Fighting talk

ACCORDING to the Talmud, the Romans were able to conquer Jerusalem and drive the Jews into exile because of the debilitating rifts among them. Some aghast rabbis have cited this ancient warning to temper the rancour among American Jews over the deal to constrain Iran’s nuclear programme, struck in July by Barack Obama and five other governments. Opposition from some Jews (and many others), based on anxieties about Israeli security and Iran’s genocidal rhetoric, has not derailed the agreement, which this week secured enough support in the Senate to survive. But the debate has divided synagogues across the country, a spasm of infighting that may yet prove momentous, albeit not as Mr Obama’s critics intended.