It is naive to believe our civilisation can survive a world order in which global security depends on nuclear weapons. The world is not meant to be a prison in which we await collective annihilation. No matter how long and difficult the path, we should learn from Nihon Hidankyo: We must never give up. Jorgen Watne Frydnes, Chair of the Nobel Committee, December 10, 2024
"A Breach Repairer's Song" -- New Podcast Intersects Music and Social Justice Rev. William J. Barber II, Co-chair of the Poor People's Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival and President of Repairers of the Breach, and theomusicologist Yara Allen have launched a new podcast that explores the intersection of music and social justice. "A Breach Repairer's Song" is an immersive series featuring some of the most influential voices of our time who soundtrack the marriage between music as an art form and music as a tool for activism. Through interviews with leading musicians, artists and activists, each episode will dissect a song and explore the deep connections between music and the pursuit of justice and equity in American history. Each episode will connect listeners with stories of struggle, hope, and solidarity, blending powerful voices with music that has shaped social movements.Learn more and listen here.
The People's March -- Washington, D.C. -- Saturday, January 18, 2025 Building on the power and success of the 2017 Women's March that brought half a million marchers to the nation's capital and another four million across the United States, organizers have called for a People's March in Washington, D.C. on January 18, two days before Trump's inauguration. "We all march for different reasons, but we march for the same cause: to defend our rights and our future. If you believe that decisions about your body should remain yours, that books belong in libraries, not on bonfires, that healthcare is a right, not a privilege for the wealthy; if you believe in the power of free speech and protest to sustain democracy; or if you want an economy that works for the people who power it -- then this march is for you." Learn more and sign up!
Syria and the Fall of Assad Introduce Another Tangle of Uncertainties and Divergent Views Assad's overthrow has evoked a range of responses from people in the region, and from global peace movements and the Left. "...[S]tarkly polarized reactions began to surface worldwide," Layla Maghribi writes, "including among Arabs." Tariq Ali sees Assad's fallas "a huge defeat, a mini 1967 for the Arab world." Many blame the United States and its allies, butStephen Zunes contends that "[t]he United States could no more cause a revolution to take place in Syria than the Soviet Union could cause a revolution to take place in Central America."Kongra Star, a Rojava women's organization, acknowledges the dangers of the moment but maintains that "if we prevent the former dictatorship from simply being replaced by another despotic regime then this new situation has opened the doors to a new process for the peoples of Syria and the entire region."
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In October 2002, more than 70 peace and justice organizations formed United for Peace and Justice (UFPJ) to coordinate opposition to the impending U.S. war on Iraq. Today, UFPJ continues to function as a dynamic network of diverse peace and justice organizations.
As the end of 2024 nears and the challenges peace and justice activists will face grow more urgent, will you PLEASE SUPPORT UFPJ today!
A new UFPJ leaflet, "Everyone Has a Future When We End War," underscores the connections between war and militarism and poverty, racism, and environmental devastation.
Atomic-bomb Witness/Survivors Receive 2024 Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo
Watch the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony, which took place on Dec. 10, 2024,as the A-bomb witness/survivors of Nihon Hidankyo are honored for their steadfast commitment to preventing nuclear war, eliminating nuclear weapons, and obtaining essential medical care for A-bomb victims. You can also read the Award Ceremony Speechand the Nobel Peace Prize lecture delivered by Terumi Tanaka. As long-term nuclear abolition activist Joseph Gerson has written, "The Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Nihon Hidankyo is long overdue and could not come at a more important time....As the danger of nuclear war increases with the Ukraine and Middle East wars and with the provocative and confrontational military exercises around Taiwan and the South China Sea, the Nobel Peace Committee has sent a powerful message to the world: 'No nuclear war. Focus on nuclear disarmament.'"Read more.
On International Human Rights Day, Abolition 2000 Congratulates Nihon Hidankyo on its Nobel Peace Prize Award In its Congratulatory Message to Nihon Hidankyo, the recipient of the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize, the Abolition 2000 Global Network to Eliminate Nuclear Weapons noted that "This year's Nobel Peace Prize award ceremony falls on Human Rights Day." Pointing to findings of the UN Human Rights Committee in 2018 and a statement submitted by 39 countries to the UN Human Rights Council in 2023, the Message declares: "Nuclear weapons are irreconcilable with human rights.... According to the UN, 'This year's [Human Rights Day] themeis a call to acknowledge the importance and relevance of human rights in our everyday lives.... This is the time to mobilize action to reinvigorate a global movement for human rights.'As sopowerfully advocated by Nihon Hidankyo, this movement must include an urgent demand for the global abolition of nuclear weapons."
