President John F. Kennedy has granted a full pardon to Herman M. Greenspun, editor and publisher of the Las Vegas Sun, who was convicted in 1950 of violating the neutrality act in shipping arms to Israel during the Israeli war of independence. He had been fined $10,000 and was deprived of his civil rights, including the right to vote.
Mr. Greenspun, who was an active adversary of the late Senator Joseph McCarthy, was first charged in 1950 with violating the neutrality act by his involvement in the transfer of an aircraft to Israel and he was exonerated. He was later convicted, however, of having taken part in the shipment of machine guns and other arms and ammunition aboard the yacht Idalia, from Mexico to Israel.
Announcement of the pardon, which ended a long fight by friends of Mr. Greenspun to restore his rights came in a letter to the Nevada publisher signed by Reed Cozard, pardon attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice. Former President Dwight D. Eisenhower had turned down previous pleas to pardon Mr. Greenspun.
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.
