An old friend whose devotion to Israel is very, very strong shared The Iran Deal and the Rut of History on Facebook a couple of days ago. The piece is from The Atlantic and was written by Leon Wieseltier. Mr. Wieseltier was the literary critic for The New Republic forever—well, only from 1983 until 2014—and writes now for The Atlantic. His writing has focused often on Jewish and Middle East subjects, and his parents survived the Holocaust.

The piece opens with these words: “The president said many times he’s willing to step out of the rut of history.” Mr. Wieseltier is quoting Ben Rhodes, a White House aide. Three sentences later—not many extra words here—Mr. Wieseltier states his thesis: