EASTHAMPTON — A nearly yearlong campaign by Robert and Michael Meeropol urging President Barack Obama to exonerate their mother, Ethel Rosenberg, ended with Obama’s presidency Friday.
Rosenberg was executed in 1954 for conspiracy to commit espionage. The brothers had argued that the release of previously sealed testimony in 2015 shows their mother’s conviction was perjured and wrongful.
But by the end of Obama’s presidency Friday, the Meeropol brothers had no response, according to Jennifer Meeropol, Robert’s daughter and executive director of the Rosenberg Fund for Children in Easthampton, which ran the campaign.
From spring 2016 to Inauguration Day, the campaign gathered nearly 60,000 signatures, as well as written statements to Obama from Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, U.S. Sen. Edward Markey, and U.S. Reps. Richard Neal and James McGovern.
The Meeropol brothers said the support alone was a victory.
“It’s clear we succeeded in moving the needle on the public’s understanding of how the government wronged our mother, and why, dramatically,” the Meeropol brothers said in a statement released on Friday.
As for next steps, Jennifer Meeropol said there are no immediate plans to bring justice for Ethel.
She said it’s unlikely President Donald Trump will exonerate her grandmother given that Roy Cohn, an attorney during the McCarthy-era when thousands of Americans were accused of being communists or communist sympathizers, was Trump’s mentor.
“It will probably take a little bit of time to see if there are other potential avenues,” Jennifer Meeropol said.
But she said during the campaign they received recognition from thousands of people across the country, which gave an incredible sense of community.
“From the 90-year-olds who sent us shaky, handwritten letters, to the middle schoolers who posted about the campaign on social media,” the statement said. “Everyone who supported this effort demonstrated a deep commitment to holding our leaders accountable that we found inspiring.”
Some shared stories. Some recalled fear and outrage they felt during the time of the Rosenberg case. Many said they are experiencing that fear once again in the current political climate.
“The campaign to exonerate Ethel Rosenberg has proved our parents correct in their belief that after they were gone, others would continue to resist repression and fight for justice,” the letter states.
“We consider that a victory.”
Caitlin Ashworth can be reached at cashworth@gazettenet.com.