Jennifer Meeropol is the granddaughter of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg and the daughter of RFC Founder, Robert Meeropol. Jenn became the Executive Director of the RFC on September 1, 2013. Prior posts on this page were written by Robert (unless otherwise noted), and represent his opinions, which are not necessarily shared by the RFC.I often assess the passing year as the new one approaches. I have mixed feelings about 2009. The start of the year, like the second half of 2008, was really scary at the RFC. The country was in financial melt-down, people were losing their jobs, and that had ominous implications for our fund raising prospects as the year progressed.
December 10th marked the 61st anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Declaration) by the United Nations. It was celebrated locally and world wide as Human Rights Day.
My daughter, Jenn, and I just returned from a very quick trip to the San Francisco Bay Area to attend the sixth event in our 20/20/20 program. As you may recall the Rosenberg Fund for Children currently is staging 20 events over a 20 month period to celebrate its 20th anniversary.
I have been overwhelmed by the dozens of responses to my last posting. I have also been very impressed with the level of discourse. This reinforces what I’ve noticed at dozens of RFC events I’ve attended over the years – the RFC has attracted a great community of support, and it is a pleasure to know you!
Recently, the Obama Administration’s plan to bring Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, characterized as “the self-proclaimed mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks,” from Guantánamo and try him and several others in a Federal Court in New York City has made headlines. Those on the right have attacked this decision claiming, among other things, that Mohammed should be kept in Guantánamo, that he does not deserve constitutional rights, and that such a trial will expose New York City to further attacks.