NEW YORK – Malcolm Hoenlein, Executive Vice Chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, on Thursday criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's call on American Jewry to mobilize in support of Israel's opposition to the Iranian nuclear agreement, irrespective of their political allegiances.

"I think that Israeli officials should make the case on the content and the substance of the Iran deal and we will do a good job translating it into activity," Hoenlein said, in a briefing to a delegation of Israeli diplomatic correspondents.

"I acknowledge that there is discomfort [in the American Jewish community] ...The Israeli government should not be telling U.S Jews what they should do vis-a-vis their government."

Hoenlein is regarded as being one of the American Jewish leaders closest to Netanyahu.

At the same time, Hoenlein clarified that he regarded the Iranian nuclear issue as an exception and that Netanyahu had the right to tell American Jewry that they needed to understand the seriousness of the situation and to reach out to them.

Hoenlein also said that he had met with several foreign ministers of the countries party to the agreement since it was reached – and they were not comfortable with it.

"They told me in private they feel uncomfortable about the deal, but they don't say that publicly," he stated.

Hoenlein said that it was difficult to assess whether the opponents of the deal in Congress would succeed in garnering the votes needed to reject it. The agreement was already a fact, he said, and both Israel and the American Jewish community needed to prepare for the day after the vote in Congress.

He stressed that Obama needed to act carefully and to consider the possible damage to Israel-U.S. relations that could result from the current rift.

"We need to be smart," he cautioned. "We don't want a rupture in U.S.-Israel relations. We need to also look at the bigger picture here."