Fulop outlines 'key points' for U.S.-Iran nuclear deal

By Terrence T. McDonald | The Jersey Journal The Jersey Journal 
June 07, 2015 at  8:35 PM

Mayor Steve Fulop, speaking at the retirement service of his childhood rabbi tonight, offered "five key points" he says are essential to any deal to block Iran's access to nuclear weaponry.

The remarks, obtained in advance by The Jersey Journal, mark the first time Fulop, a Democrat who is eyeing a run for governor in 2017, has ventured into the foreign policy arena. They come as the U.S. approaches a June 30 deadline for a nuclear deal with Iran, one of President Obama's second-term policy priorities.

"We know that the world may and can be a dangerous place and while we labor for justice in the world, we will also need to be mindful as we need to exercise wisdom in the maintenance of America's interests and Israel's freedom because in many ways they are intertwined," Fulop said tonight at Congregation Neve Shalom in Metuchen, according to his prepared remarks.

Obama's proposed deal with Iran, the broad outline of which was released in April, would reduce Iran's operating centrifuges and its stockpile of partially enriched uranium, impose new monitoring of the country's nuclear program and, eventually, end the severe economic sanctions against Iran.

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At rabbi’s retirement ceremony, Fulop opens up about his Jewish beliefs
POLITICKER NJ - By Politicker Staff  | 06/07/15 5:08pm

Metuchen – Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop spoke passionately today about his Jewish beliefs at the retirement service of his childhood Rabbi, Gerald Zelizer, at Congregation Neve Shalom in Metuchen.  In his remarks, Fulop described how Zelizer set his moral compass that he follows today in public service and extends to his views on current U.S. negotiations with Iran and its impact on Israel.

“It is within the involvement and participation in the civic life of American society that I rely upon my Jewish experience and belief. When we do what is right, what is just, what is merciful, when we abide by the tenets we have learned by living in the Jewish community; then we begin to experience the good and the holy,” Fulop said to the congregation.

Fulop, whose mother is the daughter of Holocaust survivors, spoke in detail for the first time on the prospect of Iran becoming a nuclear power and what that means for Israel and the United States and credited Rabbi Zelizer for creating core beliefs that stay with him today.  “Rabbi Zelizer spoke about Abraham, Israel, Tikun Olam and the importance of treating people well.  I would listen and think about what he said for days,” Fulop said.

Fulop also spoke about how listening to the shofar at synagogue took on even greater significance as the bugle call awakened him each morning as a Marine serving in Baghdad.

“As Americans, we need to appreciate the particular challenge of Iran to both our nation and of course Israel. If the chant “Death to America” and the destruction of Israel are the state supported and sanctioned rallying cries of government supported rallies, we are not negotiating with a rational and objective government. And whether one is a Democrat, as I am, or a Republican, a Christian, Muslim, or Jew; the hatred to our nation expressed by Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei when he affirmed a Tehran crowd’s chants of “death to America,” must give us insights as to Iran’s intentions,” Fulop said.

“Yes, peaceful self-determination need be for all nations, but when Iran is heading upon a clear discernible charge toward the acquisition of nuclear weapons, we must be mindful of the nuances of the discussion and its impact on the United States and of course Israel. There are 5 key points which impact all of us and must be included in any deal. As we talk every High Holy Day about Israel, these points are crucial,” Fulop said. “Inspection, Awareness of Military Dimension, Sanctions, Duration, and Dismantlement; these five points are the framework for a practical enforceable agreement. They are no less, no more than the terms President John Fitzgerald Kennedy crafted after the Cuban Missile Crisis to address the Soviet threat poised by the installation of missiles in Cuba.”

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