Twenty-two U.S. Democratic members of the U.S. House of Representatives, part of a delegation visiting Israel, have heard united opposition against the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) reached between Iran and the P5+1 on July 14. The delegation has met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as well as members of the Israeli defense establishment and a range of other Israeli officials.

Leaders from across Israel’s political spectrum have been united against the final agreement. Prime Minister Netanyahu called it an “historic mistake,” while Opposition Leader Isaac Herzog, who heads the left-wing Zionist Union, stated, “The agreement that was signed with the Iranian kingdom of terror is a dangerous agreement” that “endangers our security interests.”  The leader of the center-left party Yesh Atid, Yair Lapid, said that the JCPOA is “a bad deal, which endangers the security of Israel and the world’s security.”

In recent days, key Democratic members of Congress have announced their opposition to the deal. On Thursday, in a much anticipated decision, Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY), who is slated to be the next Democratic leader, came out against the deal. He wrote, “To me, after ten years, if Iran is the same nation as it is today, we will be worse off with this agreement than without it. . . To me, the very real risk that Iran will not moderate and will, instead, use the agreement to pursue its nefarious goals is too great. . . Therefore, I will vote to disapprove the agreement.” Ranking Member for the Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa on the House Foreign Affairs Committee Rep. Ted Deutch (D-Fla.) declared, "Too many issues I have long raised as essential to any nuclear deal with Iran are not adequately addressed in this agreement. I will vote against it when Congress reconvenes in September." Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY.) and senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) both announced their opposition to the deal last week. Rep. Sherman maintains that the deal cannot bind the U.S. -- “not legally, not morally, not diplomatically."

More than 60% of Americans distrust Iran, and a plurality believes that the Islamic Republic got the better part of the nuclear deal with the West, a poll (.pdf) released today by Monmouth University showed.

Four-in-ten (41%) say Iran got more of what it wanted from this deal, while just 14% feel the U.S. came out on top. Only 23% say that both countries benefited equally. Another 5% volunteer that neither country got what they wanted and 17% are not sure who benefitted more from the agreement. Two-thirds of Republicans (67%) say Iran made out on the deal, while a plurality of Democrats (39%) say both countries benefitted equally.

The Monmouth University Poll also found that 6-in-10 (61%) Americans do not trust Iran at all to abide by the terms of this agreement. Just 6% have a lot of trust in Iran and 28% have a little trust. This high lack of trust is similar to where it stood in polls taken during the final stages of the negotiations last month (55%) and at the beginning of the year (59%).

This the latest poll that shows widespread skepticism towards the nuclear deal with Iran.

Earlier this month, a Quinnipiac University poll found that American voters opposed the deal by a ratio of two to one. A poll conducted by the Pew Research Center last month found that 73% of Americans don’t believe that Iran will abide by the terms of the deal. Polls conducted last month by The Israel Project showed that Americans became more opposed to the deal as they learned more about it. The Israel Project publishes The Tower.

In the past week, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif have boasted that Iran got everything it wanted out of the deal. Fars Newsreported Thursday that Rouhani boasted that all sanctions against Iran that had been imposed for its illicit nuclear program would be terminated, and that Iran had successfully managed to have itself removed from sanctions imposed by the United Nations. Similarly, in a panel discussion Sunday, Zarif said that the deal ensured that Iran’s nuclear program would be removed from the agenda of the United Nations Security Council and that its ballistic missile program would not be limited in any way. (via TheTower.org)

Want to volunteer without a long-term commitment? No problem. This nonprofit adjusts to your schedule. Doing volunteer work seems like a no-brainer: We help others and feel better about ourselves in the process. Yet, we all have legitimate excuses for why we don’t volunteer. Perhaps it’s a lack of time, specific skills, local opportunities or social confidence. Thankfully, there’s a better way to doing good. A burgeoning Israeli non-profit called OneDay Social Volunteering  is steadily growing a network of young adult volunteers, ages 18 to 35, throughout Tel Aviv, Haifa and Jerusalem by breaking down the common barriers to volunteering. OneDay’s simple but innovative model promises volunteers meaningful impact, dynamic activities and social interaction with no commitment necessary. To achieve this, they partner with other nonprofit organizations to create one-day volunteer events that serve the partner’s given need. As soon as the event is complete, OneDay immediately follows it with a social outing where volunteers connect further. Also, the work never gets stale due to the revolving partnerships. In a given month, activities may aid the elderly, African refugee children, adults and children with special needs, rescued animals or other groups in need. OneDay founder Elad Blumenthal designed the model specifically to make volunteering more accessible and enjoyable for his peers. “After finishing the army, I moved to New York for a little while and had a very free schedule that allowed me to volunteer,” he says. “I found it to be a great way to feel like a part of the community and build my social circle as well. But back in Israel, I couldn’t commit to four hours a week anymore. Once you’re in your day-to-day life, it’s not so easy to make that commitment — especially in our generation; people work really hard.” So Blumenthal nixed the “commitment” component, and the response has been strong. Since launching in December 2014, OneDay Social Volunteering has organized 80 volunteering events, contributed a sum of 6,000 volunteering hours, engaged roughly 2,300 volunteers, and has a growing database of 5,000 prospective volunteers. (via Israel21c)