NJDC Blasts Democrat--Rep. Jim Moran Criticized For Blaming Israel.

While the Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) appears to enthusiastically support all Republicans, even those who support loopholes to allow Halliburton to trade with Iran or wish to cut foreign aid to Israel, the National Jewish Democratic Council (NJDC) views its mission as two-fold: First, supporting the vast majority of Democrats who share our values and appreciate Israel's role as an American ally, homeland for the Jews and a beacon of democracy in the Middle-East. Second, holding to account those Democrats who betray these values. We have already spoken about how President Jimmy Carter was repeatedly taken to task by the NJDC for statements critical of Israel’s policies and counter to NJDC’s positions. Last year, Jimmy Carter’s son Jack failed to get NJDC support for his Senate race in Nevada even though the seat was critical to Democratic control of the Senate. This time it is the turn of Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA) to sit in the NJDC hot seat.

The National Jewish Democratic Council (NJDC) recently called on Democratic Congressman Jim Moran of Virginia to retract comments from a recent interview with the publication Tikkun, in which he made the false claim that AIPAC pushed for the Iraq War. By misrepresenting the organization’s lobbying activities, Moran’s comments could be interpreted as implying that AIPAC was partially responsible for the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2002.

Rep. Moran’s comments are particularly troubling because they come at a time when Professors Stephen Walt and John Mearsheimer are peddling a new book which places substantial blame for the Iraq quagmire on the so-called "Israel Lobby."

"It is never easy nor pleasant to criticize a fellow Democrat, but sometimes it is necessary," said NJDC Executive Director Ira N. Forman. "While there is nothing wrong with criticizing AIPAC – or for that matter any organization with which you disagree – spreading false statements is clearly irresponsible. At a time when Professors Walt and Mearsheimer are attempting to defame the so-called Israel Lobby with a phony connection between the pro-Israel community and the Iraq War, Rep. Moran’s comments are not only incorrect and irresponsible – they are downright dangerous."

In the September/October 2007 issue of Tikkun, Moran is quoted as having said that "… AIPAC is the most powerful lobby and has pushed this war from the beginning … because they are so well organized, and their members are extraordinarily powerful – most of them are quite wealthy – they have been able to exert power." He distinguishes between AIPAC and the Jewish community in general – correctly noting that polls show Jews are more opposed to the Iraq War than any other ethnic group in America.

"For all their bluster, Moran, Walt and Mearsheimer fail to understand a simple truth, continued Forman. "If AIPAC or the Pro-Israel community were really so powerful, a substantial proportion of Jewish Members of the House and Senate would not have voted against the war. But they did."

In 2003, NJDC strongly criticized Rep. Moran for saying: "If it were not for the strong support of the Jewish community for this war with Iraq we would not be doing this;” and "The leaders of the Jewish community are influential enough that they could change the direction of where this is going and I think they should."

Earlier this week, the New York Jewish Week published Forman’s analysis of the Walt-Mearsheimer book, in which he writes: "The authors’ most spectacular accusation --- that the lobby has significant responsibility for the Iraq war --- is also an illustration of their limited understanding of the Israel lobby. The professors describe how a group of neoconservatives conspired to push for a war with Iraq, and they conflate these neocons with the Israel lobby. Not only do the authors attach a significant amount of blame to the Israel lobby for the morass in Iraq, but they go on to warn that any future military action in Iran must inevitably be laid at the door of the lobby. To argue that a gang of largely Jewish neocons was able to bully Powell, Rumsfeld, Cheney and Bush into a war against their will is absurd. Even more ridiculous is the notion that these neocons were the Israel lobby…."

Hoyer blasts Rep. Moran on AIPAC remark
By Mike Soraghan
September 19, 2007
http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/hoyer-blasts-rep.-moran-on-aipac-remark-2007-09-19.html

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) lashed out at fellow Democratic Rep. Jim Moran at a press conference Tuesday, criticizing the Virginian’s recent comments about a Jewish political organization.

“His remarks were factually inaccurate and recall an old canard that is not true, that the Jewish community controls the media and the Congress,” Hoyer said, even though no one had asked him about Moran’s remarks.

In an interview published in the September-October issue of Tikkun magazine, Moran said the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) “has pushed this war [in Iraq] from the beginning … They are so well organized, and their members are extraordinarily powerful — most of them are quite wealthy — they have been able to exert power.”

A statement issued by Moran’s office said that the tone of his remarks was “unnecessarily harsh,” but it did not apologize for or retract his comments.

“He stands by his message — namely that for the last few years, AIPAC has not represented mainstream American Jewish opinion and that the organization’s Middle East policies, while in direct alignment with the Bush administration, have been counterproductive to Israel’s long-term security,” the statement said, adding that people should read the whole article.

It added: “Anyone attempting to mischaracterize his words as targeting the broader Jewish community rather than AIPAC’s leadership is being purposely misleading.”

Asked if he considered Moran’s remarks anti-Semitic and whether Moran should apologize, Hoyer reiterated that he found them “factually inaccurate” and said Moran should “retract” them.

Hoyer is not the only one criticizing Moran. House Deputy Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.) agreed with Hoyer that the comments reflect stereotypes of the Jewish community.

“For Mr. Moran to again suggest that Jews are responsible for the war in Iraq and that they somehow strangle American foreign policy is as senseless as it is bigoted,” said Cantor, who is Jewish.

The National Jewish Democratic Council, which calls itself the “online voice for Jewish Democrats,” also called on Moran to retract his comments.

“While there is nothing wrong with criticizing AIPAC — or for that matter any organization with which you disagree — spreading false statements is clearly irresponsible,” the organization said in a statement.

The organization said Moran’s remarks are “particularly troubling” because of a new book by two Harvard political scientists that places substantial blame for the Iraq quagmire on the so-called “Israel Lobby.”

It’s not the first time that Moran has gotten in trouble for comments about the Jewish community and the Iraq war. A 2003 comment shortly before the invasion sparked the most serious challenge to his nine-term congressional career.

At a March 3, 2003, forum, Moran said: “If it were not for the strong support of the Jewish community for this war with Iraq, we would not be doing this. The leaders of the Jewish community are influential enough that they could change the direction of where this is going, and I think they should.”

House leaders stripped him of a leadership post following the comments. Moran later apologized, although he said his words had been taken out of context. The comments prompted a number of Northern Virginia Democrats to consider running against him in the heavily Democratic district. Former Capitol Hill staffer and lobbyist Andrew Rosenberg challenged him in 2004, but lost.

During that campaign, Moran’s longtime pollster, Alan Secrest, said he quit the campaign in response to anti-Semitic comments that Moran made at a private campaign meeting. Secrest did not specify the remarks, and Moran said he did not make any such comments. Moran said that Secrest was in fact upset that Moran did not want to pay for expensive polling.

Moran and Hoyer were also on opposite sides of last year’s race for majority leader, in which Moran supported Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.).

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