National Committee to Secure Justice in the Rosenberg Case, also known as the Rosenberg Committee, was an organization formed by the National Guardian to defend Julius and Ethel Rosenberg and secure clemency for them.

History

In August of 1951, the journalist

William A. Reuben William A. Reuben (1915 or 1916 – May 31, 2004) was an American journalist and writer who focused on the Rosenberg and Hiss cases. Background Reuben was born in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1915 or 1916. He studied at the Wharton School of the Uni ...

began writing articles concerning the trial of the Rosenbergs. When readers began sending money in, he and his friends formed their committee "in my Manhattan apartment" in October 1951. They used the monies to publish the trial record with Reuben's ''Guardian'' articles in pamphlet form. After readers began sending money, Reuben and his friends formed a committee in Reuben's Manhattan apartment in October of 1951. They used the monies to publish the trial record with Reuben's ''National Guardian'' articles in pamphlet form. After the organization was assembled, Reuben served as the provisional chairman. In 1953, during the Second Red Scare, the National Community Relations Advisory Council (NCRAC) alleged that the Rosenberg Committee was promoting public panic within the Jewish community due to the committee's belief that antisemitism was a factor in the Rosenberg trial. The advisory council considered the Rosenberg Committee a communist group. The NCRAC included the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, the

American Jewish Committee The American Jewish Committee (AJC) is a Jewish advocacy group established on November 11, 1906. It is one of the oldest Jewish advocacy organizations and, according to ''The New York Times'', is "widely regarded as the dean of American Jewish org ...

, the Jewish War Veterans of the United States of America, the Jewish Labor Committee, and the

American Jewish Congress The American Jewish Congress (AJCongress or AJC) is an association of American Jews organized to defend Jewish interests at home and abroad through public policy advocacy, using diplomacy, legislation, and the courts. History The AJCongress was ...

. The committee later changed its name to the National Committee to Reopen the Rosenberg Case. It picketed the Manhattan federal courthouse each year near the execution date, ending in 1992 with Judge Irving Kaufman's death. Aaron Katz led the group from 1963 to 2005.

References

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External links

National Committee to Secure Justice in the Rosenberg Case
Northwestern University
National Rosenberg Defence Committee records
Online Archive of California 1951 establishments in New York (state) Civil liberties advocacy groups in the United States Civil rights organizations in the United States Defunct communist organizations in the United States Jewish-American history Jewish socialism Jews and Judaism in Manhattan Opposition to antisemitism in the United States Socialism in New York (state)

History

See also

References

External links