Reuben Efron (1911–1993) was a Lithuanian-American who served in the US Army and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
Efron was born in Lithuania on 12 April 1911 as 'Ruvelis Effronas'. He attended a Jewish high school, and following this Vytautas Magnus University where he studied law. He then practiced law for five years in Kaunas.[1]
In 1939 he came to Miami via Cuba. He spoke English, Russian, Lithuanian, Hebrew, Yiddish and German; serving in the US Air Force as a translator during World War 2.[2] Before his retirement he attained the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel.[3]
In 1955 he accompanied Senator Richard Russell Jr. on a trip to the USSR. Here he and Russell reported seeing "flying saucers" which have been said to have been experimental Soviet aircraft.[4]
Efron was charged with the interception and reading of Lee Harvey Oswald's mail before the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. He was also present when in February 1964 the Warren Commission, charged with investigating the assassination, interviewed Oswald's widow Marina.[2]
Besides his work for intelligence, Efron published five articles in the Jewish Bible Quarterly, including a four-part series on 'Military Intelligence in the Bible'.[5] Efron was an observant Orthodox Jew.[6]
He spent some time in Israel before dying on 22 November 1993.[7]
References
edit- ^ Kampeas, Ron (2 August 2023). "New JFK documents reveal assassin's CIA monitor was Jewish spy Reuben Efron". The Times of Israel.
- ^ a b Baker, Peter (16 July 2023). "Biden's 'Final' Order on Kennedy Files Leaves Some Still Wanting More". The New York Times.
- ^ Efron, Reuben (Summer 1981). "Military Intelligence in the Bible — III". Jewish Bible Quarterly. IX (4): 185.
- ^ Brodsky, Sascha (18 July 2023). "A Newly Declassified CIA File Loosely Links JFK's Assassination to UFOs". Popular Mechanics.
- ^ Kampeas, Ron (1 August 2023). "JFK assassin's CIA monitor was religious Jewish spy Reuben Efron". The Jerusalem Post.
- ^ Kampeas, Ron (15 August 2023). "Reuben Efron, the CIA agent who tracked JFK's assassin, tried to recruit his nephew — to be an observant Jew". Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
- ^ Kampeas, Ron (2 August 2023). "JFK Documents Reveal Assassin's CIA Monitor Was Reuben Efron, a Jewish Spy". Haaretz. Archived from the original on 2023-08-02.