Jewish Democrats rushed to call out one of their own on Friday, after Rep. Jim Moran of Virginia – who has raised hackles with previous comments about the “Israel lobby” – went at it again in the latest issue of Tikkun.

In the September/October 2007 issue of the magazine, 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.”

It’s not the firt time Moran has been a loose cannon: Prior to the 2003 invasion of Iraq he told an antiwar audience in Reston, Virginia that “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.” Then, as now, the National Jewish Democratic Council led the charge against his comments, and were then joined by Democratic leaders including then-Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle and House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi.

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This time around, it will be interesting to see if Moran draws fire from any of the Democratic presidential candidates.

If you’re interested in a succinct rebuttal to Walt, Mearsheimer and Moran, check out NJDC Executive Director Ira Forman in the Jewish Week.

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