Today, the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, through its Institute for Public Affairs, welcomed President Clinton’s
announcement yesterday that the Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice will study whether producers of movies, music and video games are using violence to attract young consumers.

This initiative follows on the President’s request last month that the Surgeon General conduct a
study on the possible link between violence in the media and violent acts by young Americans.

Nathan Diament, director of the UOJCA’s Institute, issued the following statement in reaction to the President’s Rose Garden announcement:

The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations welcomes President Clinton’s initiative to investigate whether the media industry is marketing violence to America’s youth.

In asking the Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice to take up this issue, the President has demonstrated that he has heard the voices of Americans across the spectrum – Jews and Christians, Republicans and Democrats, men and women – who are deeply concerned about the proliferation of violence in our culture and the clearly coarsening effect it is having on our youth.

The UOJCA has been concerned and active about this issue over the past several years because the Jewish tradition teaches that we must be vigilant with regard to what we let ourselves see for that can influence our behavior; the Bible counsels us “not to stray.after our eyes.”

We applaud the President’s most recent effort to address this critical issue and look forward to working with him to help parents raise their children into a more humane and friendly culture.