Escalation may be precisely what Israel seeks, or what it is prepared to risk, since it views war as its destiny, if not its raison d'être. But it is civilians, Arab and Jewish, who end up paying the price for the state's addiction to force. Adam Shatz, London Review of Books
Webinar -- October 1: From the Summit of the Future to a Nuclear-Weapon-Free World On September 23, world leaders meeting at the United Nations for the Summit of the Future adopted a Pact for the Future which included commitments to strengthen multilateral action and cooperation on key issues impacting the future. The Pact included vague, open-ended commitments on preventing nuclear war and achieving global nuclear disarmament. Peace and disarmament groups had submitted much stronger disarmament proposals, some of which were included in the Peoples Pact for the Future. TheAbolition 2000 Global Network to Eliminate Nuclear Weapons with partners is hosting an online follow-up event to the UN Summit of the Future, Tuesday, October 1: 11:30 am ET/10:30 am CT/9:30 am MT/8:30 am PT (Session 2, timed for North America). Register here. (Session 1 is timed for Asia and the Pacific. Learn more and register for Session 1 here.)
Webinar -- October 2: Building Connections Across the Antinuclear and Climate Movements The Reaching Critical Will, Environment, and Women, Peace and Security programs of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom recently published a report investigating the nexus between the nuclear and fossil fuel industries, and state repression of activism against these industries. Titled 'Petrobromance,' Nuclear Priesthood, and Police Repression: Feminist Confrontations of Violent Industries, and Movements to Abolish Them, the report analyzes trends and parallels in how the nuclear and fossil fuel industries operate and entrench their power, and the ways resistance against these industries is suppressed by police, militaries, and private military and security companies. Download the report here. Join the authors of this report for a conversation about its findings October 2 at 9:30am EDT. Register for the webinar here.
Online Event -- October 4: THIS Is What Muslim Narrative Power Looks Like Join Muslim Counterpublics Lab (MCL) on Fri. Oct. 4 from 12-1:30 PM EDT for a conversation with Fellows from their inaugural Muslim Narrative Power Fellowship that focused on building capacity within the Muslim community in the U.S. to challenge the discursive infrastructure of the War on Terror in order to drive systemic change. Some of these Fellows will share their perspectives on the importance of Muslim narratives, how they have used their voices to intervene in problematic narratives of Muslims, and their work to build Muslim narrative power at a time where Islamophobia continues to rise. Featured Muslim Narrative Power Fellows include Rashida James-Saadiya; Mikail Khan; Roshni Ahmed; and Seelai Karzai. (Read their bios here). The panel will be moderated by MCL's Digital Spaces Project Director, Sanaa Ansari-Khan. Register here.
Online Conference -- October 8: Boris Kagarlitsky and the Challenges of the Left Today Boris Kagarlitsky was sentenced earlier this year to five years in prison for his anti-war activism. This online conference in his honor will address 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 features a global roster of analysts addressing the situation of the left and problems of repression in Russia, and broader questions regarding imperialism(s) today. See the program here, and more information on the speakers here. Register here.
Webinar Recording: Ending the 'American War' in Vietnam: The Impact of the Antiwar Movement and Lessons for the Present: Professor Carolyn Eisenberg discusses her book, "Fire and Rain: Nixon, Kissinger and the Wars in Southeast Asia" Drawing on documents declassified in recent years, Fire and Rain explores how management of the war and of U.S. diplomacy by Nixon and Kissinger shaped U.S. foreign policy in ways that still resonate. Professor Eisenberg also provides insights on the impact of the anti-war movement, including how it was viewed from the White House. Carolyn "Rusti" Eisenberg, a founder of UFPJ member group Brooklyn for Peace and a former member of our Coordinating Committee, is uniquely suited to help us reflect on the Vietnam War, the impact of the anti-war movements, and the lessons we might draw for today. Cosponsored by Brooklyn for Peace, Historians for Peace and Democracy, Long Island Alliance for Peaceful Alternatives, Peace Action, Massachusetts Peace Action, Peace Action New York State, and Veterans for Peace. Watch the recording here.
UFPJ has a bare-bones budget, but is facing a financial shortfall of about $3,600 between now and when we can (hopefully) expect to begin receiving ouranticipated end-of-year donations. If you appreciate this monthly newsletter, please make a donation now. Your donation, in any amount, will make a difference, but if you're able to make a monthly or quarterly pledge of even $5 or $10 dollars, we'll be able to better plan for the future. You know that whatever the outcome of November's election, the need for peace and justice advocacy will be greater than ever.Please DONATE HERE!
