Category: Peace

Hiroshima and Nagasaki Vigils – We Remember

by Millie Grenough, New Haven Peace Commission

On August 6, peace activists gathered at the New Haven Green to remember the devastation caused by the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and to advocate for the abolition of nuclear weapons.

Youth activist Manuel Camacho from Ice the Beef and the City of New Haven Peace Commission opened the event by highlighting the lack of awareness among his generation regarding the nuclear threat. He emphasized that the United States was the first to use nuclear weapons and continues to develop more powerful ones that could endanger the planet.

The vigil included readings of a proclamation from Hiroshima Mayor Matsui Kazumi

Youth activist Adrian Huq from the New Haven Climate Movement spoke of the two existential threats, nuclear weapons and climate change.

The vigil included readings of a proclamation from Hiroshima Mayor Matsui Kazumi, who reminded the audience of the catastrophic human toll of the bombing and the ongoing risks posed by nuclear weapons. Former Mayor Toni Harp reflected on the personal significance of August 6, as it coincides with her birthday and the tragic events in Hiroshima.

The commemoration continued August 9 at New Haven City Hall, marking the 79th anniversary of the Nagasaki bombing. Henry Lowendorf, Chair of the Greater New Haven Peace Council, stressed the importance of remembering past atrocities to prevent future ones. Mayor Justin Elicker expressed gratitude to those who work tirelessly for peace, noting that funds used for nuclear weapons could better serve community needs. Roberto Irizzary, Chair of the New Haven Peace Commission, read a proclamation from Nagasaki Mayor Shiro Suzuki, urging global action for peace.

Youth activist Manuel Camacho from Ice the Beef and the City of New Haven Peace Commission opened the event by highlighting the lack of awareness among his generation regarding the nuclear threat.

Youth activist Manuel Camacho from Ice the Beef and the City of New Haven Peace Commission relates details about the deaths, city destruction, and ongoing deaths and diseases brought on by the August 9 bombing.

Atomic veteran Hank Bolden shared his harrowing experience of being used in a Defense Department experiment to test the effects of radiation, describing the long-term health consequences he and others endured. Despite the ongoing challenges, the events were a powerful reminder of the urgent need to abolish nuclear weapons, a call echoed by many speakers, including Manny Camacho, who again underscored the horrific legacy of these bombings and the continuing dangers of nuclear proliferation.

Resolution 77: End the Madness of New Arms Race

by Ann Froines, CT Back from the Brink

As a representative of Back from the Brink (BftB), I spoke at the Hiroshima/Nagasaki Remembrance events this August 6 and 9 in New Haven, asking the attendees to join the campaign to get House Resolution 77 passed in the U.S. Congress. Experts are sounding the alarm that the risks of nuclear war are greater than ever since the beginning of the Atomic Age. (Bulletin of Atomic Scientists has an excellent, free, online newsletter to keep up to date on the risks of nuclear war.)

The events were organized by the Greater New Haven Peace Council, the New Haven Peace Commission, and Veterans for Peace. Each organization had representatives who spoke movingly about the human suffering after the Hiroshima/Nagasaki bombings and the existential threats from a future nuclear exchange, whether intended or accidental.

House Resolution 77 calls for our government to actively pursue negotiations for arms control with other nuclear powers, to end the madness of a new arms race, and to take nuclear weapons in the U.S. off hair-trigger alert. Forty-four Congresspeople have signed on to the Resolution, and BftB groups are working nationwide to get support from a majority in the House.

None of the five CT members of the House of Representatives has yet endorsed the resolution, and BftB and other groups will pursue this goal into 2025, when there will be a new House of Representatives and a new administration.

We ask you to write your Congressperson and urge him or her to cosponsor House Resolution 77. You can reach Congressional offices through their switchboard at 202-224-3121. For further information on getting involved in CT, please contact Joe Wasserman at [email protected].

Visit the website of Back from the Brink at www.preventnuclearwar.org to learn more about the urgency of communities working together to stop the arms race and reduce the threat of nuclear war before a catastrophe happens that could threaten human existence on the planet.

