Difference between revisions of "Peter Benenson"
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| + | |employer=Amnesty International | ||
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| + | '''Peter Benenson''' (31 July 1921 – 25 February 2005) was a British lawyer and co-founder, with six others including [[Seán MacBride]], of human rights group [[Amnesty International]] (AI) in 1961. | ||
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| + | ==Large Jewish family== | ||
| + | He was born in London as Peter James Henry Solomon, to a large [[Jewish]] family, the only son of [[Harold Solomon]] and [[Flora Benenson]]; Peter Benenson adopted his mother’s maiden name later in life. His army officer father died when Benenson was aged nine from a long-term injury, and he was tutored privately by [[W. H. Auden]] before going to Eton. He took his mother’s maiden name of Benenson as a tribute to his grandfather, the Russian gold tycoon [[Grigori Benenson]], following his grandfather’s death. | ||
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| + | ===Spooky mother=== | ||
| + | Flora Benenson was a long-time friend of British intelligence officer [[Kim Philby]]. She introduced him to his second wife Aileen. Whilst working in [[Spain]] as the ''Times'' correspondent on Franco’s side of the Civil War, Philby proposed that she become a [[Soviet]] agent. His friend from Cambridge [[Guy Burgess]] was simultaneously trying to recruit her into [[MI6]]. But the Soviet resident in Paris, [[Ozolin-Haskin]] (code-name Pierre) rejected this as a provocation. Had both moves succeeded she would have become a double agent. In 1962 when Philby was the correspondent of the London ''Observer'' in Beirut, she objected to the anti-[[Israel]]i tone of his articles. She related the details of the contact to [[Victor Rothschild|Victor (later Lord) Rothschild]], who had worked for [[MI5]].<ref>''[https://wideawakegentile.wordpress.com/2014/05/20/is-ammnesty-international-another-rothschild-m15-zionist-tool/ "IS AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL ANOTHER ROTHSCHILD MI6 ZIONIST TOOL?"]''</ref> | ||
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| + | ==Army intelligence== | ||
| + | Peter Benenson enrolled for study at [[Balliol College]], [[University of Oxford]] but [[World War II]] interrupted his education. He worked in Army Intelligence at the Ministry of Information where he met his first wife, Margaret Anderson. Benenson then worked at Bletchley Park, the British codebreaking centre, in the "Testery", a section tasked with breaking German teleprinter ciphers.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.chilton-computing.org.uk/acl/associates/permanent/good.htm |title=GCHQ, Atlas and Virginia Tech: Jack Good |publisher=Computing at Chilton: 1961–2003 |accessdate=12 October 2011}}</ref> | ||
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| + | ==Writing for justice== | ||
| + | After demobilisation in 1946, Benenson began practising as a barrister before joining the [[Labour Party]] and standing unsuccessfully for election at Streatham in the 1950 General Election. He was one of a group of British lawyers who founded [[Justice]] in 1957, the UK-based human rights and law reform organisation. In 1958, he fell ill and moved to Italy to convalesce. In the same year, he converted to the [[Roman Catholic Church]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.paxchristi.org.uk/PeacePeople/Peter%20Benenson.pdf|title=Peter Benenson|publisher=Pax Christi}}</ref> | ||
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| + | In 1961, Benenson was shocked and angered by a newspaper report of two Portuguese students from Coimbra, [[Portugal]] sentenced to seven years in prison for raising their glasses in a toast to freedom<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/ACT30/005/2001/en/22a88f2d-d961-11dd-a057-592cb671dd8b/act300052001en.html|title=Peter Benenson – Biography|publisher=[[Amnesty International]]}}</ref> during the regime of [[António de Oliveira Salazar]]. He wrote to [[David Astor]], editor of ''[[The Observer]]''. On 28 May 1961, Benenson's article, entitled "The Forgotten Prisoners", was published. The letter asked readers to write letters showing support for the students. To co-ordinate such letter-writing campaigns, [[Amnesty International]] was founded in London in July 1961 at a meeting of Benenson and six other men, who included a [[Conservative Party|Conservative]], a Liberal and a [[Labour Party|Labour]] MP.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/may/29/amnesty-international-marks-50th-birthday|title=Amnesty International marks 50 years of fighting for free speech|newspaper=The Observer|date=29 May 2012|author=Tracy McVeigh}}</ref><ref>Childs, Peter; Storry, Mike, eds. (2002). ''"Amnesty International"''. ''Encyclopedia of Contemporary British Culture''. London: Routledge. pp. 22–23.</ref> The response was so overwhelming that within a year groups of letter-writers had formed in more than a dozen countries. | ||
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| + | Initially appointed General Secretary of AI, Benenson stood down in 1964 owing to ill health. Two years later, [[Amnesty International]] faced an internal crisis and Benenson alleged that the organisation he co-founded was being infiltrated by British intelligence. The advisory position of president of the International Executive was then created for him. In 1966, he began making allegations of improper conduct against other members of the executive. An inquiry was set up which reported at Elsinore in [[Denmark]] in 1967. The allegations were rejected and Benenson resigned from AI. While never again active in the organisation, Benenson was later personally reconciled with other executives, including [[Seán MacBride]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/28/international/europe/28benenson.html|title=Peter Benenson, Founder of Amnesty Group, Dies at 83|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=28 February 2005|last=McFadden|first=Robert D.}}</ref> | ||
| − | == | + | ==Award== |
| − | In | + | In 2001, Benenson received the ''Pride of Britain'' award for Lifetime Achievement. |
{{SMWDocs}} | {{SMWDocs}} | ||
==References== | ==References== | ||
{{reflist}} | {{reflist}} | ||
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Revision as of 17:31, 6 December 2017
 Peter Benenson    (lawyer, spook) | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||||||||||
| Born | Peter James Henry Solomon 1921-07-31 London, England | |||||||||||
| Died | 2005-02-25 (Age 83) Oxford, England | |||||||||||
| Nationality | British | |||||||||||
| Alma mater | Eton | |||||||||||
| Parents | • Flora Benenson • Harold Solomon | |||||||||||
| Spouse | Margaret Anderson | |||||||||||
| Founder of | Amnesty International | |||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
Peter Benenson (31 July 1921 – 25 February 2005) was a British lawyer and co-founder, with six others including Seán MacBride, of human rights group Amnesty International (AI) in 1961.