Our Votes Are Not Support but DEMANDS! Bishop William J. Barber II, National Co-Chair of the Poor People's Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival,recently appeared on MSNBC's The ReidOut to discuss the PPC's GOTV work with Joy Reid. Posting the clip on social media, he wrote, "The most crucial part of this election is going to be talking to the 140 million poor & low-wage workers in our country. Candidates must speak to their issues and explain how they will address them in this election season and beyond." The PPC has committed "to mobilize and touch 15 million poor and low-wage voters to tell them they have the power to rise and reconstruct our government…. We commit to waking the sleeping giant of everyday people who've been silenced by the fake populism of extremists and the compromises of so-called "moderates." PLEDGE TODAY to join the PPC's GOTV mobilization!
New UFPJ Resource: Everyone Has a Future When We End War UFPJ, a mobilizing partner of the Poor Peoples Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival, is making plain the connections between war and the military economy, and the effects on poor people and society. As an educational resource, we have created a new one-page flyer that succinctly spells out the connections between ongoing war, threats of nuclear weapons use, how the U.S. military leads as a source of greenhouse gases and other threats to the environment, and how the bloated military budget spends money that would be better spent for much needed social programs.. The flyer was created with help from Rebecca Irby of New Detroit, A Racial Justice Organization. VIEW AND DOWNLOAD THE FLYER HERE.
UFPJ Coordinating Committee Welcomes Jim Anderson! United for Peace & Justice warmly welcomes Jim Anderson to our Coordinating Committee! A Vietnam veteran -- turned international peace and social justice activist, Jim is deeply engaged in intersectional organizing across issue areas. Among his many hats, Jim is the President of Peace Action New York State and State Vice President of Citizen Action of New York. He also serves as Co-Chair of the Board of Directors of national Peace Action. He is a founding member and organizer of the National Black United Front which led the formation of the Third World and Progressive People's Coalition that helped organize the massive June 12th, 1982, nuclear disarmament rally in New York City's Central Park. Jim served as an organizer and leader for the peace contingents of both the 2014 New York City and 2017 Washington, DC. climate mobilizations.
The Ukraine War at a Crossroads: United for Peace & Justice Ukraine War Resources The Ukraine war presents a paradoxical picture. The fighting grows more intense and yet little seems to change. Despite the apparent stalemate, both armies are physically exhausted and morale seems brittle, perhaps close to some breaking point. For both governments, key actions seem to be waiting for an external trigger: the release of more long-range Western weapons for use inside Russia, the election of a U.S. President who would pressure Ukraine to capitulate. These tensions have manifested in meetings at the UN, including a recent Security Council confrontation in which there was little diplomacy to be found. Hanging over all this is a steady drumbeat of nuclear threats by the Russian government. Find more resources on these matters in the International Law and Nuclear Weapons sections of UFPJ's Ukraine War Resources page.
No Strategy but Endless War: United for Peace & Justice Israel/Palestine War Resources No week seems to go by now without the escalation of violence to a new level by the government of Israel. The unprecedented mass detonation of pagers and walkie-talkies was so shocking that even a former CIA director denounced the attacks as "a form of terrorism."As this newsletter goes to press, the Israeli air force is conducting a massive bombing campaign in Lebanon, killing hundreds and now culminating in the assassination-by-bombing of Hezbollah's leader. As one observer commented, "Escalation may be precisely what Israel seeks, or what it is prepared to risk, since it views war as its destiny, if not its raison d'être." Find these and other resources on our Israel/Palestine War Resources page. Image: Rousseau Diderot, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Report from Cairo: Third Panda Aid Medical Humanitarian Mission to Gaza Panda Aid, a project of the National Immigrant Solidarity Network, has just completed its third medical humanitarian mission to Gaza. Unable to bring supplies into Gaza, the activists from China and the global south instead worked with local humanitarian organizations and UN agencies to facilitate their work. Panda Aid began its Gaza emergency relief work in April of 2024. Since then, it has worked with Egyptian-based community relief organizations, donating medical supplies for Gaza and Gazan refugees in Egypt. To learn more about Panda Aid, view videos of what the activists encountered in Gaza, and read a report about their September 2024 mission, Click here.
Case Against the Men Accused of Planning and Supporting the 9/11 Terrorists Attacks Encounters Further Legal Uncertainties In July, the case against the 9/11 accused appeared to be ending with news that Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and two of his co-defendants had signed pre-trial agreements (PTAs), pleading guilty in exchange for life sentences rather than the death penalty. Then, Secretary of Defense Austin unilaterally revoked the agreements encountering significant criticism.Hearings resumed at the Guantanamo Naval Base in September, focused on the issue of the impact of torture on the defendants "confessions" to FBI "clean teams,"while the judge called for briefs on the PTAs' legality. Now disclosures reveal the death penalty may be off the table no matter what the status of the PTAs is, because prosecutors may be unable to reinstate a capital case.While predicting what will happen next in the case has proved difficult, the judge will likely hear arguments on the PTAs in November.