Betsy Ross Arts School and New Haven Peace Commission Celebrate International Day of Peace

by Millie Grenough, New Haven Peace Commission

Cultivating a Culture of Peace is the 2024 theme of the United Nations’ International Day of Peace. To celebrate this theme locally, Betsy Ross Arts Magnet School will collaborate with the City of New Haven Peace Commission to host the annual planting of the Peace Tree on their school grounds, 150 Kimberly Ave., New Haven, on Friday, September 20, at 10 a.m.

For decades, the City of New Haven Peace Commission has planted a tree on the grounds of a different city school, library, or public building. The trees and plaques remind us of those killed by gun violence in our community and in wars abroad, and affirm the commitment of New Haven as a United Nations-designated Peace Messenger City, for action toward peace and justice everywhere.

At the Sept. 20 event, students will perform and will unveil an inscribed marker bearing a message that expresses their desire and commitment to work actively for peace. The plaque will be mounted near a tree that they choose, donated and planted by Urban Resources Initiative.

When the General Assembly of the United Nations initiated the Day of Peace in 1981, it stated that peace “not only is the absence of conflict, but also requires a positive, dynamic participatory process where dialogue is encouraged and conflicts are solved in a spirit of mutual understanding and cooperation.”

Betsy Ross teachers and students are known for their creativity in music, dance, theatre, and the visual arts. We are eager to see how they will highlight their vision of peace. Expect creative performances by students and a few peace-loving grown-ups.

Photos of earlier peace monuments and dedication ceremonies: www.PeaceCommission.org. Put the date on your calendar now: Friday, Sept. 20, 2024 at 10 a.m. at Betsy Ross Arts Magnet School, 150 Kimberly Ave., New Haven 06519.

Up-to-date info: http://www.PeaceCommission.org and http://www.rossarts.org

Social Media: http://facebook.com/newhavenpeacecommission and Instagram: @nhpeacecommission

Contact: Principal Jennifer Jenkins, Betsy Ross Arts Magnet School, email: [email protected], phone: 475-220-5300 and Fred Brown, City of New Haven Peace Commission, email: [email protected], phone: 203-415-1370.

Walk with Guilford Peace Alliance Sept. 21

by Yann van Heurck, Guilford Peace Alliance

The Guilford Peace Alliance (GPA) invites all progressives to join them walking in the annual town fair parade on Saturday morning, Sept. 21, 2024. The march begins at 9:30 a.m. at 40 High Street in central Guilford to walk in the parade at 10. Join and help hand out leaflets.

The GPA holds weekly Saturday morning vigils, which have been going on for 45 years! Attend their Saturday peace vigils on the Guilford Green (11 a.m. to noon) to highlight important issues of the day.

ALL ARE WELCOME! Bring signs and issues, come to talk. GPA also sponsors public lectures, opposes the arms industry and US colonialism and supports pro-democracy movements and freedom for Palestine from the US political arrangements that partitioned and stole its land.

For more information, contact Yann at [email protected] and 203-245-9720.

Ceasefire Now! No Support for Israel’s War on Gaza! Humanitarian Aid Must Be Allowed!

As we prepare this newsletter for print, the rallies and demonstrations demanding an end to Israel’s war on the Palestinian people have not ceased. Students continue to demand their universities divest their holdings from Israeli companies and from companies that service Israel’s war-making. Graduations have become visible displays of dissent against the war and the killing and enforced starvation of Palestinian citizens. Non-student peace groups continue their protests and meet with their congressional representatives. The 3-day Walk for Gaza in CT, to raise awareness of the situation and to raise funds for humanitarian aid to Palestinians through UNRWA, is occurring now (see article in the May issue of the PAR newsletter, par-newhaven.org/2024/04/28/walk-for-gaza-may-23-25/).

Veterans for Peace on May 7 began the Peace Walk 2024. The 700-mile journey, from Maine to Washington, D.C., will culminate on July 5. To find out more about the march and how you can join in, please go to https://peacewalk2024.org.

