Lifelong Activist: Hedy Epstein protests in Cairo in 2009. Image by Haaretz

A 90-year-old Jewish Holocaust survivor has been arrested in St. Louis during protests over the shooting death of Michael Brown.

Hedy Epstein, of St. Louis, was one of nine protesters arrested Monday for blocking the entrance to the downtown St. Louis state office building that houses Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon’s office, the Nation reported.

“I’ve been doing this since I was a teenager. I didn’t think I would have to do it when I was 90,” Epstein told The Nation, as two officers walked her to a police van. “We need to stand up today so that people won’t have to do this when they’re 90.”

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

Epstein escaped Nazi Germany for England in 1939 on the Kindertransport. Her parents and other family members died in Auschwitz, according to her personal website.

Epstein has been active in civil rights and human rights causes as well as social justice, including fair housing, abortion rights, and antiwar activities. She also has been active in pro-Palestinian causes, including demonstrating against the security fence, Israeli settlements and the demolition of Palestinian homes.

She is a member of the Speakers Bureau of the St. Louis Holocaust Museum and Learning Center.

Michael Brown, an 18-year-old unarmed black teenager, was shot and killed by police in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 9 after being stopped for walking in the street.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$90 $180

$360

Other amount