THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Jewish Groups Oppose Electoral College
Change Favored by Five Jewish Senators
NEW YORK (JTA) —
Jewish organizations and
black groups are lining up
in opposition to a proposed
constitutional amendment
eliminating the electoral
college because they fear it
would diminish the influ-
ence of Jews and other
minorities on national poli-
tics.
Five of the Senate's seven
Jewish Senators, including
Michigan's Carl Levin, are
favoring the legislation.
The black-Jewish opposi-
:ion to the amendment was
demonstrated last week
when Howard Squadron,
president of the American
Jewish Congress and Ver-
non Jordan, president of the
Urban League, testified
against the bill at a hearing
of the Senate • Judiciary
Committee's subcommittee
on the Constitution headed
by Birch Bayh (D-Ind.), who
introduced the amendment.
Bayh's bill provides
that the candidate for
President and his Vice
Presidential running
mate receiving the most
votes across the country
would be elected,
eliminating the electoral
college and their
weighted influence. If no
candidate receives more
than 40 percent of the
vote, a runoff between
the top two slates would
decide the election.
The amendment has to
receive approval of two-
thirds of both Houses of
Congress and then must be
ratified by 33 of the 50
states.
The new system would
not go into effect until two
years after final ratifica-
tion, according to the Bayh
proposal.
Bayh originally proposed
his amendment in 1970 at a
time when there was some
fear, because of the popular-
ity demonstrated by
Alabama Governor George
Wallace in the 1968 cam-
paign, that a third party
could not get enough votes
in the electoral college to
throw the election to the
House of Representatives,
something that happened
only once in American his-
tory.
Another fear is that there
would be enough electors
who might not vote for the
candidate who received the
highest margin in their
state to force a House vote.
Also expressed is the
fear that a candidate
could win the popular
vote and lose in the elec-
toral college, which hap-
pened only once, in 1888.
In 1970, the Bayh tions derives from their
Amendment breezed large numbers in key
through the House but was states and that "they tend
bogged down in the Senate at least in Presidential
by a filibuster. However, elections to vote in a
this time President Carter bloc."
has taken a stand in favor of
He argued that because of
the amendment.
this, "the political parties
Carter was elected in are sensitive to the interests
1976 with 297 electoral of Jews and blacks both in
votes to President Ford's their selection of candidates
241, the smallest margin and in the adoption of party
since Woodrow Wilson in platforms. In a system of di-
1912. A switch of less than rect election, however,
10,000 votes in a major state where a vote in one state is
could have given the equal to a vote in another,
Presidency to Ford. At the that influence will be lost."
same time, Carter's popular Jewish members of the
vote margin was also small. Senate and House, as the
He received 49.9 percent of record indicates, largely
the vote compared to 47.9 favor reform of the election
percent by Ford. process to eliminate the
While the proposed possibility of a Presidential
amendment appears to pro- nominee winning office al-
vide for a more democratic though he may not have a
election, Jewish groups majority of the national
point out that it would dam- vote or even less than a rival
age the pluralistic system of because of the electoral col-
American society and lege system.
undermine the checks and
Other dangers cited by
balances system under those opposed to changing
which the American gov- the system is that direct
ernment has flourished election would encourage
since the adoption of the the proliferation of single-
Constitution. issue candidates and the in
Will Maslow, general
crease in small parties
counsel of the AJCon-
might prevent a major party
gress, in a memorandum,
candidate from achieving
pointed out that political even the 40 percent of the
influence of blacks and vote required in the Bayh
Jews in Presidential elec- Amendment.
Eugene Gold Is
Salute to Israel
Parade Leader
Last week, Sadat told his
Parliament that Egypt will
implement the peace with
or without the other Arab
states and warned Arab ter-
rorists that Egypt would
strike back "one thousand-
fold" against any act of
sabotage against Egypt.
Sadat challenged his
Arab detractors to get bet-
ter terms for peace from Is-
rael. If they can do so, he
said, "then I shall cancel the
terms I got and follow
them."
He called on Palestinians
in the West Bank of Jordan
and the Gaza Strip to stop
demonstrations against Is-
rael and cooperate instead
in his upcoming negotia-
tions with Israel on Palesti-
nian autonomy as the first
step on the road to self-
determination..
