With Israel’s aerial campaign against Iran’s nuclear and military sites ongoing and Tehran continuing its barrages of ballistic missiles and drone attacks, the members of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations called on Wednesday for the international community to prevent the Islamic Republic from acquiring nuclear weapons. 

The Conference of Presidents’ statement also praised the United States for aiding in the interception of incoming Iranian missiles and assisting with “strategic coordination,” but did not demand any additional action — such as joining Israel in its strikes on nuclear facilities — instead asking the international community to hold Iran “accountable.” 

Conference of Presidents’ members do not often issue joint statements, as the dozens of movements and organizations that make up the umbrella group represent a wide spectrum of political beliefs. Indeed, a small number of member organizations, mainly on the political left, did not sign on to the statement, which lauded President Donald Trump and his White House. (Other non-signatories stressed that their abstention was a matter of longstanding political neutrality or logistical issues.)

“We are deeply grateful to the United States government for its immediate and essential role in supporting Israel’s defense, including through joint missile interception and strategic coordination. We also commend the bipartisan support from Congress during this critical time,” the statement said. “The actions taken by President Donald J. Trump and his administration during this crisis helps protect civilian lives, bolster deterrence, and reinforce Israel’s ability to confront one of the most serious threats it has ever faced.”

The statement comes during a period of ambiguity regarding the Trump administration’s plans to pursue negotiations with Iran or contribute to Israel’s aerial campaign, particularly with the “bunker-busting” bombs that are believed to be needed to penetrate the Fordow uranium enrichment site that was built deep within a mountain.

“The international community must hold Iran accountable for its continued defiance, aggression, incitement of antisemitism, fostering of global terrorism, and its declared intent to wipe Israel off the map,” the statement said. “Iran’s actions also threaten American lives, American allies, and American national security. A regime that arms proxies from Gaza to Yemen cannot be trusted with the world’s most dangerous weapons.”

The statement also critiqued Iran’s violation of nuclear nonproliferation agreements, support of terror proxies and actions against the Iranian people.

“The Iranian regime wages war against its own people — brutally repressing dissent, persecuting women and minorities, silencing opposition, and pouring resources into terror while neglecting the basic needs of its own citizens,” the statement said. “The Islamic Republic’s response — launching hundreds of missiles and drones at civilian targets in an unprecedented cross-border assault — underscores the severity of the threat and the urgency of strong, sustained international resolve.”

Five organizations from the Conference of Presidents were absent as signatories on the statement: HIAS, National Council of Jewish Women, the progressive New Jewish Narrative (the union of Americans for Peace Now and Ameinu), the Reform movement’s Central Conference of American Rabbis and the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee. 

Hadar Susskind, president and CEO of the New Jewish Narrative, told Haaretz that his group did not sign because it disagreed with the content of the statement. “Where we do agree is that Iran cannot have nuclear weapons. But a military strike can, at best, delay that. And more likely it will only build support for hardliners in Iran who want to develop nuclear weapons. Diplomacy, not bombs, is what has proven successful in keeping Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons,” he said.

A JDC spokesperson stressed to eJP that — as an apolitical organization — this was because, as a matter of policy, it does not sign on to statements about advocacy or government policies, regardless of their content. (He also noted that the organization has provided welfare support to many of the victims of the Iranian attacks in Israel.) 

The Central Conference of American Rabbis said that it did not sign the statement due to “time and process” issues (other parts of the Reform movement, including the overarching Union for Reform Judaism, did sign the statement), and a representative of the organization noted that it put out a similar statement on Monday. 

The other non-signatories did not immediately respond to a request for comment.