| A Sad Tale Of Four Sons |
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On January 18, I saw the telecast of a horrible car accident on the Arava road to Eilat, where two people were killed and five wounded. It was announced that the driver was Ami Popper, who was convicted of murdering seven Arabs 16 years ago. The announcement went on to say that his wife, Sarah (nee Goldberg), 42, and their six-year-old son, Shimshon, were the individuals killed. _option_option
The police informed the press that, "The initial investigation suggests that the three Popper children were sitting in the back seat without seat belts. Police said they believed that Ami Popper had been distracted by his children, causing him to veer into oncoming traffic (Josh Brannon and The Jerusalem Post Staff)." Popper's driver's license had expired in 1999, police said. Popper and his surviving sons, ages nine and eleven, were injured. Ami Popper's shooting rampage rocked the nation and still resonates 16 years later. Popper, 21 at the time, arrived at the Rose Garden Junction between Rishon LeZion and Ness Ziona with an IDF-issued rifle that he had stolen from his younger brother. He lined up Arab workers at the junction, stopped a car with West Bank plates, and made the passengers join the lineup. He then went on his shooting spree, stopping several times to reload. Following his arrest, Popper told police he shot the men after his girlfriend left him, only to say later that he was raped by an Arab during his childhood and had acted out of shame and a desire for revenge. He was sentenced to several life terms in prison, which was later commuted to 40 years with monthly furloughs as the result of his wife's work on his behalf. He became a ba'al teshuvah and married Sarah, z"l, while already in prison. The complicated feelings for the poor children, now motherless with a father who is a convicted murderer, abounded. The police and newspaper reports inflamed feelings further by stating that the boys were not wearing safety belts. Later, I was informed that the release letter from the hospital states clearly that the boys' injuries were directlycaused by the seatbelts that theywere wearing. As a person who studies human behavior, I wondered what caused the police to "blame" the victims. What may have transpired was that here was a person whose name is well known in Israel as a result of the murder of seven unarmed men who were waiting to go to work. Even though Israel is a "regular" country with thieves and the like, any person - and a Jewish one at that - who commits such an incomprehensible deed becomes a pariah within his own community, be he religious or not. The case at hand reminded me of another one, in which two boys of approximately the same age as the Popper boys were left motherless and fatherless due to the father's actions. Michael and Robert (Rosenberg) Meeropol were about 10 and six years old in June 1953 when their parents, Ethel and Julius Rosenberg, were executed after being convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage on behalf of the Soviet Union − at the height of the McCarthy era. The Rosenbergs left their young sons a legacy that was a burden and a gift, as well as an aching emotional void. Both Michael, a college professor, and especially Robert - who in 1990 founded the Rosenberg Fund for Children, a nonprofit foundation which provides support for children whose parents are Leftist activists are involved in a court case - credit their adoptive parents with giving them a loving, stable upbringing. Notwithstanding, they grew up torn between the need to pursue liberal political values and intense fear that personal exposure might subject them and their families to violence or even death. When originally secret − but later released − information came to light, it seemed that Julius Rosenberg was in all probability a spy, but that his wife Ethel was not (Verona Papers). Ethel was executed as a direct result of her brother being moser (giving false testimony) against her. In an interview with The Guardian (Michael Ellison, December 6, 2001) and CBS's "60 Minutes" television program, David Greenglass, aged 79 at the time, said, "As a spy who turned his family in, I don't careI sleep very well. I would not sacrifice my wife and my children for my sister." Greenglass, who lives under an assumed identity, was sentenced to 15 years and released from prison in 1960. He said he gave false testimony because he feared that his wife Ruth might be charged, and that he was encouraged by the prosecution to lie. Julius and Ethel died, rather than give up any names of their family or friends. Both claimed complete innocence until the very end. They are the only U.S. citizens ever to be executed for conspiracy to commit espionage. The government alleged that the couple, along with friend Morton Sobell, helped the Soviet Union acquire the secret to the atomic bomb. Ivy Meeropol, daughter of Ethel's oldest son, Michael, made the film, "Heir to an Execution," which was released on June 14, 2004 - 50 years to the day after the execution of her grandparents. (After their parents were executed, as no relatives dared adopt them for fear of ostracism or worse, Michael and Robert were adopted by the New York songwriter Abel Meeropol and his wife Anne - non-Jews originally from the Netherlands.) Many of Ivy's grandparents' friends speak with her on film, including Harry Steingart, 103 years old at the time Ivy interviewed him. Like Steingart, most of the Rosenberg friends were trade unionists and/or members of the American Communist Party. And every single one of them - Miriam Moskowitz, Abe Osheroff, Morton Sobell, etc. - was Jewish. Their families are another matter. We learn that Ethel Greenglass had three brothers, one being the infamous David Greenglass, and Julius Rosenberg was one of five children. But to this day neither family − even after more than a half century - wants anything to do with the Meeropols. Ivy Meeropol does her best to track down her cousins and solicit their participation, but to no avail. In her film, she shows herself on the phone working from two hand-drawn family trees, but never shows us any of the names or tells us exactly whom she is talking to at any one time. Finally, one early middle-aged man agrees to see her. She identifies him verbally as "Baron Roberts," son of Julius's brother, David. He is astonished when she tells him that none of the other cousins will speak with her, even off camera. He cries and she comforts him. Although the triggering events happened long before any of them were born, Ivy and Baron share a moment of sorrow for all the relatives who still live with their conflicted feelings. * * * * * Today in Israel, recognizing the importance for continuity in the lives of the two Popper boys, the philanthropic family that is taking care of them made a connected apartment available for their Heder Rebbe, his wife and young children. Though their uncle, Lenny Goldberg, will be "in the picture with his nephews," this family - with a multitude of their own children - will be their foster family. Today, B"H, we have our own country, which has its laws and jurisprudence. But it is especially blessed to be the home of a community of Jews who are strong enough to do the right thing, namely to find a home and provide love for children whose father − a convicted murderer − is responsible for the unintended death of their mother and six-year-old brother. May these innocent boys, as they become adults, look forward (as well as back on their family and community), while holding their heads high. Originally published in the Jewish Press on February 21, 2007. |
