Six Jewish Democrats Voice Support of New Party Chairman Ronald Brown

Six leading Jewish Democrats moved swiftly Friday to assuage concern in the Jewish community over the election of Ronald Brown as chairman of the Democratic Party.

They also sought to assure Brown, who managed the Rev. Jesse Jackson’s campaign for the presidency last year, that as of now, he has the support of Jewish Democrats.

Brown was elected unanimously by the Democratic National Committee Friday as the first black to head either major political party.

“We offer you our congratulations and our readiness to cooperate with you in the shaping of policies and strategies,” the six, all of whom were co-chairmen of the National Jewish Leadership Council in support of the Dukakis-Bentsen campaign, told Brown.

Their message was in the form of a letter delivered to Brown by Hyman Bookbinder, former Washington representative of the American Jewish Committee and a special adviser to Dukakis on Jewish affairs during the campaign.

In his acceptance speech, Brown stressed that as chairman, his job is not to set policy, but to win elections for Democrats.

Book binder said that Brown promised that the Jewish community will have complete access to him.

“I’ve known Brown for over 20 years and he has always understood the Jewish interest, Jewish concerns,” Bookbinder said.

The letter was signed by Steven Grossman of Boston, a national vice chairman of the United Jewish Appeal; David Hermelin of Detroit, campaign chairman of Israel Bonds; and Morton Mandel of Cleveland, former president of the Council of Jewish Federations.

Also: Edward Sanders of Los Angeles, a former assistant to President Carter and former president of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee; Daniel Shapiro, former president of the UJA-Federation of Jewish Philanthropies of New York; and Howard Squadron of New York, former chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.