Golden Rule Completes Pacific Northwest 2024 Voyage On September 23, Veterans for Peace's (VFP's) historic Golden Rule anti-nuclear sailboat arrived in Newport, Oregon, on her way home to Eureka, California, completing a two-month Pacific Northwest 2024 voyage. On September 5, the Golden Rule joined an on-the-water protest outside the Indian Island Weapons Depot near Port Townsend, WA as part of the September Days of Solidarity with the People of Palestine coordinated by VFP chapters in 25 U.S. cities. As it happened, the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier was being loaded with weapons at the time. On September 4, the Golden Ruleprotested outside the Bangor Trident Submarine Base on the Hood Canal, 25 miles west of Seattle, the largest concentration of nuclear weapons in the world. You can follow the Golden Rulein real time here. *Photo credit: Mike Ferguson
UFPJ Member Group Holds Vigil Marking 79 years Since Bombing of Japan On August 5, Genesee Valley Citizens for Peace, in upstate New York, held a Vigil commemorating the 79th anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombings of in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Veterans For Peace, Rochester Chapter 23 co-sponsored the 50th annual vigil, which was organized by Dr. Arnold Matlin, Dr. Margaret Matlin and Lilita Lassen-Ward. Folks gathered with signs and banners, there were speeches, and a period of silence. The group had music and sang peace songs, and each person held a candle. Passersbys stopped to ask questions, then stayed for the vigil, including a veteran. The Vigil was covered by both the Livingston County News and Channel 13 news. Photo: by Ben Beagle
Military Empires: A Visual Guide to Foreign Bases Many countries operate foreign military bases; the U.S. by far operates the most, with over 900 military bases around the world. But at least 17 other nations operate foreign military bases, each of which increases the risk of war. Some of these physical installations are on land occupied as spoils of war. Most are maintained through collaborations with governments, many of them brutal and oppressive governments benefiting from the bases' presence. In many cases, human beings were displaced to make room for these military installations, often depriving people of farmland, adding huge amounts of pollution to local water systems and the air, and existing as an unwelcome presence. World Beyond War has created a set of interactive mapsthat allow you to spin the globe and click on a military base for information and links about the base.
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On September 23, world leaders meeting at the United Nations for the 
The Reaching Critical Will, Environment, and Women, Peace and Security programs of the 
Join 
Boris Kagarlitsky was sentenced earlier this year to five years in prison for his anti-war activism. This online conference in his honor will address 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 features a global roster of analysts addressing the situation of the left and problems of repression in Russia, and broader questions regarding imperialism(s) today. See the 
Drawing on documents declassified in recent years, 
Bishop William J. Barber II, National Co-Chair of the 
UFPJ, a mobilizing partner of the 
United for Peace & Justice warmly welcomes Jim Anderson to our Coordinating Committee! A Vietnam veteran -- turned international peace and social justice activist, Jim is deeply engaged in intersectional organizing across issue areas. Among his many hats, Jim is the President of 
The Ukraine war presents a paradoxical picture. The fighting grows more intense and yet little seems to change. Despite the apparent stalemate, both armies are physically exhausted and morale seems brittle, perhaps close to some breaking point. For both governments, key actions seem to be waiting for an external trigger: the release of more long-range Western weapons for use inside Russia, the election of a U.S. President who would pressure Ukraine to capitulate. These tensions have manifested in meetings at the UN, including a recent 
No week seems to go by now without the escalation of violence to a new level by the government of Israel. The unprecedented mass detonation of pagers and walkie-talkies was so shocking that even a former CIA director 
Panda Aid
In July, the case against the 9/11 accused appeared to be ending with news that Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and two of his co-defendants had signed pre-trial agreements (PTAs), pleading guilty in exchange for life sentences rather than the death penalty. Then, Secretary of Defense Austin unilaterally revoked the agreements encountering 
On September 23, Veterans for Peace's (VFP's) historic 
On August 5, 
Many countries operate foreign military bases; the U.S. by far operates the most, with over 900 military bases around the world. But at least 17 other nations operate foreign military bases, each of which increases the risk of war. Some of these physical installations are on land occupied as spoils of war. Most are maintained through collaborations with governments, many of them brutal and oppressive governments benefiting from the bases' presence. In many cases, human beings were displaced to make room for these military installations, often depriving people of farmland, adding huge amounts of pollution to local water systems and the air, and existing as an unwelcome presence.