Dr. Miriam and Mr. Sheldon Edelson at the 2011 AIPAC "Better Together" policy Conference. Photo: Maxine Dovere.

The National Jewish Democratic Council (NJDC) should be ashamed of itself for adopting a holier than thou approach in refusing to apologize to Sheldon Adelson even after Alan Dershowitz, the highest profile Jewish democrat lawyer in the country has urged them to.

Adelson called for the apology after the NJDC accused the self-made billionaire of approving of and profiting from prostitution. They continue to maintain that the leveling of such strong charges is acceptable even though there is no known proof.

Using the largely liberal bully-pulpit of the media to slander Adelson, the NJDC left him with no choice but to file a defamation lawsuit against them in an effort to clear his name.  As a PR firm owner, I know that any good public relations professional would have similarly advised him to fight these false claims in order to ensure that he is not permanently branded as a “pimp” who benefits from prostitution.

One wonders, in whose name exactly the NJDC is acting? Seemingly, neither Jews nor democrats. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) has already apologized for the same allegation, and acknowledged that they made “…unsubstantiated allegations that attacked Sheldon Adelson.” They added, “This was wrong. The statements were untrue and unfair, and we retract them.”  One can be sure that the DCCC wasn’t running to apologize – but they studied the facts and rightfully took responsibility for their actions.

So, is this organization representing “Jewish Democrats” attacking Adelson in the name of Jews? In an era in which assimilation and intermarriage are rampant, a “Jewish” organization is making unsubstantiated claims against a man who has given $100 Million to Birthright Israel, (which has brought 250,000 young American Jews to visit Israel) and is the largest private donor ever to Yad Vashem.

There is nothing “Jewish” behind the accusations of the NJDC, and the only message that the Jewish world should convey to Sheldon Adelson, whose foundation gives away more than two hundred million dollars annually to Jewish causes is “Thank You.”

Alan Dershowitz, a man who knows the law, and called out the NJDC for acting inappropriately says that they attacked Adelson

even though no evidence has been submitted to support it and no finding has been made by any court.” He added, “it’s outrageous for the National Jewish Democratic Council to level unfounded allegations against Adelson. They do not speak for me, and for the many other Jews who admire Adelson’s contributions to the world, to America, to Israel and to the Jewish community. The attack comes with particular ill grace from a Jewish organization, considering all that Adelson has done for Jewish causes, and considering the fact that there is nothing uniquely “Jewish” about the questionable allegations against him.

He concluded,”They are willfully spreading ‘lashon hora’ that they know to be false.”

Is there anyone in their right mind who thinks that the billionaire CEO of a publicly traded company would tolerate prostitution?  As Dershowitz said, “you can’t be saying this kind of thing about Sheldon Adelson…and after they knew it was false they persisted in it.”

Whether one supports Obama or Romney, it is clear to me that the Jewish community should universally reject this behavior.

But then again, maybe my entire approach is wrong – perhaps we should all encourage the NJDC to keep at it. Adelson will win the lawsuit and likely donate the $60 Million to more great Jewish causes, prompting us all to once again declare , “thank you Sheldon Adelson for caring so deeply about Israel and the Jewish people.”

Ronn Torossian is CEO of 5WPR, a leading PR agency.  He is an active Jewish philanthropist who lives in NYC with his family.