Walter F. Mondale, the 48-year-old Senator from the Minnesota farm belt who Jimmy Carter named as his Vice-Presidential running mate here this morning has an unblemished record of support for Israel and for the civil rights and right of emigration of Soviet Jews. Carter, who won a first ballot nomination for President at the Democratic Party convention last night, referred to Mondale’s Senate record when he announced his choice at a press conference.
“On very critical votes” such as aid to Israel, Mondale is “the best and most compatible with me,” of any of the six Senators who were under consideration for the Vice-Presidential office, Carter said. He added, “I intend to keep my promises to the American people and I am sure Sen. Mondale will help me keep those promises.”
Mondale, who appeared with Carter, stressed that he “was not interested in a ceremonial post” and that Carter would use the Vice-President in “a very broad range of responsibilities in domestic and foreign policies.”
RECORD ON ISRAEL, SOVIET ISSUES
Mondale’s political mentor was Sen. Hubert H. Humphrey (D.Minn.), whose Senate seat he filled when Humphrey became Vice-President in the administration of Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964. He has consistently shared Humphrey’s strongly supportive views on issues of concern to American Jewry during his 12 years in the Senate. Mondale was one of the 76 Senators who signed a letter to President Ford on May 21, 1975 urging the
Six months earlier, he was among the 71 Senators who sent another letter to Ford supporting Israel and rejecting the PLO. In 1973, Mondale was a strong backer of legislation that provided Israel with $2.2 billion in emergency assistance following the Yom Kippur War.
Mondale supported the amendment to the Foreign Trade Act authored by Sen. Henry M. Jackson (D. Wash.) that linked U.S. trade benefits to the Soviet Union with an easing of Soviet emigration policies. Most recently. Mondale opposed an amendment to the Foreign Aid Bill by Sen. James Abourezk (D.SD) that, in effect, would have cut off U.S. aid for Israel.
Of the six Senators Carter was considering for the Vice-Presidential nomination, Mondale was the only one to vote against the retention of Air Force Gen. George S. Brown as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff after Brown reiterated his allegation that U.S. Jews exert undue influence over Congress.
GOLDS VARIOUS POSTS
Mondale was born in Ceylon, Minn. Jan. 5, 1928, the son of the Rev. and Mrs. Theodore Sigvaard Mondale and was educated at the University of Minnesota and the University of Minnesota Law School where he received his law degree. He was appointed to fill Humphrey’s unexpired Senate term after serving for four years as Attorney General of Minnesota.
He was elected to the Senate in 1966 and re-elected in 1972. He is a member of the Committee on Finance, chairman of its subcommittee on taxation and interstate commerce. He is also a member of the Labor and Public Welfare Committee and chairman of its subcommittee on children and youth. He is also a member of the Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs and the Special Committee on Aging.
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