Week
Washington Watch
Warmongers?
Virginia Congressman blames Jews for not opposing war against Iraq.
JAMES D. BESSER
Washington Correspondent
A
Washington-area congress-
man who lambasted the
Jewish community for not
opposing the impending
war with Iraq has said he will not
resign, despite demands from six rabbis
in his district.
Rep. Jim Moran, D-Va., has been in
hot water with Jewish groups many
times before, but this is the first time
prominent Jewish leaders have demand-
ed his ouster.
The controversy
erupted last week when
Moran, speaking to a
church forum on the
expected war, responded
to a question by saying,
"If it were not for the
strong support of the
Jim Moran
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."
Moran, in an interview, agreed that
his words were "insensitive" and
"unfortunate," but said he really meant
something else. "I don't blame Jews for
reacting that way," he said. "I realized
that the way these remarks were writ-
ten, they sounded terrible."
He insisted he was referring to "all
the major religions," not just Jews. All
three have been derelict in not oppos-
ing the war," he said.
That wasn't enough for Rabbi Jack
Moline, spiritual leader of a large
Conservative synagogue in Moran's dis-
trict and one of the signers of the rab-
binic letter. Rabbi Moline said, "I
haven't seen anybody read or see
[Moran's] statement without their jaws
dropping. It resonates so clearly for us
from a very dark time in our history —
and it appears to resonate not at all for
Mr. Moran."
After reports of Moran's comments
appeared in the Connection newspaper,
a long list of Jewish and non-Jewish
groups blasted the seven-term incum-
bent, including the National Jewish
Democratic Council, the Interfaith
Alliance and the Jewish Community
3/14
2003
26
Relations Council of Greater
Washington.
But on Monday, March 10, Moran
was adamant that he wouldn't resign —
and a local Jewish political activist said
that dislodging him will be difficult.
"Jim has survived major ethics prob :-
lems, as well as criticism from the
Jewish community," the source said.
"But he's Mr. Teflon; he remains popu-
lar in the district, and there hasn't been
any strong opposition."
But some Jewish leaders said the issue
goes far beyond Moran. "He's sympto-
matic of a great problem in that the
whole idea of Jews being blamed for
the war has crossed over into the main-
stream," said Abraham FOxman,
national director of.the Anti-
Defamation League.
Closed Doors
With the growing national focus on
security, America's refugee program is in
shambles, according to a top Jewish
refugee advocate. And uncounted num-
bers of Jews seeking safe haven in this
country are in a protracted state of
limbo as a result.
Leonard Glickman, CEO of the
Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society
(HIAS), said the refugee crisis is the
worst since World War 11, when the
pipeline was all but shut down. "The
program is in real trouble," he said.
"The principle cause is a security
consciousness within the government
that's affecting all walks of life, but hit-
ting refugees particularly hard." In fact,
he said, refugees are being singled out
for especially harsh treatment.
"The foreign born continue to pour
into the United States," he said.
"Students are coming in, business peo-
ple. There was talk about reducing the
time people could stay here under
tourist visas, but there was an uproar
from the tourism industry."
But refugees, many fleeing for their
lives, continue to be blocked because of
security concerns, he said. The Bush
administration decided to admit
70,000 refugees this year, but
Glickman said a number of obstacles,
including restrictions on travel by
immigration officials and the absorp-
tion of the Immigration and
Naturalization Service (INS) into the
new Department of Homeland
Security, mean that the target is closer
to 50,000. "And we believe the total
could be closer to 25,000," he said.
That would represent the lowest
refugee influx in 60 years, according to
HIAS figures. Because of the declining
numbers, he said, the network of com-
munity groups — including Jewish
ones — that help resettle refugees is
beginning to deteriorate, making the
nation even less able to respond to new
international emergencies that produce
surges of refugees.
A number of Jews, as well as others
seeking entry, have been stalled at the
refugee processing center in Vienna for
more than a year, he said.
The bottom line, according to
Glickman, is "the refugee groups we
advocate on behalf of don't have deep
political backing. So it's harder for us to
shake things up in the government to
get things going.
"For the past two years, we've heard
nothing but promises from the admin-
istration to get the program back on
track — and it just hasn't happened."
The onset of war with Iraq, with its
huge drain on national resources and
heightened security concerns, could
add to the refugee woes, he said.
Israel Aid
A bipartisan group of congressional
leaders has weighed in in favor of more
aid for Israel — although they refrained
from specifically endorsing the $12 bil-
lion package of loan guarantees and
outright aid that Israel has requested.
Last week, Senate Majority Leader
Bill Frist, R-Tenn., and Minority
Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., wrote to
President Bush, commending his
"ambitious goal to build a democratic
and peaceful Iraq that can in turn lead
to a stable and democratic Middle
East." The lawmakers went on to
express deep concern about the "eco-
nomic and military crisis Israel is cur-
rently facing."
That crisis includes skyrocketing
defense expenditures as the military
response to Palestinian terror intensifies
and as Israel prepares for the fallout
from the U.S.-led war against Iraq, and
as the country's gross domestic product
falls.
The lawmakers said American assis-
tance, including new loan guarantees
"which cost the American taxpayer
nothing," can provide a partial solu-
tion. But they did not specify exactly
how much they hoped Israel would get,
or a timetable.
Still, pro-Israel leaders were pleased
with the strong expression of top-level
congressional support. "Obviously,
there is a real understanding among
congressional leaders in both parties
about the dire need in Israel," said a
pro-Israel lobbyist this week. "The
administration may be trying to slow
down the process for political reasons,
but things like this letter make it likeli-
er there will be a significant package,
even if it isn't everything the Israelis
had asked for."
Israeli newspapers reported that for-
mer Prime Minister Binyamin
Netanyahu, the new finance minister, is
using his Capitol Hill
contacts to lobby for a
speed-up in the aid
process. But lawmakers,
facing record deficits
and the possibility of
open-ended costs for the
war in Iraq, are not
Torn Daschle
eager to confront an
administration that is
taking its time on the aid and loan
guarantee request.
I
OU Lobbyists
The big aid package was also very
much on the minds of 150 Jewish
activists representing the Orthodox
Union, who were in Washington
March 5 for a day of briefings and
Capitol Hill visits.
"The Israel aid package will be a top
priority," said Nathan Diament, direc-
tor of the group's Institute for Public
Affairs, in advance of the meetings.
"We will also express in general terms
our support for confronting Saddam
Hussein."
On the domestic front, the group
lobbied for the latest version of the
Bush administration's faith-based initia-
tive and for changes to a major educa-
tion bill expanding federal services to
parochial school students with special
needs. The OU members also pushed
for the long-delayed Workplace
Religious Freedom Act (WRFA), which
continues to languish in Congress.
The group presented an award to
Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, "in recogni-
tion of the senator's steadfast support of
religious liberty throughout his career,"
according to a statement. Hatch, chair
of the Senate Judiciary Committee, will