Nation: Jewish Lobby Loses a Big One

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JOHN DANFORTH. The Missouri Republican agonized over his vote up to the moment he cast it. Jewish friends in his home state argued repeatedly that if he were to support the package, he would betray their trust. But Carter, Vance, Brown, the Rockefeller brothers and even Jerry Ford, all called him to argue that the sales would serve the national interest. Danforth was also reminded by Missouri businessmen that the 60 F-15s wanted by Saudi Arabia would mean more jobs for the manufacturer, St. Louis-based McDonnell Douglas, already the largest (30,000) private employer in the state. Two hours before the balloting, Danforth was undecided. Finally, he cast his vote for the package. "It was the most difficult decision I have made in the Senate," he said.

GARY HART. The Colorado Democrat too was unable to make up his mind until just an hour before the roll was called. Prominent Jewish leaders "from Los Angeles to Boston" whom he met while managing George McGovern's 1972 presidential campaign had besieged him. He received a telephoned plea from Vance. Yet he had been "very impressed" by the pleas of the Saudi princes. While Hart was on his way to the Senate floor, New Republic Editor Marty Peretz made an emotional final-hour anti-sales pitch to him. Vice President Walter Mondale took him aside for a counterplea. Finally, Hart voted against the Administration. His reason: he is a U.S. adviser for a special United Nations session on disarmament. Said he: "It would have been ironic, if not untenable, to sell planes and participate in a disarmament conference."