New Haven Alders Cop Out on Ceasefire Resolution

Five months after a proposed ceasefire resolution was presented to the Board of Alders, and five days after hearing testimony via Zoom that lasted five hours, the Board of Alders voted to “read and file,” and not act on the resolution. Would your alder have supported a ceasefire? We’ll never know, according to the meeting.

Only East Rock Alder Caroline Smith was opposed to dismissing the resolution in this way.

[The New Haven Independent coverage can be read here:
newhavenindependent.org/article/ceasefire_resolution_vote_results]

How Your Tax Dollars are Used | War Resisters League

The new War Resisters League’s annual “pie chart” flyer, Where Your Income Tax Money Really Goes, analyzes the Federal Fiscal Year 2024 Budget (FY 2025 is 1 October 2024 – 30 September 2025).  This FY2025 issue was published in March 2024.

Each year War Resisters League analyzes federal funds outlays as presented in detailed tables in “Analytical Perspectives” of the Budget of the United States Government. Our analysis is based on federal funds, which do not include trust funds – such as Social Security – that are raised separately from income taxes for specific purposes. What federal income taxes you pay (or don’t pay) by April 15, 2024, goes to the federal funds portion of the budget.

Fiscal Year 2025 (Released March 2024) Pie Chart Flyer
in English, in color (pdf)
in English, black & white (pdf)

Not including new funding, the US provides Israel over $3 billion every year, with almost the entire amount being used to support the Israeli military. Since World War II, the US had dedicated more foreign aid to Israel than any other country.

DEAD WRONG: U.S. Foreign Policy

Few could miss the cynicism of President Biden proudly announcing token food drops into Gaza in March 2024, all the while providing Israel with thousands of made-in-USA bombs to drop on a strip of land the size of Las Vegas. Already 31,000 Palestinians had been killed and homes, hospitals, businesses, schools,hospitals, businesses, schools, roads, and farmland in Gaza left in ruins or bulldozed.roads, and farmland in Gaza left in ruins or bulldozed.

U.S. foreign policy is designed to kill

Roughly two-thirds of current confl icts worldwide involveRoughly two-thirds of current conflicts worldwide involve one or more adversaries armed byone or more adversaries armed by the United States.the United States.

  • 78 years & $220 billion in military aid to Israel supported the occupation of Palestinians in thethe occupation of Palestinians in the WEST BANK and GAZA by the most powerful military in the region.by the most powerful military in the region.
  • $3.8 billion a year military aid to Israel will continue to 2029 under an agreement negotiated by Obama. Furthermore, Biden used loopholes in weapons sales guidelines to send Israel more than 100 shipments of bombs & military equipment.
  • $46 billion of U.S. military aid to UKRAINE have slowed a Russian invasion but led to a quagmire — costing morea Russian invasion but led to a quagmire — costing more than 10,500 civilian lives and destroyed villages and cities.
  • Trump used loopholes during his presidency to sendused loopholes during his presidency to send billions of dollars of weapons to Saudi Arabia and UAE to carry on the war in Yemen with upward of 19,000 civilian deaths
  • Arms industry political donations totaled $19 million during Biden’s first two years. Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Raytheon, and Generalheed Martin, Boeing, Raytheon, and General Dynamics took 58% of the business.

Ceasefire Now! Negotiate! Disarm the Pentagon!

WHAT YOU CAN DO

Get involved in WRL’s organizing and education work: nonviolent direct action training, counter-military recruitment, internationalist work, and more. Visit WRL’s membership handbook at warresisters.org/joinwrl. Find resources to challenge militarism, curb police and border patrol power, strengthen nonviolent action and lift up community resilience!

Write elected officials, letters-to-the-editor, and posts online. Send and share copies of this flyer. Explain your budget priorities for a better world.

Divest from war! Refuse to pay all or part of your federal income tax. Though illegal, thousands of people openly participate in this form of protest.  Whatever you choose to refuse—$1, $10, 48% or 100%—send a letter to elected officials and tell them why. Contact us for information or referral to a counselor near you. Contribute resisted tax money to groups that work for the common good.

