Dr. Edward Brojde-Trepper began a seven-day hunger strike near the United Nations today to “appeal to all people of good will, to all Americans” to “help save an old and broken man”–his father, Leopold Trepper, the World War II master spy who with his wife is being barred from leaving Poland for Israel. “For almost two years now the Polish government has steadfastly denied my parents Lyuba (Elisabeth) and Leibe Trepper the right to unite with their children and families who live in Israel,” Dr. Brojde-Trepper said in a statement.
“The two old and ailing people are compelled to live in a country where they are alone and lonely, amid graves of their kin and memories of our murdered people, whose ashes are strewn across the land.” His parents have been subjected to “a strict police surveillance” and to “a vile campaign of slander,” he charged.
Noting that the UN area was a “suitable place” for his demonstration, the 35-year-old professor at The Hebrew University in Jerusalem insisted that his appeal was “humane,” not political, in nature. “Our struggle,” he said, “is not directed against any political party, doctrine or state. And our struggle will continue until the day when we can embrace our father at the Lydda Airport in Tel Aviv.” He concluded: “On behalf of our entire family I demand: ‘Give us back our father!'” Dr. Trepper, who went to Israel 11 months ago, added to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that he planned to maintain his presence near the UN day and night for a week. He said he was certain his vigil would effect his parents’ release.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
