:
Sen. Gillibrand New York Office: (212) 688-6262
Is credit deserved by Chabad of Park Slope? If so, kol Hakavod!
Yo hit the nail right on the head! But what else did you expect from a carreer liberal democrat? Being Jewish doesn’t guarantee Jewish behavior.
Thank you everyone for commenting. What is important is that you make the call to Rep. Ms Clark in Washington DC – call Senator Gillebrand and do not wait for the MACHERS to speak up.
Everyone has a CHOV KODESH to call.
Please do it now, even from the Catskills or wherever you may be.
Thank you,
PS Senator Schumer thank you and Good Shabbos,
Go chuck schumer!
May god bless u for seeking JUSTICE!
If you have nothing nice ti say, don’t say anything.
Obama is doesn’t need his vote. He only needs something like 36 votes to get this passed.
Schumer and other Democrats are being granted permission to vote against it because it helps them politically.
This is part of a political play called failure theater. It is where politicians make a big deal being against something once they are assured that it is a slam dunk.
Schumer is nothing more than a grandstanding liar.
Schumer was born in Brooklyn, the son of Selma (née Rosen) and Abraham Schumer
I don’t think schumer is actually Jewish, but this is good news b”h.
in reality he is taking both sides of the issue as many know that Sen. Gillebrand is his puppet & she is voting for it.
Please call your local New York elected officials right now and make sure they know why it’s important to you, as their constituent, that they vote no.
Rep. Yvette D. Clarke (NY-09 – Crown Heights)
202-225-6231 (DC Office)
718-287-1142 (Brooklyn Office)