The Iran War and a Divided Jewish Community

Yesterday, February 28, 2026, the U.S. and Israel conducted a surprise attack on Iran. Their first bombs were dropped at 10:00 a.m. Iran Standard Time, which in America is 1:30 a.m. Eastern Standard Time.

That morning, when I opened my email, I found that some American Jewish organizations had lost little time in responding. There were messages from two such organizations, sharing their views on the attack. One was time-stamped 9:39 a.m. CST (10:39 EST), and the other was time-stamped 9:55 a.m. CST (10:55 a.m. EST); a mere 9.5 hours after the first bombs were dropped. They literally appeared one after the other in my inbox. I say, “a mere 9.5 hours” because the first bombs were dropped at what was the middle of the night for us in the United States.

The earlier email was sent by Jeremy Ben-Ami, the President of J Street, and the other, which followed just 16 minutes later. was sent by Ted Deutch, the CEO of the American Jewish Committee.

J Street is a liberal Zionist advocacy group, founded in 2007. It describes itself thusly: “J Street organizes pro-Israel, pro-peace, pro-democracy Americans to promote US policies that embody our deeply held Jewish and democratic values and that help secure the State of Israel as a democratic homeland for the Jewish people. We believe that only a negotiated resolution agreed to by Israelis and Palestinians can meet the legitimate needs and national aspirations of both peoples.”

The American Jewish Committee is one of the oldest American Jewish organizations, having been founded in 1906. It describes itself as a global advocacy organization for the Jewish people whose “mission is to enhance the well-being of the Jewish people and Israel, and to advance human rights and democratic values in the United States and around the world.”

Both are respected organizations within the Jewish community. While there is much they hold in common, such as their commitment to the continued existence of the State of Israel, they do not always share the same views.

The emails I received from them on the morning of the attack most likely reflected a certain divide that we will be seeing in the coming days within the American and probably the world Jewish communities, as Jews express their perspectives on the actions taken by the U.S. and Israel against Iran.

The J Street statement read as follows:

We are appalled by President Trump’s reckless decision to launch a war of choice against Iran explicitly seeking regime change.
The President is starting this war with no clear plan for achieving his goal; without a comprehensive discussion with the American public about the risks and alternatives; and illegally, without first seeking authorization from Congress or a mandate from the international community.
The Iranian government’s nuclear and missile programs, support for proxy groups throughout the Middle East and brutal repression of its own people represent a real national security challenge for the United States and its allies, including Israel. We would be pleased to see this government replaced with one that is a responsible international actor and responsive to the needs and demands of its people.
However, Iran does not present an imminent threat that requires launching a ‘preventive’ war.
President Trump had a number of viable alternatives. With the Islamic Republic at one of the weakest points in its history, he could have continued pressing a combination of sanctions, international isolation and a more limited nuclear agreement, while allowing internal pressure to build, waiting out 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and eventually supporting a managed transition.
He could have pursued a more vigorous diplomatic strategy aimed at preventing further progress on Iran’s nuclear program through realistic proposals rather than absolutist positions that were bound to be rejected. Instead, he is intoxicated with military power – launching strikes impulsively and boxing himself and the United States into a choice between total capitulation from Iran or major military conflict.
Our hope now is that this conflict ends quickly, that the United States pursues a limited and realistic set of objectives that it is able to achieve and that Iran chooses not to escalate dramatically.
But the history of American military interventions, especially in the Middle East, should serve as a warning. We are deeply concerned that even if there is initial success and a ‘mission accomplished’ moment, the United States could find itself maintaining a long-term military presence in the region for years to come at great cost to the American people, to American service members and to our broader national interests.
Even worse, this war could lead to the destabilization of Iran, a country of 90 million people – three times the size of Iraq – leaving the United States with enormous entanglements, triggering mass human suffering inside Iran and producing destabilizing consequences across the Middle East.
For all of these reasons, we believe it is vital that both houses of Congress convene as soon as possible to restrain the President and vote yes on the Kaine-Paul-Schumer-Schiff War Powers Resolution in the Senate and the Khanna-Massie War Powers Resolution in the House.
Our thoughts today are with the American forces in harm’s way and the innocent people in Israel, Iran and across the entire Middle East who may find themselves in danger if this war escalates.

