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March 12, 2003
Representative from Virginia makes "offensive" comments
Representative Jim Moran, a Democrat from Virginia, made seemingly anti-Semitic comments about Jews and their relationship to the war in Iraq, according to CNN.
The Jewish community is in an uproar over Moran’s comments. At an antiwar forum in Reston, VA on March 3, he said that if Jewish people were louder about the war in Iraq that they could possibly stop it. "If it were not for the strong support of the Jewish community for this war with Iraq, we would not be doing this." He placed blame on the leaders of the Jewish community saying that they could change the direction of the war if they wanted to.
The Jewish Community Council (JCC) criticized Moran’s comments saying that they were “offended." The leader of the JCC, Ronald Halber, wrote to Moran "besides being patently untrue and foolish, your poisonous remarks are reminiscent of age-old vicious canards that have been hurled against Jews for generations."
White House Press Secretary, Ari Fleischer voiced the President’s opinions of the controversy. "Rep. Moran suggested that the reason that the president was thinking about using force in Iraq was because of the influence of the Jewish community. Those remarks are shocking. They are wrong and they should not have been said."
Secretary of State Colin Powell cleared up the Bush Administration's intentions for the war. "It is driven by our own national interest," he said. Powell answered questions by the House Appropriations Committee, and rejected an possibility that the war was driven by Israel or America's Jewish community.
Six Jewish members of Congress have called for Moran to resign but he said that he has no intentions of doing so. Moran issued an apology for his comments, but members of the Jewish community have not accepted it.
Halber called the apology “inadequate."
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi also voiced her objections to Moran’s comments. "Congressman Moran's comments were not only inappropriate, they were offensive," Pelosi said. "He has properly apologized. His comments have no place in the Democratic Party."
The Jewish community is in an uproar over Moran’s comments. At an antiwar forum in Reston, VA on March 3, he said that if Jewish people were louder about the war in Iraq that they could possibly stop it. "If it were not for the strong support of the Jewish community for this war with Iraq, we would not be doing this." He placed blame on the leaders of the Jewish community saying that they could change the direction of the war if they wanted to.
The Jewish Community Council (JCC) criticized Moran’s comments saying that they were “offended." The leader of the JCC, Ronald Halber, wrote to Moran "besides being patently untrue and foolish, your poisonous remarks are reminiscent of age-old vicious canards that have been hurled against Jews for generations."
White House Press Secretary, Ari Fleischer voiced the President’s opinions of the controversy. "Rep. Moran suggested that the reason that the president was thinking about using force in Iraq was because of the influence of the Jewish community. Those remarks are shocking. They are wrong and they should not have been said."
Secretary of State Colin Powell cleared up the Bush Administration's intentions for the war. "It is driven by our own national interest," he said. Powell answered questions by the House Appropriations Committee, and rejected an possibility that the war was driven by Israel or America's Jewish community.
Six Jewish members of Congress have called for Moran to resign but he said that he has no intentions of doing so. Moran issued an apology for his comments, but members of the Jewish community have not accepted it.
Halber called the apology “inadequate."
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi also voiced her objections to Moran’s comments. "Congressman Moran's comments were not only inappropriate, they were offensive," Pelosi said. "He has properly apologized. His comments have no place in the Democratic Party."
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"I understand that Senator Lott has made an apology. He can apologize all he wants. It doesn’t remove the sentiment that escaped his mouth that day at that party...I don’t know if any apology is adequate."
I find it interesting that Moran's comments made in an official situation, blaming the war on America's Jews, are made up for by one verbal apology, when Lott's comments made at a friend's birthday party are not made up for numerous apologies--verbal, written, and even televised.
The same thing can be said about the Isreali-Palestine situation. I doubt that the United States would have assisted Isreal as much as it has if it had not been for the influence of jews in the gov't.
DISCLAIMER: That was an entirely sarcastic remark. I in no way meant to belittle black poeple or the struggles they have had to go through to achieve some semblance of freedom. Nor did I mean to insult jewish people. I was merely attempting to show the sickening irony of the situation. Both comments were in my opinion dispicable and neither person should be reprenting people that they make such comments about.
As far as the Jewish community, maybe they should see what it is like to live in his state and change the views of the people there. if he gets reelected, those people might feel the same way as well. Then the Jews really do have a problem.
Jean Theagene