When not opposing the construction of houses in Israel, the advocacy group J Street, working alongside far-left and pro-Iranian organizations, has been lobbying the U.S. Congress to suspend sanctions against Iran. In doing so, it gives the lie to its claim that it is really a pro-Israel organization dedicated to a diplomatic solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict. It seems more likely that it has made itself into an extension of the Obama administration. Eric Greenstein writes:

This wouldn’t be the first time J Street has worked together with the National Iranian American Council (NIAC) to prevent either a military strike or the strengthening of sanctions against Iran. Already in 2009, J Street head Jeremy Ben-Ami and Dr. Trita Parsi of NIAC worked against sanctions, and the two organizations have developed warm ties. A Jerusalem Post investigation showed that J Street received donations from Muslim and Arab bodies, including those with connections to NIAC.

The character of the organizations and the timing of their “grassroots” pressure on Congress raise serious questions about J Street’s role as an arm of the White House. The timing of the petition is no coincidence. On November 24, the ultimatum set for the Iranians in the framework of the nuclear talks will expire. Along with other powers, the United States is working intensively to reach an agreement with Iran that would reduce the number of [but not eliminate] its active centrifuges.

Analyzing the recent direct Iranian attack on Israel, and Israel’s security situation more generally, Michael Oren looks to the 2015 agreement to restrain Iran’s nuclear program. That, and President Biden’s efforts to resurrect the deal after Donald Trump left it, are in his view the source of the current crisis:

Of the original motivations for the deal—blocking Iran’s path to the bomb and transforming Iran into a peaceful nation—neither remained. All Biden was left with was the ability to kick the can down the road and to uphold Barack Obama’s singular foreign-policy achievement.

In order to achieve that result, the administration has repeatedly refused to punish Iran for its malign actions:

Historians will survey this inexplicable record and wonder how the United States not only allowed Iran repeatedly to assault its citizens, soldiers, and allies but consistently rewarded it for doing so. They may well conclude that in a desperate effort to avoid getting dragged into a regional Middle Eastern war, the U.S. might well have precipitated one.

While America’s friends in the Middle East, especially Israel, have every reason to feel grateful for the vital assistance they received in intercepting Iran’s missile and drone onslaught, they might also ask what the U.S. can now do differently to deter Iran from further aggression. . . . Tehran will see this weekend’s direct attack on Israel as a victory—their own—for their ability to continue threatening Israel and destabilizing the Middle East with impunity.

Israel, of course, must respond differently. Our target cannot simply be the Iranian proxies that surround our country and that have waged war on us since October 7, but, as the Saudis call it, “the head of the snake.”