Today's #RosenbergMOTD comes from the Silicon Valley Jewish Film Fest. The all-virtual festival, running from Oct 23rd through Nov 6th, will feature a wide variety of films, including the documentary "Bully. Coward. Victim. The Story of Roy Cohn" by Ivy Meeropol, granddaughter of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg.
On this day in 2015, in a ceremony on the steps of City Hall, NYC Council members gathered, with three generations of Ethel Rosenberg's descendants present, to issue a stunning proclamation in Ethel's honor, stating in part, "the government wrongfully executed Ethel Rosenberg; now therefore BE IT KNOWN: That we, the undersigned Members of the New York City Council, honor the life and memory of Ethel Rosenberg in observance of the 100th anniversary of her birth."
New #RosenbergMOTD: Monadnock Ledger-Transcript covers RFC Founder Robert Meeropol's July 22nd talk for the 2022 Amos Fortune Forum in Jaffrey, NH.
As the younger son of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg, Robert discussed the case for his mother's innocence and the effort to Exonerate Ethel, citing evidence from formerly classified documents that became available in the decades since the Rosenbergs' executions, clearly demonstrating the flimsiness of the U.S. government's case against her.
Today’s #RosenbergMOTD features the inclusion of ETHEL ROSENBERG: An American Tragedy, by Anne Sebba. (St. Martin’s Griffin, 336 pp., $18.99) in the NYTimes’ “New in Paperback” feature. According to the article, “Sebba’s account is the first biography in 30 years to focus individually on Ethel Rosenberg, who was famously executed along with her husband, Julius...in June 1953.”
Rosenberg Mention of the Day: Anne Sebba, the author of "Ethel Rosenberg: An American Tragedy" has published a Q&A this week in the lead-up to her biography's paperback edition release in the UK. It's a fascinating read on how her life's journey led her to become an acclaimed, feminist biographer.
For today's #RosenbergMOTD, we are delighted to share this excellent recorded interview from yesterday's "Issues that Matter with Cynthia," which featured RFC Founder Robert Meeropol (Ethel Rosenberg's younger son), and author Anne Sebba to discuss her recent biography, "Ethel Rosenberg: An American Tragedy" (2021).
This Rosenberg Mention of the Day comes from a recent letter to the editor comparing charges faced by the Rosenbergs and the *lack* of accountability facing certain right-wing leadership in recent years.
While we think the writer makes some errors/wrong assumptions with respect to what the Rosenbergs did (and more importantly didn’t) do, we feel the comparison with current politicians and media personalities is worth considering.
On this day, April 5, 1951, Federal Judge Irving R. Kaufman sentenced Ethel and Julius Rosenberg to death, one week after a jury convicted them of conspiracy to commit espionage.
In his sentencing speech, Judge Kaufman said, "I consider your crimes worse than murder" and that the Rosenbergs' "love for their cause dominated their lives – it was even greater than their love for their children.”
On this day: March 29, 1951 Ethel and Julius Rosenberg were found guilty of conspiracy to commit espionage.
Last year on the 70th anniversary of the conviction, RFC Founder Robert Meeropol shared his thoughts for Emily Tamkin's New Statesman article on the case. This important piece focuses on what the Rosenbergs' convictions expose about the U.S.'s longstanding history of committing injustices in the name of national security.
Today’s Rosenberg Mention of the Day highlights the more controversial work of pop artist Andy Warhol.
“The world loves Andy's bright and easily-digestible pop art, but there is a much darker side to his portfolio that many have never been exposed to. For our first example, let's take a look at Electric Chair, a project that Andy worked on as a response to the execution of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg ... Although empty of anything except the chair, the image is haunting, to say the least.”