MARCH 24 • 2022 | 11

and the world through its 
support of proxy militias 
and employment of terror 
as statecraft,” with “activi-
ties [that] span nearly every 
continent [as] they have left 
death and debris in their 
wake in countries such as 
Argentina, Lebanon, Turkey, 
Bulgaria and even in the 
U.S.”
Biden’s own Central 
Command General Kenneth 
McKenzie has called Iran’s 
3,000 ballistic missiles “the 
greatest threat to the region’s 
security.” Nothing in the deal 
addresses that threat.

PERPLEXING POLICY
It’s perplexing why Biden 
would think that freeing up 
billions in sanctions relief 
to such a terror regime in 
return for dubious promises 
from a cheating and deceit-
ful country would be such a 
good idea.

I’ve heard several expla-
nations: He views the 
deal as upholding his and 
former President Barack 
Obama’s legacy; he wants to 
undo anything that former 
President Donald Trump did; 
he’s desperate for any kind 
of “win” after the disastrous 
exit from Afghanistan; he 
needs to lower gas prices to 
boost his approval numbers, 
and removing the sanctions 
against oil-wealthy Iran 
will help do that; he’s just 
following the advice of his 
overeager negotiators in 
Vienna (which would mean, 
of course, ignoring the three 
members of his Iran team 
who quit last month because 
Biden was being too soft.)
The truth, however, is 
that it doesn’t really mat-
ter why Biden has caved to 
Iran. What matters is that he 
seems determined to push a 
deal through no matter what, 

and the Jewish world must 
not remain silent.
Should we be grateful that 
the Russians, reeling from 
global sanctions, have intro-
duced last-minute demands 
that may scuttle the deal? 
Not necessarily. Just like we 
saw with his former boss, 
Obama, when the most 
powerful man in the world 
decides he wants a deal — 
and that intention has been 
conveyed loud and clear to 
the wily Mullahs in Tehran 
— he gets his way, regardless 
of the obstacles, and regard-
less of how lousy the final 
deal is.
From what I hear from 
sources, the real stumbling 
block is the Iranian insis-
tence (not unreasonable, 
I may add) that a future 
administration won’t just 
cancel the deal, as the Trump 
administration did. Because 
it’s so hard to offer such 

guarantees, if anything kills 
the deal, that will be it.
But because Iran desper-
ately needs the sanctions 
lifted, some kind of compro-
mise is likely. The perverted 
irony is that the most hated 
country on the planet right 
now, Russia, may be asked to 
play a role to overcome that 
final hurdle.

TIME FOR OUTRAGE
As the final hour approaches, 
the Jewish world must not 
wait until the deal is sealed 
to express its outrage. 
President Biden has every 
right to sign a deal that may 
well endanger Israel and the 
region, and we have every 
right to let him know that we 
feel betrayed by a friend. 

David Suissa is editor-in-chief and 

publisher of Tribe Media Corp, and 

“Jewish Journal.” He can be reached 

at davids@jewishjournal.com. This 

article was first published by the 

Jewish Journal.

have seized a lot, you have not 
seized.” This phrase is often 
interpreted to mean trying 
to do too much or having an 
overly ambitious goal often 
result in failure.
Every person has their own 
challenges. It’s likely that 
at least some of them can’t 
be solved easily or quickly. 
Although this is frustrating, 
the advice laid out in this arti-
cle makes dealing with this 
reality slightly less troubling. 
Reflecting back, I’m not 
actually sure that this article 
had any deeper meaning or 
was meant to be interpreted 
this intensely. But, in my 
opinion, the deeper lesson 
offered here is wasted if only 
used when considering how 
to improve one’s New Year’s 
resolutions. 

Andy Tukel is a senior and all-school 

President at Frankel Jewish Academy.

POLAND EQUALS SOLIDARITY continued from page 6

industry, as well as munici-
palities, NGOs and local vol-
unteer-based civil society are 
providing shelter and feeding 
those in need.
According to a recent 
poll, some 75% of Poles have 
already engaged in some 
form of aid to refugees from 
Ukraine. To encourage such 
endeavors, the Polish govern-
ment is introducing stipends 
for people who host refugees. 
Measures undertaken and 
coordinated by the govern-
ment and grassroots efforts 
combined with the actions 
of the Ukrainian diaspora 
already present in Poland 
have so far averted a need for 
refugee camps.
Obviously, in such a crisis, a 
society’s generosity and mas-
sive mobilization can only be 
complementary to long-term 
solutions at the state level. That 

is why Polish authorities have 
just adopted special legislation 
giving Ukrainian refugees the 
right to work and access social 
services and benefits, under 
the same conditions as citi-
zens of Poland. Children who 
recently fled from Ukraine 
are already attending school 
in Poland. Universities are 
admitting students unable to 
continue their studies at home. 
Healthcare coverage and family 
benefits have been extended to 
Ukrainian refugees, as well.
Poland is struggling to see 
that nobody fleeing Ukraine 
is left behind, and encourages 
international partners to match 
our efforts.
You might ask, what has 
made Poland the champion of 
the Ukrainian refugees’ cause? 
The answer is that the mem-
ory of the atrocities of World 
War II and the suffering of the 

civilian population is still alive 
in Poland.
Eighty years after the war, 
we know what it means to lose 
everybody and everything in 
a single day. We know what 
it means to have to flee your 
home and wander the world 
for years, searching for refuge. 
We also remember the asylum 
and assistance extended to the 
Polish people in the early 1980s 
when the harsh measures of 
martial law were introduced by 
the then-Communist authori-
ties of Poland, with the blessing 
of Soviet Moscow, to suppress 
the massive “Solidarity” move-
ment that dared to oppose the 
communist regime. Solidarity 
is the brand of Poland. 

Agata Czaplińska is acting ambassa-

dor of the Republic of Poland in Israel. 

This article first appeared in Israel 

Hayom.