On the other hand, the American Jewish Committee’s statement reads as follows:

Today’s military action follows years of Iranian escalation, deception, and refusal to meet its international commitments — including the most recent inconclusive negotiations in Geneva. The responsibility for this crisis lies entirely with the Iranian Regime.

For decades, American Jewish Committee (AJC) has warned leaders around the world of the consequences of the Iranian regime’s illicit pursuit of a nuclear weapons program, its systematic human rights abuses, and its constant efforts to destabilize the region, threaten U.S. interests and endanger Israel and our Arab partners.

We at AJC are grateful to the brave American and Israeli forces that carried out this action. We stand with the Israeli people as they face Iranian attacks and threats of further escalation. We also stand firmly with the Iranian people in their pursuit for freedom and pray that this development can lead to a better future for them and their country.

As the global advocacy organization for the Jewish people, AJC will continue to work with leaders around the world to hold the Iranian regime accountable for its escalating threats to global security.

Am Yisrael Chai (The People of Israel Live)

Here we have two different American Jewish organizations, both sharing their concerns for the threats Iran has made against Israel and their utter disdain for the government of Iran as the world’s leading sponsor of terrorism. Yet, they approach these events from two very different directions. One expresses how “appalled” it is by the attack, while the other expresses its gratitude “to the brave American and Israeli forces that carried out this action.” One focuses the “reckless decision of President Trump” while the other focuses on how, “for decades,” they they have “warned leaders around the world of the consequences of the Iranian regime’s illicit pursuit of a nuclear weapons program, its systematic human rights abuses, and its constant efforts to destabilize the region, threaten U.S. interests and endanger Israel and our Arab partners.”

After reading these texts, weighing their arguments, and pondering where I stood on the matter, I could not help but recall an old Jewish joke. It went like this: Two Jews were arguing. No matter how long they argued, each one insisted, “I’m right, and you’re wrong!” Unable to reach any common ground, they did agree to go to their rabbi for mediation. He would know which of them was actually right. As the first Jew presented his case, the rabbi listened, nodded his head, pondered, and finally said, “You know, you’re right.” Then, as the second Jew presented his case, once again, the rabbi listened, nodded his head, pondered, and finally said, “You know, you’re right.” Both Jews left satisfied. But the rabbi’s assistant asked, “Rabbi, how can they both be right?” And the rabbi responded, “You know, you’re right too!”

Not every issue is black and white. Not every question has but one definitive answer. When I was growing up in the 1950s, Westerns were all the rage on TV. Their plots were cut-&-dry. There were the good guys and the bad guys. The good guys all wore white hats, and the bad guys all wore black hats. Then, in 1957, along came a show called “Have Gun, Will Travel.” Its hero was a man called Paladin. However, he was all dressed in black, but he was a good guy. It took us viewers some time to reconcile the cognitive dissonance between his black attire and his hero character.

The world can be more complicated, more complex, than we would like to believe that it is. Sometimes we find ourselves confronted by situations that can be both good and bad at the same time.

Such is the case with this attack on Iran. I know that there may be some who read this and will disagree on both sides of the issue. Some may say that the attack on Iran was great! There was nothing bad about it! While others may say that the attack on Iran was horrible, and there was nothing good about it.

Speaking for myself, as a Jew, a Zionist, and a lover of Israel, and speaking for myself as an American, a patriot who is deeply devoted to the principles and values of our democracy, I find myself seeing both the good and the bad. I find important truths expressed in the messages of both J Street and the American Jewish Committee. Indeed, I believe that there are arguments in both these messages that are incontrovertible.

