(cnn) president barack obama strongly pushed back against claims that he has used anti-semitic rhetoric in criticizing those opposed to the nuclear deal with iran.









"there is not a smidgen of evidence for it, other than the fact that there have been times where i've disagreed with a particular israeli government's position on a particular issue" obama said in an interview published monday with the forward , a leading jewish newspaper, adding that such charges are hurtful.









obama's comments come as the obama administration is making a full-court press to sell the iran deal to the american public and prevent congress from blocking in a september vote the agreement brokered in july between iran and world power.









secretary of state john kerry will deliver a major speech on the deal at the national constitution center in philadelphia on wednesday as part of that push, cnn has learned. kerry will use the speech to defend the merits of the agreement and respond to its critics, as obama has done in several speeches and interviews since the deal was finalized.









federica mogherini, foreign policy chief for the european union, has been representing the europeans in nuclear talks with iran.









federica mogherini, foreign policy chief for the european union, has been representing the europeans in nuclear talks with iran.









wendy sherman has been a key u.s. negotiator in the iran talks. she is the under secretary of state for political affairs.









wendy sherman has been a key u.s. negotiator in the iran talks. she is the under secretary of state for political affairs.









kerry, second from left, meets iranian foreign minister mohammad javad zarif, second from right, for talks in lausanne, switzerland, on monday, march 16. at the far left is u.s. secretary of energy ernest moniz. at the far right is ali akbar salehi, head of iran's atomic energy organization.









kerry, second from left, meets iranian foreign minister mohammad javad zarif, second from right, for talks in lausanne, switzerland, on monday, march 16. at the far left is u.s. secretary of energy ernest moniz. at the far right is ali akbar salehi, head of iran's atomic energy organization.









u.s. secretary of state john kerry has been spearheading negotiations on a possible deal to rein in iran's nuclear program.









u.s. secretary of state john kerry has been spearheading negotiations on a possible deal to rein in iran's nuclear program.









after arduous talks that spanned 20 months, negotiators reached a landmark deal aimed at reining in iran's nuclear program, announced on july 14. from left, european union high representative for foreign affairs and security policy federica mogherini, iranian foreign minister mohammad javad zarif, head of the iranian atomic energy organization ali akbar salehi, russian foreign minister sergey lavrov, british foreign secretary philip hammond and u.s. secretary of state john kerry pose for a group picture at the united nations building in vienna on july 14.









after arduous talks that spanned 20 months, negotiators reached a landmark deal aimed at reining in iran's nuclear program, announced on july 14. from left, european union high representative for foreign affairs and security policy federica mogherini, iranian foreign minister mohammad javad zarif, head of the iranian atomic energy organization ali akbar salehi, russian foreign minister sergey lavrov, british foreign secretary philip hammond and u.s. secretary of state john kerry pose for a group picture at the united nations building in vienna on july 14.









the obama administration's strongly worded defense of the nuclear deal and its attacks on those opposed to the deal has concerned some prominent members of the american jewish community, who have worried aloud that the administration's rhetoric could fuel anti-semitic stereotypes.









at issue are obama and his top surrogates' claims that opponents of the deal are going to precipitate a war with iran, and that their opposition has come from a well-funded lobbying campaign -- a campaign rooted in the american jewish community and other pro-israel circles.









some critics of the deal have gone even further in linking obama's iran deal to anti-semitism, as 2016 gop presidential candidate ben carson did while discussing the agreement in light of iran's threats to israel.









"anything is anti-semitic that is against the survival of a state that is surrounded by enemies and people who want to destroy them," he told fox news in mid-august. "to sort of ignore that and to act like everything is normal there and these people are paranoid, i think that's anti-semitic."









obama has rejected that premise, and insisted in his interview with the forward that "if you care deeply about israel, then you have an obligation to be honest about what you think, the same way you would with any friend."









"and we don't do anybody, any friend, a service by just rubber-stamping whatever decisions they make, even if we think that they're damaging in some fashion," obama added.









beyond the heated rhetoric, critics have recently homed in on elements of the deal that they say do not hold up to the test of scrutiny.









but kerry, during an interview with cnn in anchorage, alaska, ahead of a conference of arctic nations, pushed back on the notion that the iranians would be able to self-inspect at parchin, as republicans in congress have alleged.









"we are satisfied that we will be able to have a process which can get us the answers," kerry said. "if they are not accountable in the way that we expect them to be with appropriate access then they would be in material breach of the agreement and subject to any and all options available to the united states."









kerry flew to anchorage to help deliver president barack obama's message on climate change to foreign ministers gathered in alaska for this week's glacier conference.









"we still have time to pull back from the total precipice of absolute catastrophe that threatens life itself on the planet providing that we do the things that the president and others are talking about," kerry said.









the secretary of state added that global warming skeptics in the republican party like donald trump and ted cruz should travel to alaska to see the impacts of climate change first hand.









"ask any alaskan. i think people in alaska will tell donald trump and tell ted cruz it's happening. and all they have to do is come here and open their minds and their eyes and their ears and listen, look. and they will see the impacts of what is happening," kerry said.









kerry denied the administration is guilty of climate hypocrisy after its recent approval of shell's application to begin oil and natural gas drilling in the arctic.









he also stated that he will not punt a decision on the controversial keystone xl pipeline to the next administration, but he declined to signal how soon a decision might come.
obama says charges he's anti-semitic are hurtful
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