An open letter appealing for the rehabilitation of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg and Morton Sobel has been signed by 10,000 people, a spokesman for the Movement Against Racism and Anti-Semitism and for Peace (MRAP) told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency today. The public reaction has been enormous, and signatures are still coming in, the spokesman said.
French public opinion was recently stimulated by a three-hour French television broadcast covering the Rosenberg trial. After the film re-enacting scenes of the moment, the Rosenbergs’ two sons participated in a televised discussion of the affair. The television program triggered a reaction in the hearts of the humanitarian-minded French, Newspapers headlined the Rosenberg affair for a week, emphasizing the anti-Semitic overtones of the trial.
Faced with this reaction among the public and among its own members, the MRAP felt it was duty-bound to voice its opinion. At the time of the Rosenberg trial, the MRAP, along with several French-Jewish organizations voiced strong protests against the witch-hunt and anti-Semitic aspects of the trial.
FAMOUS ARTISTS SIGN PETITION
Before launching the appeal letter, MRAP leaders met with Sobel and the two Rosenberg sons who had come to Paris especially for the television program debate. They agreed to help coordinate the French campaign with the campaign in the United States.
A number of French personalities have agreed to publish their names at the top of the list of signatures. They include liberal poet and author Max-Pol Fouchet, internationally known pantomime artist Marcel Marceau, theater director Jack Lang, and actress Marina Vlady.
The MRAP is a liberal organization, based in Paris, whose goal is to defend groups and individuals against acts of racism or anti-Semitism. Recently the MRAP has been active in defending the rights of immigrant workers in France. The MRAP publishes a monthly bulletin with an estimated circulation of 30,000 and claims to have 15,000 members throughout France.
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.
