8 | MAY 13 • 2021 PURELY COMMENTARY continued from page 7 own pleasant pattern: sleeping later, praying at home, spend- ing more time with my wife and, when the weather allowed, meeting up with friends — 6 feet apart — on a bench out- side. I know I’m not alone in my ambivalence about going back to shul now. I’ve talked to friends about it and they, too, seem a bit mystified about what keeps some of us home. We know that going back would be good for the congregation, and probably for us, even though the prospect of COVID-limited attendance, singing and social- izing is less than appealing. Are we just lazy or fearful of becoming sick? Or have we become dependent on the safe- ty and security of keeping close to home? What would get me back to shul? No, it’s not the prospect of visiting a nearby fire station after services. It’s the chance to ignite a spark of faith and com- mitment, and time to take the next step back on the long path toward normalcy. So, there I was on Saturday, back in synagogue. Sitting alone, at least 6 feet away from others, and wearing a mask, felt isolating at first, like pray- ing alone in a room despite the others around me. But gradually the mood lifted and the familiar comfort of the prayers — and the warm (if muted) greetings from fellow congregants — made me feel at home again. I could get used to this. Gary Rosenblatt is a former editor of the Detroit Jewish News and editor and publisher of the Jewish Week, 1993-2019. Follow him at garyrosenblatt. substack.com. commentary Israel Has No Choice but to Act on its Own to Stop Iran T he head of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency and the gov- ernment’s national security adviser was in Washington late last month on an import- ant mission that has failed even before it began. White House spokesperson Jen Psaki made it clear that the Israelis are wasting their time. When asked if Israeli pleas about the danger to the region if the United States rejoins the 2015 nuclear deal would have any impact on President Joe Biden’s plans, Psaki answered, “No.” She went on to say that the Israelis are free to keep “chal- lenging” the administration’s goal of returning to a weak pact that gives Tehran a legal path to a nuclear weapon by the end of the decade, but the best they could hope for is to be “kept abreast” of America’s plans. That contemptuous atti- tude was of particular signif- icance because the day before the Israeli security officials arrived, news broke about how former Secretary of State John Kerry had shared intelligence with Iran about Israeli covert operations seeking to stop their nuclear program. According to an audiotape of comments made by Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Zarif that was obtained by the New York Times, he said, “It was for- mer U.S. Foreign Secretary [sic] John Kerry who told me Israel had launched more than 200 attacks on Iranian forces in Syria.” There is a lot to unwrap in that one sentence and not just because the Times buried this revelation at the bottom of its story. Kerry, for whom Psaki served as spokesperson during the nuclear negotia- tions from 2013 to 2015, cur- rently acts as Biden’s special presidential envoy of climate. We already knew that in 2018 Kerry consulted with Zarif, advising his former nego- tiating partner not to work with the Trump administra- tion, which withdrew from the nuclear deal as part of a “maximum pressure” cam- paign to force the Iranians to agree to a new tougher agreement that would elim- inate sunset clauses, as well as include bans on Tehran’s role as the world’s leading state sponsor of international terrorism and its illegal mis- sile-building. Kerry told Zarif to simply wait out Trump and then deal with a more pliant Democrat that he hoped would be elected in 2020. That’s exactly what hap- pened, and now the Iranians are reaping the benefits. Biden’s foreign-policy team, composed almost entirely of veterans of the adminis- tration of former President Barack Obama, are again resuming their past practice of appeasing the Iranians with concessions in the works to entice Tehran to return to a deal with little hope of improving upon it. U.S. ISRAEL TENSIONS Kerry’s collusion with Iran is important because it comes in the context of the grow- ing tension with Israel over its efforts to sabotage the Iranian nuclear program. Unlike in the past, when it was clear that the United States and Israel were cooper- Jonathan S. Tobin jns.org continued on page 10 U.S. MISSION/ERIC BRIDIERS. Former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry meets with Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif in Geneva, Switzerland, in 2015.