U.S. Republican House leader Rep. Tom DeLay is against the American "Road Map" plan. The plan calls for a Palestinian state within two years. Speaking with a delegation of Jewish leaders from the Orthodox Union last night, DeLay said that the State of Israel has "every right to reject proposals that will undercut her fundamental ability to defend herself." He had scathing words for the Quartet that is pushing the Road Map, saying it is "comprised of countries whose popularity with Arab dictators is more important to them than the peace and security of the free world." The Quartet's members are the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations. Meanwhile, protests continue against U.S. Rep. James Moran of Virginia, who said last week that Jews were behind the buildup toward war with Iraq. Six fellow Democrats in the House of Representatives said that his comments were "offensive," "ignorant" and "grossly irresponsible," and that if he seeks another term, they would not back him. The six, all of whom are Jewish, are Henry Waxman of California, Martin Frost of Texas, Tom Lantos of California, Sander Levin of Michigan, Benjamin Cardin of Maryland and Nita Lowey of New York. The Washington Post also came out strongly against Moran, saying that his remarks perpetuate anti-Semitic views and "confirm our opinion that he is unfit to serve in Congress." Moran told a church forum on March 3rd 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."' He has since apologized, but said that he would not resign. At the same time, Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs is concerned over a worldwide trend to attribute support for the war effort to the Jewish community. It has instructed its embassies around the world to report back on the extent of this libel in their countries.
