JNS.org – Robert Meeropol was 6 when his parents, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, were executed in 1953 by the US government as spies for the Soviet Union. On Aug. 2, at age 71, he took part in an ancient Jewish ritual when he put on tefillin for the first time—something Jewish boys usually do when they turn 13.

The celebratory ritual—followed by singing and dancing with Chabad-Lubavitch rabbis and more than 1,000 participants—took place at the Rohr Jewish Learning Institute’s (JLI) annual retreat in Providence, RI, where Meeropol spoke about growing up as the “Cold War’s most famous orphan” and his crusade to clear his mother’s name.

He told attendees that he believes he’s uncovered evidence showing that his mother Ethel was not involved in espionage, and unfairly convicted and executed. He also discussed the role of antisemitism in his parents’ conviction and sentencing, as well as the campaign to have his mother pardoned by President Barack Obama.

Afterwards, Rabbi Efraim Mintz, director of JLI, asked Meeropol if he had ever worn tefillin. When he said he hadn’t, the rabbi brought out a set and helped affix them to his head and arm.