In a recent publication for Monthly Review, elder son of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg and RFC Advisory Board member Michael Meeropol shares an in-depth history of Judge Irving R. Kaufman, who presided over his parents' trial and sentenced them to death.

For today's Rosenberg Mention of the Day, we share this article on the legacy of Roy Cohn: Trump confidant and mentor, prosecuting attorney during Ethel and Julius Rosenberg's trial, and catalyst for both the Red and Lavender Scares of the 1950s.

Today, his persona is depicted in many major television and film productions, including the recent hit series "Fellow Travelers," following the love story of two men during the Lavender scare, and an upcoming drama, "The Apprentice," a film depicting Donald Trump's life during the 80s and 90s.

Today’s Rosenberg Mention of the Day comes from a fascinating review of current TV series, including “Fellow Travelers.”

Author Victoria A. Brownworth clearly is a fan of the show, and a historian, which is evident in the following political commentary, which introduces the review:

Today’s literary Rosenberg Mention of the Day comes from the Times of India courtesy of Sylvia Plath: “'It was a queer, sultry summer, the summer they electrocuted the Rosenbergs and I didn’t know what I was doing in New York.’ The opening sentence of Sylvia Plath's 'The Bell Jar' sets a foreboding and disorienting tone as it describes a peculiar, stifling summer during the execution of the Rosenbergs in the 1950s….”

Today's #RosenbergMOTD is this excellent essay by Paul Von Blum in Truthdig, which begins, "On that June 19th evening in 1953, I was a small kid in a suburb of Philadelphia, concerned above all with baseball, when I noticed that something had made my parents very upset. When I asked them what was wrong, they informed me that Julius and Ethel Rosenberg had been killed in the electric chair, in a place called Sing Sing in New York, and that it was a horrible injustice. I had never before heard of the Rosenbergs or Sing Sing.

Thank you to Renée Graham of the Boston Globe for this thoughtful tribute to the late, great Harry Belafonte. We loved this sentiment and are honored for our organization to be counted among the humanitarian causes he supported:

Graham writes, "Often, you can measure the impact and reach of a person’s life by the variety of those who mourn their passing.

Earlier this month on April 20th marked the anniversary of Billie Holiday recording "Strange Fruit" in 1939. The song was originally written by Abel Meeropol, a Jewish activist, poet, and high school English teacher, in protest against the lynchings of Black Americans. (Abel and his wife Anne later adopted the Rosenbergs' two young sons after Ethel and Julius' executions.)

On this day, we mark 70 years since President Eisenhower denied Ethel and Julius Rosenberg's first bid for executive clemency on Feb 11th, 1953. It was one of the first decisions Eisenhower faced in his time as president after the outgoing President Truman declined to respond before leaving office.

This Thurs. Jan 26th, 2023 at 12pm (Central), the Eisenhower Presidential Library & Museum will host a hybrid event, "President Eisenhower’s Decision Concerning the Execution of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg."
Joining as the featured guest speaker will be Dr. Lori Clune, author of "Executing the Rosenbergs: Death and Diplomacy in a Cold War World" and associate Professor of History at California State University, Fresno.

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.”