The Need for a Spotlight on International Court Proceedings Concerning the Gaza War: UFPJ Israel/Palestine War Resources Image: Rousseau Diderot, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons The evidence of war crimes by Israel's government accumulates. There are relevant proceedings in the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court(ICC), butas Palestinian lawyer Raji Sourani notes, "enforcement remains the ICC's Achilles' heel." For there to be any meaningful result, there must be an unremitting call for accountability. In this regard a group of distinguished academics and activists has launched the civil society Gaza Tribunal. And Amnesty International has concludedthat Israel "has committed and is continuing to commit genocide against Palestinians in the occupied Gaza Strip," and sharply criticized "[t]he international community's seismic, shameful failure for over a year to press Israel to end its atrocities in Gaza." For these links and more see UFPJ's Israel/Palestine War resource page.
San Francisco Bay Area County Divests from Company that Sells Bulldozers to Israeli Army Alameda County, CA has begun divesting $32 million in public funds from Caterpillar Inc., the world's largest manufacturer of construction equipment. Caterpillar has long faced criticism for its equipment's role in the destruction of Palestinian homes, infrastructure, and agriculture. Alameda County's divestment follows months of advocacy by Bay Area Divest!, a broad coalition of constituents who oppose the investment of public funds in companies that enable or profit from war, oppression, or environmental destruction. Alameda is the first county in the nation to divest from a corporation due to its role in Israel's military activities. The Board of Supervisors also unanimously voted to develop an Ethical Investment Policythat would prohibit county investments in entities that perpetrate harm to communities and the planet.Read more.
Class Action Lawsuit Brought Against Two Members of Congress for Funding Genocide in Gaza At a December 19th "Taxpayers Against Genocide" press conference and rally in San Francisco, it was announced that an unprecedented class action lawsuit has been filed against CA Congressmen Mike Thompson (D) and Jared Huffman (D) for their continuing support for Israel's war in Gaza. The 500 plaintiffs in the lawsuit represent ten Northern California counties in the representatives' districts and persons from all ethnicities, religious backgrounds and walks of life. The lawsuit charges that Reps. Huffman and Thompson illegally abused their Tax and Spend authority when they voted to allocate $26.38 billion in military aid to Israel on April 20, 2024. By doing so, the lawsuit alleges, they violated the U.S. Constitution, the United Nations' Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide, and U.S. federal laws. Read more hereand here.
Save the Date(s): Gaza in Context: The Colonial History that Shaped the Modern Middle East -- a Four-Part Online Series The Israeli war on Gaza -- widely considered genocide -- did not begin on October 7, 2023. This online series will look at how the background of Zionism and colonialism laid a foundation for ongoing wars and today's violence in the Middle East, including Palestinian dispossession, which began more than a century ago. Massachusetts Peace Action (MAPA) will host the series with Jeff Klein, a veteran, anti-war activist, and board member of MAPA. Since 2004 Jeff has traveled almost every year to Palestine/Israel, and elsewhere in the Middle East. He has close friends among activists in Palestine, Lebanon and Jordan. Learn more andregister to attend any or all of the four sessions -- Sundays, Jan. 5, 12, 26, and Feb 2, ALL at 3pm EST.
WEBINAR RECORDING: Ukraine: Nuclear War or Diplomacy? with Anatol Lieven Whether you place the greatest blame for the Ukraine War on Russian aggression or NATO expansion, there is no debating that we have now arrived at what seems to be the most dangerous moment in human history since the Cuban Missile Crisis. With President Biden's authorization for Kyiv to attack Russian territory with U.S. made longer range missiles and U.S. assistance, Moscow's doctrinal threshold for possible nuclear weapons use first announced in September has been crossed. On December 2, Massachusetts Peace Action and the Campaign for Peace, Disarmament and Common Securityhosted a webinar featuring Anatol Lieven, director of the Eurasia program at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, to learn what is at stake and about the diplomatic off ramps so urgently needed. Watch the recording here.
