Thu Apr 10, 6:22 AM ET

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ALEXANDRIA, Va. - Rep. James P. Moran, who suggested last month that American Jews had nudged the nation into war, has offended some Jews again by suggesting a pro-Israel lobbying group will finance an effort to unseat him.

The Virginia Democrat suggested at a recent party meeting that the lobbying group will raise $2 million in an effort to defeat him next year.

Moran, a seven-term incumbent, said the American Israel Public Action Committee (AIPAC) has begun organizing against him and will "direct a campaign against me and take over the campaign of a Democratic opponent," The Washington Post reported Thursday.

AIPAC spokeswoman Rebecca Dinar called Moran's comments "ridiculous" and said the organization "had no idea" what the congressman was talking about. AIPAC by law cannot raise money for candidates and by policy does not endorse candidates, Dinar said.

In an interview Wednesday, Moran said he was simply "relaying what I had heard" from a fellow House member about fund-raising activity against him by AIPAC members in Florida. He said he didn't know if it was true but added, "It's conceivable."

"You'd have to be naive not to recognize that AIPAC is a very important network of people organized around a cause .... But if I have to run against a national network that I don't have the ability to communicate with, it's going to be very difficult."

Calls left by The Associated Press at AIPAC and Moran's offices early Thursday were not immediately returned.

David Friedman, Washington regional director for the Anti-Defamation League, said of Moran's reported remarks, "This only confirms what we already knew: that Jim Moran is a bigoted man who perpetuates age-old canards and stereotypes about Jews."

Moran has acknowledged saying at a public forum March 3 in Reston that Jewish influence had swayed the decision to invade Iraq (news - web sites).

"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 said.

Moran has apologized several times and contended he was attempting to make a broader point about how religious communities could have an impact on the war debate.

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