Today, the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America (UOJCA), the nation’s largest Orthodox Jewish umbrella organization, welcomed House passage on Tuesday of two important bills — H.R. 957 and HR 2347 — that would strengthen financial sanctions against Iran and spur Iran divestment campaigns at the state level, and urges the Senate to move quickly to pass this legislation before the August Recess.

H.R. 957, sponsored by Reps. Tom Lantos (D-Ca.) and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), the senior members of the House’s Foreign Affairs Committee, amends the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996 to expand and clarify the entities subject to financial sanctions, including financial institutions, insurers, guarantors, foreign subsidiaries. H.R. 2347, the Iran Sanction Enabling Act, sponsored by Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, and Rep. Chris Shays (R-Conn.), mandates that a list of companies invested in Iran’s energy and defense sectors be published every six months to facilitate divestment from Iran by state pension funds. Additionally, the bill protects fund managers who decide to divest from Iran from potential lawsuits.

UOJCA policy director Nathan Diament issued the following statement:

The Orthodox Union applauds the House for passing H.R. 957 and H.R. 2347 sending the important bi-partisan message that the United States will not tolerate Iran’s non-peaceful nuclear ambitions. We urge the Senate to take up similar bi-partisan legislation, S.1430, introduced by Senators Barack Obama (D-IL) and Sam Brownback (R-KS), and urge them to pass this legislation before the August recess. We thank the House Representatives for passing this important and timely legislation and for their strong commitment to ensuring that Iran does not obtain nuclear capabilities.