Attempt to Locate Advertisement Described By James Moran Comes Up Flat, Sort Of

Moran had made the same claim previously at a May 20, 2003 speech to the Falls Church Chamber of Commerce. Moran stated that "the presidents of major Jewish organizations in the United States took out a full-page ad in The New York Times expressing their support for President Bush and his policy in Iraq."

Conference leader Malcolm Hoenlein disputed Moran's claim in Eric Fingerhut's column in the 9/11/03 Washington Jewish Week.

So who is correct? I called up James Moran's Reston office on Thursday, 1/15/03 and asked the woman who heads the Reston office (I think her name is Cathy) to see if she could find out when such an ad, if it existed, ran. She called me back and said that she had asked around and that all anyone can remember is that it ran in the winter or spring of last year.

Google searches looking for the alleged advertisement itself proved fruitless. I did locate a PR release from October 12, 2002 in which the Conference discussed President Bush's policies and expressed support for the U.S. government's efforts to ensure full compliance by Iraq with UN resolutions. The PR release stated:

Conference of Presidents Declares Support of President Bush and Congress in Effort to Achieve Iraqi Disarmament.

NEW YORK -- Mortimer B. Zuckerman, Chairman, and Malcolm Hoenlein, Executive Vice Chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations issued a statement today "reflecting the consensus of the member organizations of the Conference of Presidents," in which they declare support for "President Bush and the Congress in their efforts to gain unequivocal Iraqi compliance with the obligation to divest itself of weapons of mass destruction and the means to develop such weapons. Iraq must conform to the resolutions adopted by the Security Council and the other standards which President Bush has specified. Such disarmament must not be hindered by Iraqi attempts to continue the pattern of obfuscation and other means of non-compliance." The statement of the Jewish leaders continues, "We support the efforts to enlist the United Nations and international cooperation to secure Iraqi compliance, including the use of force as a last resort."

Mr. Zuckerman and Mr. Hoenlein said, "This position is the result of a process of consultation and deliberation among the member organizations. While our community, like all others, reflects a wide variety of views, there was a clear consensus that is reflected in this statement."

The statement underscores the immediate urgency because the United States "has been a prime target and will continue to be so we must assess the risk posed by Iraq's weapons arsenal even more so than other nations. A biological/chemical attack would take a terrible toll on innocent American lives and threaten our stability and way of life. That is why we support the President in his statements that we cannot allow these weapons of mass destruction to be in the hands of the most dangerous people and the American people cannot stand by while this danger grows."

The Conference, an umbrella of 52 national Jewish organizations, recognizes "the grave dangers posed by international terrorism to the United States and to international stability," and affirms its "support for President Bush and the government of the United States in the war against global terrorism." The statement continues, "In this struggle, Iraq presents unique dangers. It possesses chemical and biological weapons and, according to numerous accounts, could have a nuclear capability in a short period of time. Such weapons of mass destruction might be supplied to terrorist networks with a global reach, including those who have targeted the United States and others. Because Saddam Hussein has used such weapons in the past, even against his own people, it is an unacceptable risk not to assume that he may do so again."

The full text of the statement is below. The Conference of Presidents is the central coordinating body representing 52 national Jewish organizations on issues of national and international concern.

----------- Statement of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations October 12, 2002

Recognizing the grave dangers posed by international terrorism to the United States and to international stability, the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations affirms its support for President Bush and the government of the United States in the war against global terrorism. In this struggle, Iraq presents unique dangers. It possesses chemical and biological weapons and, according to numerous accounts, could have a nuclear capability in a short period of time. Such weapons of mass destruction might be supplied to terrorist networks with a global reach, including those who have targeted the United States and others. Because Saddam Hussein has used such weapons in the past, even against his own people, it is an unacceptable risk not to assume that he may do so again.

Because the United States has been a prime target and will continue to be so we must assess the risk posed by Iraq's weapons arsenal even more so than other nations. A biological/chemical attack would take a terrible toll on innocent American lives and threaten our stability and way of life. That is why we support the President in his statements that we cannot allow these weapons of mass destruction to be in the hands of the most dangerous people and the American people cannot stand by while this danger grows.

Therefore, the Conference of Presidents supports President Bush and the Congress in their efforts to gain unequivocal Iraqi compliance with the obligation to divest itself of weapons of mass destruction and the means to develop such weapons. Iraq must conform to the resolutions adopted by the Security Council and the other standards which President Bush has specified. Such disarmament must not be hindered by Iraqi attempts to continue the pattern of obfuscation and other means of non-compliance. We support the efforts to enlist the United Nations and international cooperation to secure Iraqi compliance, including the use of force as a last resort.

We believe that the security of the United States and the American people should be a unifying issue that brings Americans together at this critical time in support of policies to remove the threat from Iraq's weapons of mass destruction.

------------------------------------------------------------------------ Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations Tel: 212-318-6111 -- Fax: 212-644-4135 -- E-mail: info@prescon.org

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CONTACT: Malcolm Hoenlein, +1-212-318-6111, +1-917-693-9553, or Haina Just, +1-917-572-6654, both for Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations

COPYRIGHT 2002 PR Newswire Association, Inc. COPYRIGHT 2002 Gale Group

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