For more about refusing to pay for war, brochures, and other resources, contact the National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee, (800) 269-7464 or see nwtrcc.org.

Order a DVD of NWTRCC’s film, Death and Taxes from WRL’s online store.

Read and use War Tax Resistance: A Guide to Withholding Your Support from the Military, a 144-page handbook with history, methods and resources. Available for $5 plus postage from WRL’s online store. A new edition will be published in 2024.

You can also download the flyers and print them locally:

Fiscal Year 2025 (Released March 2024) Pie Chart Flyer
in English, in color (pdf)
in English, black & white (pdf)

 

We offer these downloads free of charge, but we really appreciate your donation to support the work of producing this important resource each year.  If you can, donate today!

For Pie Charts from previous years, check out the Pie Chart Archives

***NOTE ABOUT SHIPPING*** Once we receive them from the printers, pie chart orders are being mailed no later than 48 hours after receiving the order. Orders of 50 and more are sent priority mail,  which arrives in 2-3 days. Postage costs more than 20%, an additional donation is appreciated.

Minimum Order: 20 Pie Charts (for smaller orders we encourage you to download and print your own!)

Vote ‘Uncommitted’ to Tell the Biden Administration: End the Genocide in Gaza Now!

By Joan Cavanagh, NH Sunday Vigil for Peace and Justice

The New Haven Sunday Vigil for Peace and Justice strongly urges Democratic voters in Connecticut to choose the “uncommitted” option in the April 2nd presidential primary as a signal to the Biden administration to end US financial and military support for the war on the people of Gaza.
The definition of genocide is “the deliberate killing of a large number of people from a particular nation or ethnic group with the aim of destroying that nation or group.” The clear intent of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s administration is to erase an entire population through bombing, land invasion, starvation, displacement, and destruction of their infrastructure and livelihoods. More than 30,000 people have been killed since October 2023.

This war would not be possible without U.S. money and arms. Only President Biden can end it. “Connecticut voters, including Jewish voters like me, are sending Biden a clear message in the Democratic Primary. We reject his funding and fueling of Israel’s genocide in Gaza. We are uncommitted on April 2nd to show opposition to his deadly policies,” said Sarah White of Jewish Voice for Peace Action of Connecticut (https://www.wfsb.com/2024/03/14/growing-number-ct-voters-plan-vote-uncommitted-upcoming-primary).

The “uncommitted” or “no preference” strategy has already been used effectively in many other states: about 13% of voters in Michigan (100,000 people) voted this way, as did 30% of Hawaii’s voters.

On Super Tuesday, 9.3% of all Democratic voters across 15 states and one “territory” chose “no preference” on the ballot.

The Biden administration is feeling the pressure. The only way to save future lives is to apply “no preference” wherever possible.

We also strongly urge you to call the White House comment line to tell them why you have voted this way; write to your senators and representatives to inform them and to demand that they act to stop this genocide; and submit letters to the editor or op-ed pieces to discuss your reasons further. “The Republican Party is offering us fascism, and the Democratic Party is offering us genocide. We demand a different choice. That’s why we’re voting for ‘no preference.’” – Merrie Najimy, organizer, Vote No Preference

Massachusetts Coalition (https://www.masslive.com/politics/2024/03/mass-no-preference-vote-won-over-9-in-dem-primary-on-super-tuesday.html).

Community Conversation Monday, April 15: Peace and Conflict in the Middle East

by Millie Grenough, New Haven Peace Commission

The world we live in is constantly changing. The opportunity to express our opinions and hear each other with safety and respect in these challenging times is a cherished freedom. Join us for Community Conversation: What Does the Current Situation in Israel/Palestine Tell Us about Peace & Conflict? We can also discuss how we really want our taxes used! Invite family members, neighbors, and colleagues. We look forward to lively conversation.

If you are new to the Conversation, we extend a warm welcome to you. We invite people of various ages, diverse spiritual and ethnic groups to participate actively and speak from their hearts. To respect the privacy of individuals, we are again not inviting press: no photos/no quotes. If you have participated in a previous Community Conversation, come again! In response to previous participants who expressed a strong desire for more, we are scheduling this fourth conversation. We extend a special invitation to the youth of New Haven. Free and open to the public – registration not needed. Hosted by: City of New Haven Peace Commission, Greater New Haven Peace Council, & Ice the Beef.