Contents
Large Jewish family
He was born in London as Peter James Henry Solomon, to a large Jewish family, the only son of Harold Solomon and Flora Benenson; Peter Benenson adopted his mother’s maiden name later in life. His army officer father died when Benenson was aged nine from a long-term injury, and he was tutored privately by W. H. Auden before going to Eton. He took his mother’s maiden name of Benenson as a tribute to his grandfather, the Russian gold tycoon Grigori Benenson, following his grandfather’s death.
Spooky mother
Flora Benenson was a long-time friend of British intelligence officer Kim Philby. She introduced him to his second wife Aileen. Whilst working in Spain as the Times correspondent on Franco’s side of the Civil War, Philby proposed that she become a Soviet agent. His friend from Cambridge Guy Burgess was simultaneously trying to recruit her into MI6. But the Soviet resident in Paris, Ozolin-Haskin (code-name Pierre) rejected this as a provocation. Had both moves succeeded she would have become a double agent. In 1962 when Philby was the correspondent of the London Observer in Beirut, she objected to the anti-Israeli tone of his articles. She related the details of the contact to Victor (later Lord) Rothschild, who had worked for MI5.[1]
Army intelligence
Peter Benenson enrolled for study at Balliol College, University of Oxford but World War II interrupted his education. He worked in Army Intelligence at the Ministry of Information where he met his first wife, Margaret Anderson. Benenson then worked at Bletchley Park, the British codebreaking centre, in the "Testery", a section tasked with breaking German teleprinter ciphers.[2]
Writing for justice
After demobilisation in 1946, Benenson began practising as a barrister before joining the Labour Party and standing unsuccessfully for election at Streatham in the 1950 General Election. He was one of a group of British lawyers who founded Justice in 1957, the UK-based human rights and law reform organisation. In 1958, he fell ill and moved to Italy to convalesce. In the same year, he converted to the Roman Catholic Church.[3]
In 1961, Benenson was shocked and angered by a newspaper report of two Portuguese students from Coimbra, Portugal sentenced to seven years in prison for raising their glasses in a toast to freedom[4] during the regime of António de Oliveira Salazar. He wrote to David Astor, editor of The Observer. On 28 May 1961, Benenson's article, entitled "The Forgotten Prisoners", was published. The letter asked readers to write letters showing support for the students. To co-ordinate such letter-writing campaigns, Amnesty International was founded in London in July 1961 at a meeting of Benenson and six other men, who included a Conservative, a Liberal and a Labour MP.[5][6] The response was so overwhelming that within a year groups of letter-writers had formed in more than a dozen countries.
Initially appointed General Secretary of AI, Benenson stood down in 1964 owing to ill health. Two years later, Amnesty International faced an internal crisis and Benenson alleged that the organisation he co-founded was being infiltrated by British intelligence. The advisory position of president of the International Executive was then created for him. In 1966, he began making allegations of improper conduct against other members of the executive. An inquiry was set up which reported at Elsinore in Denmark in 1967. The allegations were rejected and Benenson resigned from AI. While never again active in the organisation, Benenson was later personally reconciled with other executives, including Seán MacBride.[7]
Award
In 2001, Benenson received the Pride of Britain award for Lifetime Achievement.
Related Document
| Title | Type | Publication date | Author(s) | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Document:Amnesty International: Imperialist Tool | Article | 23 October 2012 | Francis Boyle | Effectively, Amnesty International and AIUSA function as tools for the imperialist, colonial and genocidal policies of the United States, Britain, and Israel. |
References
- ↑ "IS AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL ANOTHER ROTHSCHILD MI6 ZIONIST TOOL?"
- ↑ "GCHQ, Atlas and Virginia Tech: Jack Good". Computing at Chilton: 1961–2003. Retrieved 12 October 2011.Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css must have content model "Sanitized CSS" for TemplateStyles (current model is "Scribunto").
- ↑ "Peter Benenson" (PDF). Pax Christi.Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css must have content model "Sanitized CSS" for TemplateStyles (current model is "Scribunto").
- ↑ "Peter Benenson – Biography". Amnesty International.Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css must have content model "Sanitized CSS" for TemplateStyles (current model is "Scribunto").
- ↑
{{URL|example.com|optional display text}} - ↑ Childs, Peter; Storry, Mike, eds. (2002). "Amnesty International". Encyclopedia of Contemporary British Culture. London: Routledge. pp. 22–23.
- ↑
{{URL|example.com|optional display text}}
