Jewish Republicans in Overwhelming Support for Ford’s Nomination Bid

Jewish Republicans evidenced overwhelming support for President Ford in his victorious bid for the party’s Presidential nomination last night. A large majority of the at least 70 Jewish delegates in the convention backed Ford. Very few supported former California Governor Ronald Reagan’s rival bid for the Presidential nomination.

New York State was especially prominent in boosting the President in his greatest personal political victory when he triumphed over Reagan by 1187 to 1070 votes. Richard Rosenbaum, an upstate New Yorker who holds major chairmanships within the party, including that of the New York State Republican Party, made the first of 19 seconding speeches for Ford.

Significantly timed for the nomination night for a speech was Sen. Jacob K. Javits of New York, dean of the Jewish members of Congress and a strong supporter of Ford. Javits opened his remarks with “a personal message to the convention” thanking it for “adopting the strong anti-terrorism plank” in the party’s platform.

Javits recounted the “senseless death” at the Istanbul Airport last week of Harold Rosenthal, one of his staff members who was on his way to a conference in Israel when he was killed by an Arab terrorist attack “on innocent and helpless people,” the passengers boarding an El Al plane.

New York’s delegation gave Ford 133 votes, the largest number for any state for the President Rosenbaum, who was a prime mover on issues of Jewish concern in the party’s platform, was chairman of the delegation. In addition to being New York State chairman, he is also head of the Northeastern U.S. Republican State Chairmen’s Association and the leader of the National Republican State Chairmen’s Advisory Committee comprising the party’s chairmen in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and Guam.

Rosenbaum, a graduate of Hobart College and Cornell Law School, was born in Oswego, N.Y. and lived in Rochester before going to Albany where he and his wife, Judith, are members of Temple Israel.

SOME OF THE REAGAN STALWARTS

The relatively slim number of Jewish delegates for Reagan included Mrs. Zimmy Sluder of Albuquerque, who was one of New Mexico’s two representatives on the platform committee, Mrs. Sluder’s husband is a retired Air Force colonel with 44 years service as a pilot, who won 23 decorations in World War II. Ardently pro-Israel herself, Mrs. Sluder said that this sentiment is “very strong” in New Mexico.

Among Jewish leaders in the Reagan organization were Ted Cummings and Al Spiegel, both Los Angeles businessmen and John Loeb, a New York financier, according to Peter Hannaford, Reagan’s research director.