American Jewish establishment backs Iran strikes while political divides emerge
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Iran conflictHeightened security urged

American Jewish establishment backs Iran strikes while political divides emerge

Pennsylvania senators support US strikes on Iran; House members Summer Lee and Chris Deluzio condemn strikes

By Grace Gilson| JTA and Toby Tabachnick March 2, 2026, 10:25 am 0 Edit
A plume of smoke rises after an explosion on Feb. 28, 2026 in Tehran as U.S. and Israeli forces launch a strike on Iran. (Photo by Majid Saeedi/Getty Images)
A plume of smoke rises after an explosion on Feb. 28, 2026 in Tehran as U.S. and Israeli forces launch a strike on Iran. (Photo by Majid Saeedi/Getty Images)

Major American Jewish groups quickly backed the U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran Saturday morning, while urging heightened security at Jewish institutions amid fears of retaliation.

The strikes, which were billed by both President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as an effort to topple the Islamic Republic regime that has long targeted Israel, follow weeks of stalled diplomacy between the United States and Iran over its nuclear program that failed to produce an agreement.

The American Jewish Committee quickly threw its support behind the United States and Israel Saturday morning, writing in a statement that the “responsibility for this crisis lies entirely with Tehran.”

“The world will be a safer place when the threat of the Iranian regime’s illicit nuclear and missile programs, along with the IRGC, is dismantled once and for all,” the AJC said. “We hope today’s military action is a decisive step toward fulfilling that vital mission.”

In a post on X, the Anti-Defamation League wrote that it “stands with the United States, Israel and the Iranian people, who deserve dignity and freedom from a regime that murders its own citizens.”

The strikes also follow large-scale nationwide protests in Iran last month over its economic crisis and widespread calls for political change, which were met by a violent government crackdown.

The World Jewish Congress also came out in support of the strikes, calling on the international community to “stand behind this historic effort and support further measures that end the ability of theocratic tyrants to inflict harm on the Iranian people and the world at large any longer.”

The Jewish Federations of North America wrote that it will “pray for the success of the joint United States and Israeli actions in Iran,” simultaneously urging Jewish communities in the United States to maintain security protocols.

“All security protocols in North America should be fully observed. May this moment bring a renewed understanding of our shared responsibility for the future of the Jewish people and the free world,” Eric Fingerhut, the CEO of the Jewish Federations of North America, said in a statement.

Likewise, the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh stressed in a statement that it “stands with the people of Israel at this critical moment. We are working closely with our partners to provide emergency support where it is most needed.”

As the holiday of Purim approached, the Federation assured Pittsburgh’s Jewish community that its security team was “coordinating with local, state and federal law enforcement to help ensure our community’s safety.”
Following Saturday morning’s attacks, the Secure Community Network “urged continued vigilance across Jewish communities.” In the wake of Israel’s strikes on Iranian nuclear sites last June, Jewish security groups also warned Jews abroad to remain vigilant, as Iran has a track record of violence against Jewish and Israeli targets abroad following military setbacks on its home turf.

A different perspective
But while major national and international Jewish groups rallied behind the military intervention, some progressive Zionist Jewish political groups condemned the strikes.

“Americans are waking up to the deeply unsettling news that President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu chose to start a war with Iran,” wrote New Jewish Narrative, a progressive Zionist Jewish organization, in a post on X. “This is wrong. It needs to stop.”

Jeremy Ben-Ami, the president of J Street also voiced opposition to the strikes, writing in a statement that the group was “appalled by President Trump’s reckless decision to launch a war of choice against Iran explicitly seeking regime change.”

“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,” Ben-Ami wrote. “However, Iran does not present an imminent threat that requires launching a ‘preventive’ war.”

Pennsylvania politicians weigh in
There was no consensus among Pennsylvania’s elected officials regarding the strikes on Iran. While several offered unequivocal support, others roundly criticized Trump for taking unilateral action.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, in a statement, called out Trump for acting “unilaterally — without Congressional approval and outside of the guardrails set up by our founders in Philadelphia nearly 250 years ago.”

“In going to war with Iran, the President has not adequately explained why this war is urgent now, what this military campaign may look like, or what the strategic objective is. Until a few days ago, he was seeking a deal to dismantle Iran’s nuclear program that the President himself claimed just a few months ago was completely destroyed. But today he declared that this is a war for regime change, something he said he would not pursue.”