RECORDING: Online Conference Proceedings--Boris Kagarlitsky and the Challenges of the Left Today, October 8, 2024. Earlier this year, the government of the Russian Federation sentenced Boris Kagarlitsky to five years in prison for his anti-war activism. This conference in his honor addressed his analysis of the left's dilemmas in the face of multiple global crises and the advance of the far right, and his resistance -- together with many other anti-war activists in the Russian Federation -- to the authoritarianism of the Putin government. The program featured a global roster of analysts addressing the situation of the left and problems of repression in Russia, and broader questions regarding imperialism(s) today, including Ilya Matveev, Ilya Budraitskis, Hanna Perekhoda, Patrick Bond, Bill Fletcher Jr., Jayati Ghosh, Nancy Fraser, and many more.Find texts and videos from the event here.
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Rev. William J. Barber II, Co-chair of the 
Building on the power and success of the 2017 Women's March that brought half a million marchers to the nation's capital and another four million across the United States, organizers have called for a People's March in Washington, D.C. on January 18, two days before Trump's inauguration. "We all march for different reasons, but we march for the same cause: to defend our rights and our future. If you believe that decisions about your body should remain yours, that books belong in libraries, not on bonfires, that healthcare is a right, not a privilege for the wealthy; if you believe in the power of free speech and protest to sustain democracy; or if you want an economy that works for the people who power it -- then this march is for you." 
Assad's overthrow has evoked a range of responses from people in the region, and from global peace movements and the Left. "...[S]tarkly polarized reactions began to surface worldwide," 
Please give as generously as you can
Watch the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony
n its 
The evidence of war crimes by Israel's government accumulates. There are relevant proceedings in the
Alameda County, CA has begun divesting $32 million in public funds from Caterpillar Inc., the world's largest manufacturer of construction equipment. Caterpillar has long faced criticism for its equipment's role in the destruction of Palestinian homes, infrastructure, and agriculture. Alameda County's divestment follows months of advocacy by 
At a December 19th "Taxpayers Against Genocide" press conference and rally in San Francisco, it was announced that an unprecedented class action lawsuit has been filed against CA Congressmen Mike Thompson (D) and Jared Huffman (D) for their continuing support for Israel's war in Gaza. The 500 plaintiffs in the lawsuit represent ten Northern California counties in the representatives' districts and persons from all ethnicities, religious backgrounds and walks of life. The lawsuit charges that Reps. Huffman and Thompson illegally abused their Tax and Spend authority when they voted to allocate $26.38 billion in military aid to Israel on April 20, 2024. By doing so, the lawsuit alleges, they violated the U.S. Constitution, the United Nations' Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide, and U.S. federal laws. Read more 
The Israeli war on Gaza -- widely considered genocide -- did not begin on October 7, 2023. This online series will look at how the background of Zionism and colonialism laid a foundation for ongoing wars and today's violence in the Middle East, including Palestinian dispossession, which began more than a century ago. Massachusetts Peace Action (MAPA) will host the series with Jeff Klein, a veteran, anti-war activist, and board member of MAPA. Since 2004 Jeff has traveled almost every year to Palestine/Israel, and elsewhere in the Middle East. He has close friends among activists in Palestine, Lebanon and Jordan. Learn more and 
The Ukraine war continues to take an enormous toll both on 
Whether you place the greatest blame for the Ukraine War on Russian aggression or NATO expansion, there is no debating that we have now arrived at what seems to be the most dangerous moment in human history since the Cuban Missile Crisis. With President Biden's authorization for Kyiv to attack Russian territory with U.S. made longer range missiles and U.S. assistance, Moscow's doctrinal threshold for possible nuclear weapons use first announced in September has been crossed. On December 2, 
Earlier this year, the government of the Russian Federation sentenced Boris Kagarlitsky to five years in prison for his anti-war activism. This conference in his honor addressed his analysis of the left's dilemmas in the face of multiple global crises and the advance of the far right, and his resistance -- together with many other anti-war activists in the Russian Federation -- to the authoritarianism of the Putin government. The program featured a global roster of analysts addressing the situation of the left and problems of repression in Russia, and broader questions regarding imperialism(s) today, including Ilya Matveev, Ilya Budraitskis, Hanna Perekhoda, Patrick Bond, Bill Fletcher Jr., Jayati Ghosh, Nancy Fraser, and many more.