Hoyer blasts Rep. Moran on AIPAC remark

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.

{mosads}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.).