While Shapiro acknowledged that “the Iranian regime represses its own people and is the leading state sponsor of terrorism around the world” and “must never be allowed to possess nuclear weapons,” he accused Trump of “putting our brave servicemembers at greater risk and undermining our national security interests.”

Both Pennsylvania senators, however, offered support for the strikes on Iran.

Calling the Iranian regime “the world’s number one sponsor of terror,” Republican Sen. Dave McCormick said, “The president has given the ayatollahs a chance for a deal, and they have rejected a path to peace and prosperity. I am praying for our brave troops and our steadfast allies who stand with us during this challenging and noble mission.”

Likewise, Sen. John Fetterman, one of only a handful of congressional Democrats to support the strikes, wrote on X: “President Trump has been willing to do what’s right and necessary to produce real peace in the region. God bless the United States, our great military, and Israel.”

The message delivered from Rep. Summer Lee, a Democrat who represents District 12 — which includes Squirrel Hill — was markedly different from that of the state’s senators.

“Trump’s words make it clear he doesn’t care about the safety of Americans and his actions make clear he doesn’t care about the safety of the Iranian people. If he did, he wouldn’t be risking the lives of American troops for the sake of another endless war or trying to turn Iran into a war zone,” Lee said in a statement. “From day one Trump has shown us his corruption and desire for regime change in multiple countries that he has no business being in.

“This is an insanely unpopular, dangerous, and illegal act of war. Congress must pass a War Powers Resolution immediately and hold this lawless president accountable.”

Iraq War veteran Rep. Chris Deluzio, a Democrat who represents District 17, which includes Mt. Lebanon, likewise criticized Trump.

“Let’s be clear: Donald Trump is ordering other people’ kids to risk their lives in an unauthorized war the Congress and the American people have not approved,” Deluzio said in a statement. “Congress should reconvene immediately and put an end to this before the region is further destabilized and precious American lives are lost. To every hawk cheerleading this war — answer a simple question: how many American troops should die for this?”

Curiously, Allegheny County Councilman Dan Grzybek, who represents District 5 (Mt. Lebanon, Bethel Park, Dormont and Upper St. Clair) weighed in on the war, laying blame on the “Epstein class.”

On X, Gryzbek wrote: “Trump and the Epstein class are murdering innocent civilians and putting American soldiers in danger without going through Congress or providing any coherent explanation to the American people.”

Purim parallels
Several Jewish commentators online, including Rabbi Danny Schiff, the Gefsky community scholar at Pittsburgh’s Federation, noted similarities between the story of Purim and the U.S./Israel strikes on Iran. Commenting on the impact of the assassination of Ali Khamenei, Schiff wrote Sunday on Facebook that “the echoes of Jewish history are palpable in these fateful days.”

“Yesterday was Shabbat Zakhor — the day on which we are commanded to remember to wipe out the vestiges of Amalek from the world. If anyone qualified as the spiritual descendent of Amalek — an individual who envisioned and planned for a world without Jews — it was surely Ali Khamenei. How extraordinary that we should eliminate his evil on the very day that our tradition calls upon us to recall the threat of those of his ilk.”

But there is “an even more striking parallel,” Schiff wrote.

“Tomorrow night, Purim begins. Purim takes place in ancient Persia, where Iran is today. And here’s what it says towards the end of the megillah: ‘And so, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month — that is, the month of Adar — when the king’s command and decree were to be executed, the very day on which the enemies of the Jews had expected to get them in their power, the opposite happened, and the Jews got their enemies in their power.’”

A megillah “written for our own times,” Schiff wrote, “would report precisely the same inversion of expectations: ‘And so, on the seventh of October, the very day on which the enemies of the Jews (Hamas, joined by Hezbollah, the Houthis, and Iran) had expected to get them in their power, the opposite happened, and the Jews got their enemies in their power. …’”

“In the end,” Schiff continued, “the megillah records that once the enemy was vanquished ‘the Jews enjoyed light and gladness, happiness and honor.’ Let us pray that we will be privileged to see the same result in our own day.” PJC

Toby Tabachnick can be reached at ttabachnick@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

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