Of the six Senators whom Democratic Presidential candidate Jimmy Carter has interviewed to be his possible running mate, only Walter Mondale of Minnesota opposed retention of Air Force Gen. George S. Brown as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
In the latest issue of concern to the Jewish community to come before the senate.57 Senators voted July 1 for an additional two-year terms for Brown while 34 were opposed. Sen. Frank Church of Idaho, one of the six considered by Carter to be his Vice-Presidential running mate, was among nine Senators who did not vote on the nomination.
The other four–Sens. John Glenn of Ohio; Henry Jackson of Washington; Edmund Muskie of Maine, and Adlai Stevenson of Illinois–voted for Brown. Among the opponents ironically was James Abourezk (D.S.D.) who supported the PLO’s position in the Senate debate on Israel-Arab issues. The issue broke partisan ranks and Republicans and Democrats were in alliance on opposite sides in the voting.
During the hearings on Brown’s re-nomination, the General reiterated the views he had expressed 19 months earlier at Duke University when he said Jews had undue influence in Congress. This time, however, he affirmed that he saw nothing improper in Jews trying to influence Congress since other groups were doing the same thing.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.