Tell Congress to #ResealTheDeal!
We want to share with you some somber words from our leadership, in a letter that has been co-signed by many of our allies and is being delivered to the NY Congressional delegation today. We hope that you will take a moment to read our letter (below) and to share it with your friends and contacts. While it is too late for organizations to sign the letters that are going to our delegation, additional sign-ons will continue to be added to our online version, where you can also find ways to share with one click.
Here's what YOU can do:
Call Congress. Find your Congress person here. And your Senator here. Then dial 844-ACT-NIAC (844-228-6422) to connect with the Capitol Switchboard.
Use our toolkit for Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
Pass this along to your whole network, and share, share, SHARE!
In hope that war can be averted,
Cari Gardner, Vice-chair
George Albro, Co-chair
Jay Bellanca, Co-chair
Nancy de Delva, Co-chair
Here's the letter:
The Biden Administration is currently engaged in critical negotiations to return to the JCPOA, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, commonly referred to as the Iran Nuclear Deal. This landmark nonproliferation agreement successfully blocked the development of an Iranian nuclear weapon before Trump’s reckless withdrawal from the deal. At this moment, New York’s Congressional delegation has an important role to play in the diplomatic process.
We at NYPAN believe that a swift return to the Iran Nuclear Deal is essential to avoid another, and possibly disastrous, war in the Middle East, and to alleviate the suffering our 1,600 sanctions have imposed on 83 million Iranians.
Avoiding such a war is not only important in itself, but of central concern if the United States is to focus on our pressing domestic needs. A war would certainly derail our progressive agenda both on the state and federal levels and lead to potentially catastrophic consequences in the Middle East and beyond.
The timeline for returning to the deal is very short. In June, Iran will hold presidential elections. If the agreement is not restored before the election, it may become impossible for Biden to salvage it under a successor administration, which would risk locking the U.S. and Iran on the path to a devastating regional war.
Some advocate for delaying re-entry into the deal or attaching unattainable conditions to any agreement. Most of the advocates for this approach have opposed the deal from the beginning and are clearly seeking to scuttle diplomacy. The JCPOA can indeed be the foundation of further diplomacy. But not rejoining the agreement will most likely make future negotiations impossible.
This is no time for our elected officials to sit on the sidelines. Many officials privately admit that returning to the JCPOA is the only viable path to avoid war. But at this critical moment, private commitments are not enough. We call on every member of New York’s Congressional delegation to speak out now, before it’s too late, and publicly support a swift “compliance for compliance” return to this historic agreement.
As one of the leading progressive organizations in New York State, NYPAN, and the organizations signing below, are asking our elected officials to show courage and statesmanship. We thank those lawmakers of the New York delegation who have already publicly called for a return to the JCPOA. We hope the rest of the delegation will join their colleagues in support of the Iran Nuclear Deal and the choice of diplomacy and peace over war.
Signed,
Albany Progressive Action Network
Broadway United Church of Christ
Bronx Progressives
Brooklyn Progressive Action Network
Columbia-Greene Democratic Socialists of America
Concerned Citizens for Change
Concerned Families of Westchester
Indivisible Yorktown
Jewish Voice for Peace-Albany
Jewish Voice for Peace-NYC
J Street NY
Long Island Activists
Long Island Alliance for Peaceful Alternatives
Long Island Network for Change
Nassau County Democratic Socialists of America
National Iranian American Council (NIAC)
North Country-NYPAN
New York Progessive Action Network
New York Indivisible
NY02 Indivisible
NYPAN Greene
Olive Branch Film Series: Ithaca Explores Palestine Through Films
Orange County Progressives
Our Revolution Cayuga County
Peace Action New York State
Progressive Action of Lower Manhattan
Progressive East End Reformers
Progress4 Peekskill
Rockland Citizens Action Network
Show Up Long Island
Suffolk Progressives
Tompkins County Progressives
Uptown Progressive Action
Veterans for Peace--NYC Chapter 34
WESPAC Foundation
Yonkers Progressive Action Network
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