McGovern campaign headquarters today released a statement by 51 American rabbis and leaders of national and local Jewish organizations supporting the election of Sen, George McGovern, the Democratic Presidential candidate. The signatories described themselves as “active leaders in Jewish life.” Their statement specifically omitted their congregational and organizational affiliations because “They have signed this statement out of personal convictions as individuals in support of Sen. McGovern.”
The statement listed “crime in the streets…inflation, unemployment, education and the Supreme Court” as major concerns in the 1972 elections. It compared the records of Nixon and McGovern on the Issues of Soviet Jewry and support for Israel.
The signatories included Rabbi Roland Gittelsohn, Boston; Dr. William Haber, Ann Arbor, Mich.; Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, N.Y.; Philip M. Klutznick, Chicago; Rabbi Arthur J. Lelyveld, Cleveland; Robert Nathan, Washington, D.C.; Rabbi Joachim Prinz, Orange, N.J.; Dore Schary, N.Y.; Herbert Tenzer, Lawrence, N.Y.; and Louis Weinstein, Boston.
Referring to Soviet Jewry, the statement noted that “At a time of crisis for Soviet Jewry, President Nixon is proposing to grant the Kremlin most favored nation status in its trade dealings with our country. In contrast, Sen. McGovern has called on the President to withhold trade concessions to the USSR until the Soviets abandon their slave tax.” The statement also noted that “Richard Nixon placed a moratorium on the delivery of desperately needed Phantom jets to Israel” while Sen. McGovern “played a key role in Congressional efforts to reverse the Nixon arms ban against Israel.”
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