Earlier this year, the Rosenberg Fund for Children – in concert with the Meeropol family – launched a petition  at www.rfc.org/ethel calling on President Obama to exonerate Ethel Rosenberg before he leaves office. There is damning new evidence showing the prosecution knew she was not a spy, and executed her anyway.

Last summer, previously secret government material at the heart of the case against the Rosenbergs was made public after the National Security Archive successfully sued for its release. This material - the transcript of the sworn, grand jury testimony of David Greenglass (Ethel’s brother, and the chief prosecution witness against her) - demonstrates that the government knowingly manufactured the case against Ethel to pressure Julius to cooperate.

The release made international headlines, with story after story calling Ethel’s conviction and execution into question. Shortly thereafter, Ethel’s son and RFC founder Robert Meeropol, along with his brother Michael Meeropol, published an Op-Ed in The New York Times calling for her exoneration. They received tremendous public support for the idea.

On what would have been Ethel’s 100th birthday last September, Members of the New York City Council issued a proclamation stating Ethel’s execution was “wrongful,” and the Manhattan Borough President declared it “Ethel Rosenberg Day of Justice in the Borough of Manhattan.” These actions by government officials in the largest city in this country - where Ethel and Julius lived all their lives until their arrests, and where their trial took place - demonstrate the growing recognition that Ethel’s conviction was a travesty.

As a result of this momentum, the RFC has launched a campaign asking President Obama to exonerate Ethel.

Angela Davis, Noam Chomsky, Holly Near, Ed Asner, Lynne Stewart and Ralph Poynter, Dave Zirin, John Sayles, and more than 10,000 other concerned people around the world have already added their names to the petition, as a result of our grassroots promotion. We’re aiming for at least 50,000 signatures by the time we send the petition to the President in December. We anticipate that later this fall, 60 Minutes will air a segment interviewing Robert and Michael Meeropol about their parents’ case, after which we’ll launch a national media campaign about the exoneration effort. Join our email list or follow us on Facebook or Twitter to get an announcement when we know the 60 Minutes air date, and see the “Support the campaign!” section for other ways you can get involved.

The time is right to do this not only because we now know the government understood Ethel was not a spy but manufactured a case against her, and executed her, anyway. It’s also essential because we’re witnessing a horrifying resurgence of the same kind of attacks that McCarthy and the FBI engaged in - only now, they’re aimed at Muslims, immigrants, and transgender people; as well as Black Lives Matter organizers, environmental activists, and others challenging our broken system.

The RFC’s mission is to support children whose parents are fighting repression and paying a terrible price for doing so. On behalf of those families, as well as the Rosenberg/Meeropol family, we hope you’ll add your name to the petition to demand a government that is just, humane, and accountable.