Reflections on Mordechai's Release

By Art Laffin

When I saw Mordechai through the prison gates, I was overcome with joy. It is a sight I will always cherish.

Earlier that morning, I read in the Acts of Apostles about an angel of the Lord guiding the disciples out of prison, and them fearlessly preaching to the people.

Mordechai's witness is a modern day version of this scripture passage. I am deeply inspired by Mordechai and moved by his compassion.

When I met him for the first time the evening of his release, I thanked him for a letter he wrote to me several years ago after the murder of my brother, Paul. He said, "You have lost a brother, but now you have a new brother."

Mordechai is a man of great faith, courage and humility. Speaking to a gathering of supporters from around the world less than 12 hours after he walked out of prison, Mordechai said, "We the people are stronger than their weapons. No matter what they can do we will win."

Ernest Rodker (UK), Art Laffin (US), Mordechai Vanunu, Felice Cohen-Joppa (US), Yossi Elgazi (Israel), and Rayna Moss (Israel), in the garden at St. George's Cathedral.

He said he is an ordinary man who acted on his conscience to do what was right.

As I savored these special moments, I wished that the late Sam Day could have been there. Sam, the founder of the U.S. Campaign to Free Mordechai Vanunu, labored tirelessly for Mordechai's release.

Mordechai prophetically sounded a warning to the world to end the nuclear peril.

Despite his long, painful confinement, despite his continued mistreatment by the Israeli government, his spirit is free. He is a beacon of hope for our world.

-Art Laffin is a member of Dorothy Day Catholic Worker community in Washington, D.C., and an associate coordinator of the U.S. Campaign to Free Mordechai Vanunu.