RICHARD MELSON

September, 2003

The National Jewish Defense Council(NJDC) is a leading Zionist pressure group. It is not neo-con ) ie former Jewish leftists who are now spearheading a revolutionary Right; the NJDC is Democratic/Zionist. In other words, it is liberal on social issues like abortion and in fact sees itself as anti-Right.

The NJDC says of itself:

Who We Are:

NJDC -- the national voice of Jewish Democrats -- works to maintain the American Jewish community's support for the Democratic Party and its values, while ensuring that the Democratic Party remains responsive to the concerns of American Jews. NJDC pursues these goals while advocating for the continued separation of church and state, defending a woman's right to choose, and fighting for a strong and close US-Israel relationship. In light of America's new war against terrorism, NJDC's task -- educating Democrats about the importance of remaining true to the Democratic Party's unwavering support for a strong and secure Israel -- has never been more important.

By distributing hundreds of thousands of voter education guides to Jewish homes across the nation, NJDC educates Jewish voters about the crucial issue differences between their Democratic and Republican candidates for federal office. And by reaching out to young Jewish Democrats with educational and social programming, NJDC's Young Leadership program is cultivating a new generation of young Jewish Democratic leaders.

National Jewish Democratic Council
P.O. Box 75308, Washington, DC 20013
Tel. 202-216-9060, Fax 202-216-9061, E-mail: booklet@njdc.org

Founded in 1990, the National Jewish Democratic Council is the national voice of Jewish Democrats. Informed by our commitment to those values shared by the Democratic Party and the vast majority of American Jews - including the separation of church and state, a strong US-Israel relationship, and reproductive freedom - NJDC's singular set of priorities includes:

• Educating Jewish voters about the very real differences between their Democratic and Republican candidates for elected office through special reports and voter guides. NJDC distributed almost 250,000 targeted voter guides in 10 states in the 1998 election cycle, and we plan to distribute many more in 2000.
• Informing candidates for public office about the need to address and support issues of concern to the Jewish community.
• Advocating on behalf of Jewish and Democratic ideals on Capitol Hill and in Jewish and national media.
• Fighting the radical right agenda at every turn through research and reports, grassroots advocacy, working directly with lawmakers in Washington, and educating journalists.

The current September 30 e-newsletter of the NJDC cites the following General Wesley Clark interview with "Rolling Stone":

In the current online edition of Rolling Stone magazine, Democratic presidential candidate Gen. Wesley Clark discusses his thoughts about Israel and the future for Middle East peace. Among other comments, he notes, "Israel has a unique problem. It is beset by nations that want to destroy it. Any nation that is under attack has the right to self-defense. And the right to self-defense is the right to strike pre-emptively to disrupt the threat. Therefore I totally support Israel's effort to go after these terrorists before they can strike Israel. ...We will be there for Israel, and they will survive and be a great nation." The portion of the interview addressing Israel is included below; the entire Rolling Stone interview may be viewed online at: http://www.rollingstone.com/features/featuregen.asp?pid=1970 ____________________________________________________________________ "Rolling Stone": How do you grade the Bush administration's attempt to forge peace between Israel and the Palestinians?

Clark:

Right now we've got the worst possible regional dynamic, and we've got to change it. You cannot make peace between the Israelis and Palestinians. I don't care if the president of the United States sits there in Gaza and forces the two sides to talk -- they can't. The question of conflict is coming from outside. You've got to get people in the Middle East to say they don't want war. But unfortunately, we seem to want it.

Rolling Stone: How about the question of Israel. Do you think Ariel Sharon needs to be hemmed in?

Clark:

Israel has a unique problem. It is beset by nations that want to destroy it. Any nation that is under attack has the right to self-defense. And the right to self-defense is the right to strike pre-emptively to disrupt the threat. Therefore I totally support Israel's effort to go after these terrorists before they can strike Israel. Israel must be willing to participate in negotiations. But if it's going to ever have its chance at the negotiating table, Israel also has to show [its survival doesn't depend on making a deal]. So, the process of building the fence [separating the occupied territories from the rest of the country] is very important. It says to the Arab world, the clock is ticking, we're not prepared to make unlimited concessions, we have our principles and we will fight for them. But that doesn't mean the U.S. should behave and strike the way Israel does. Two entirely different things. We can make Israel safer by not doing that. We need to bring a council together like we did for the Balkans: Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Iran. And instead of telling them we're going to nuke them, we've got to give them an incentive to want to participate in preventing conflict in the Middle East. The process has to be driven by optimism and hope, not fear. We will be there for Israel, and they will survive and be a great nation. Rolling Stone: What about the Palestinians? Clark: The Palestinians have always been used by the Arabs as a weapon against Israel. The Palestinians are the most educated, most Westernized, most enterprising, least tribal of all the Middle Eastern groups. They were a force for the modernization and economic development in Middle Eastern countries. They were a source of instability and insecurity for the ruling elite. So they were pushed back and not given the rights of citizenship, not given the opportunity to be assimilated. All that's gotta be unwound. They're human beings like everyone else, and they've gotta be given a chance.

The reader will see from this that the Democratic link to Israel is if anything more "crazy" than George Bush’s groveling before Sharon. Anyone who followed this week’s electoral news and Clark’s surge and who hoped for a change in Middle East policy emanating from a potential new president replacing Bush in 2005, will see this is an illlusion.

Senator Lieberman of Connecticut, the Orthodox Jewish Democratic candidate endorses the NJDC wholeheartedly:

"NJDC has [been] a real advocate for Jewish values and Jewish interests within the Democratic Party and within the country."

Senator Joseph I. Lieberman, November 12th, 2001