There is truth in what has been said by the American Jewish Committee. Who can deny that the government of Iran has been a, if not the, major sponsor of international terrorism in our time? That they have supported and underwritten horrific acts of violence rather than promoted peaceful, reasoned attempts at conflict resolution? Yes, it has been mostly Israel, but also America and other Middle Eastern states that have been the victims of this violence, but because this violence is occurring in other lands, and not in our own, it should not mean that what they are doing isn’t wrong and shouldn’t be stopped. It should not mean that we who speak about the importance of peace and justice should close our eyes to it and say, “It’s not our problem.”

There is truth in what has been said by J Street. There is a right way and a wrong way of doing things. Our governmental system has been set up so that we arrive at these decisions only after careful consideration and discussion. Going to war was never intended to be a decision made by only one person. Not even the President. That is why Separation of Powers and Checks and Balances were written into our Constitution. No President has declared war without the consent of Congress. Not even Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who, on the day after the day after the Japanese sneak attack on Pearl Harbor, the “Day that Will Live in Infamy,” stood before a joint session of Congress and called upon them to vote on a declaration of war. No President was allowed to throw our country into a war without significant justification and provocation for doing so. Nor was it right to exercise the military option when there were several other options available to us to place more pressure on the Iranian government to moderate its policies; options that were not even considered.

Obviously, my fellow Jews and I are going to be torn on this issue. After all, for years, Iran has posed a real, imminent existential threat to the safety and the very existence of the State of Israel. It has funded, armed, and trained Palestinian terrorist organizations that have made it abundantly clear that they have no interest whatsoever in any form of negotiated peace with Israel. They want Israel wiped off the map. No other solution will suffice for them, and they have no compunction about resorting to the most violent means necessary to achieve their goal. So, of course, we want that to end. That does not mean that we want Iran destroyed, as they want Israel destroyed. We prefer that Iran change. If that requires regime change, so be it. But other Middle Eastern states have been able to change without regime change. Why not Iran? Has there not been enough bloodshed in that part of the world?

But one thing, not mentioned in either of the two organizational statements, is that today, it seems that all three nations - the United States, Israel, and Iran - are sorely in need of regime change, for those who head their governments are no really interested in the pursuit of peace, but just the retention and expansion of power. Whether it is Trump, Netanyahu, or Khamenei, they are all cut from the same bolt of cloth.

Khamenei is now dead, along with several of his lieutenants. We know not which way Iran will change. Even with the bombs dropping on Tehran, people were out on the streets, cheering. We must never confuse the will of the governing with the will of the governed. We can only hope that the will of the people prevails. But they could use some help to get that job done, and bombs dropped from the sky will not be nearly enough.

As for Netanyahu, one would think that after the October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas on Israel, one would think that the last strategy that Netanyahu would have embraced would be a sneak attack. But obviously, one would be wrong. Hopefully, the people of Israel do not share his opinion on that. While they have good reason to celebrate the dismantling of the rule of the Ayatollah in Iran, hopefully, their memory of that dark October day will continue to leave a bad and bitter taste in their mouths, so much so that they do not wish to replicate the actions of Hamas. They have been taking to the streets in large numbers, protesting the Netanyahu administration, for some time. Perhaps they will have gathered enough strength to enable them to effect their own regime change, come their next national elections.

We know where Trump is coming from. Having avoided military service himself, and having publicly declared that he thinks that those who sacrificed their lives in defense of our country and lie buried in graves on foreign soil were all “suckers and losers, he now wishes to reinvent himself as the ultimate warrior as long as others risk life and limb on his behalf. His hypocrisy, like his malice, continues to be without bounds. Just last night, during the cold opening of Saturday Night Live, the Donald Trump character played by James Austin Johnson, while announcing the attack on Iran, said, “We took out a horrible leader who was oppressing his people. BUT DON’T GET ANY IDEAS!” As Americans, we know what we have to do to save democracy, and to save the possibility of peace on this planet. We, too, need to do everything in our power to effect regime change. It would be great if we could do it peacefully, through the mechanisms of our democratic system. But if those mechanisms are denied to us, we still need to get that job done.