Sadat boasted that the
arms deal he has made
with the U.S. after the
treaty was signed will
mean "20 leaps forward"
for the Egyptian armed
forces. He said the deal
includes Phantom F4
fighter bombers, missiles
and warships.
Sadat said the Arab
states "have withdrawn
their ambassadors.
Godspeed. No problem
whatsoever. If the ambas-
sadors return, they will be
welcome."
He denounced last week's
Baghdad conference as "a
new Baghdad pact — an al-
liance of insults,
Airbases Agreement Signed
TEL AVIV (JTA) — Is-
rael and the United States
have signed an agreement
for the U.S. to build two new
airfields in the Negev to re-
place the two in the Sinai
the Israelis are turning over
to Egypt under the
Egyptian-Israeli peace
treaty.
The agreement, which
was signed last Friday by
Defense Minister Ezer
Weizman and David McGif-
fert, U.S. assistant secre-
tary of defense for interna-
tional security affairs, calls
Attending the recent presentation of the 1979 for the new airfields to be
American Red Magen David for Israel Humanitarian ready within three years,
Award to President Anwar Sadat of Egypt, Premier before Israel is scheduled to
Menahem Begin of Israel and U.S. President Jimmy evacuate the Sinai bases at
Carter, are, from left: Joseph Handleman, ARMDI Etzion and Etam.
national president; Deputy Consul Abdal Hamid
Israel also plans to build a
Tabak of Egypt, who accepted on behalf of Sadat; third new airfield near
Mrs. Nathan Goldman; Israel Consul Paul Kedar, ac- Beersheba.
cepting for Begin; Mrs. Ludwig Plaut; Ambassador
The U.S., under the
Richard Petree, U.S. alternate representative to the agreement, will start
UN, who accepted for Carter.
construction in June and
ARMDI Gives Humanitarian
Prize to Sadat, Begin, Carter
will be in charge of all
construction work, in-
cluding bringing in
foreign labor.
Special permission will be
required to use Israeli
workers for the project and
they must be paid in Israeli
currency in accordance with
the salary structure in Is-
rael. There were fears ex-
pressed last week that the
Israeli workers would re-
ceive $150 a day, about 10
times the Israeli wage,
causing havoc with the local
economy.
Vandalism Fight
NEW YORK (JTA) —
The Jewish Community Re-
lations Council of New York
is considering asking for
legislation, increased police
patrols and education in the
schools to combat increas-
ing vandalism of Jewish
cemeteries in New York.
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WASHINGTON — The
House of Representatives
voted on Monday to elimi-
nate U.S. foreign aid to
Syria because of Syria's op-
position to the Israeli-
Egyptian peace treaty.
The House left the final
decision on cutting the aid
to Syria in President Car-
ter's hands, if the President
decides the aid is in the U.S.
interest.
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obscenities, impudence,
shamelessness against
Egypt and, on top of all that,
a negative attitude, a no-no
to everything."
Syrian Aid Cut
!! WHY WORRY !!
NEW YORK — Eugene
Gold, Brooklyn District At-
torney, has been named
chairman of the 1979 Salute
to Israel Parade, which will
take place June 3 on Fifth
Avenue in New York City.
The American Zionist
Youth Foundation sponsors
the parade.
Gold is the chairman of
the National Conference on
Soviet Jewry, member of
the executive committee of
the Israel Bonds and a
member of the executive
committee of the American
Histadrut Cultural Ex-
change Institute, among
other affiliations.
The Salute to Israel
Parade, currently in its
15th year, will honor Is-
rael's 31st anniversary of
independence.
Egypt Parliament Approves Peace Treaty
CAIRO — The Egyptian
Parliament approved the
Israeli-Egyptian peace
treaty by an overwhelming
vote on Tuesday, and Prime
Minister Mustapha Khalil
called on the Arab world to
help Egypt implement
peace.
The pace was approved on
a vote of 329-13, with one
abstention and 17 absent.
During the past two
weeks, 18 of the 22 Arab
League member states have
withdrawn their ambas-
sadors from Egypt and the
Arab League voted to move
its headquarters from
Cairo.
President Anwar Sadat
of Egypt, however, may
block the move by im-
pounding $90 million in
Arab League funds and
the League's archives.
Friday, April 13, 1919
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