Monday, April 15, 6-7:30 p.m., Mitchell Library,
37 Harrison Street, New Haven

Contact: Millie Grenough, member of New Haven Peace Commission, Coordinator of Community Conversations events: [email protected]; 203-623-7855. More info: www.Facebook.com/PeaceCommission; www.bit.ly/nhvpeace4.

Actions Throughout CT Call for Ceasefire in Gaza

by Jewish Voice for Peace New Haven

In the past months there have been rallies and demonstrations in many Connecticut towns and cities calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and other demands such as access to humanitarian aid for Palestinians, an end to the occupation, a free Palestine, and no military aid to Israel.

The New Haven Board of Alders has scheduled a hearing for public testimony on the ceasefire resolution. The hearing is set for Wednesday, May 1, at 6 p.m. on Zoom. Sign up TODAY if you want to speak, by emailing: [email protected]. You do not need to submit your testimony at this time. Just write, “My name is ___ and I would like to sign up to testify in support of the ceasefire resolution.”

If you are a New Haven resident, please include that in your email as well. The sooner you sign up, the more likely it is that you’ll have an opportunity to speak.

Many thanks from JVP New Haven!

Resisting the War on Gaza: An Appeal from the New Haven Sunday Vigil

Joan Cavanagh, vigil participant

We are witnessing, in real-time, ongoing genocide against the people of Gaza. It could not occur without US military aid and financial support. We urgently appeal to you to join the New Haven Sunday Vigil for Peace and Justice as part of your other efforts to end this atrocity.

The vigil began in May of 1999 as a project of the Connecticut Peace Coalition/ New Haven in response to the US bombing of Kosovo. Similar to the postal service before privatization, defunding, and DeJoy, we’ve vigiled most Sundays since, in sun, rain, snow and sleet, in temperatures ranging from several degrees below zero to 95 degrees above. Our message is simple: Resist this Endless War. By this we mean, resist our permanent state of war and preparations for it, overseas and at home.

Participant numbers have fluctuated from a “high” of 15 to 20 during the initial post-911 invasion of Afghanistan and the 2003 war on Iraq to a “low” of three to four in recent years. Occasionally, we’ve been told by a dismissive passerby that the US is “at peace.” Not exactly. Consider our ongoing nuclear weapons buildup; our drone bombings against many countries of the world; our “covert” operations and global regime change maneuvers; and our funding of wars conducted by client states. Consider our government’s war on poor and vulnerable populations to benefit a smaller and smaller number of global ultra-rich. Remember that these are ongoing, bipartisan issues.

When our regular vigil participants dwindled to a new low at the end of last summer, we figured we’d had a good run and considered ending it. Then came the terrible October 7 attack by Hamas on Israel, followed immediately by an orgy of collective punishment supported by US funds and materiel against civilians in Gaza. It has, as of this writing, taken the lives of over 25,000 people, an estimated two-thirds of whom are children.

We continue with more urgency than ever. We need your help. For more information about the content of the vigil and how to join, please call 203-668-9082 or contact [email protected] or  [email protected].

Students Call for Yale Corp to Divest from Weapons Manufacturers

by Nora Wyrtzen, Endowment Justice Coalition

On Friday, Dec. 1, 2023, 175+ Yale students and allies shut down and occupied the College St./Grove St. intersection, a central traffic hub on Yale University’s campus, for nearly two hours.

Organizers of the action are demanding that Yale Corporation immediately divest Yale’s endowment from war and weapons manufacturing in light of the ongoing genocide in Gaza….

Illustration 1: Ben Raab photo

Friday’s demonstration was part of an extensive student mobilization on campus in response to the Corporation’s closed-door conversations.

Following are excerpts from Yale Daily News article by Ben Raab, Dec. 1, 2023

More than 20 demonstrators gathered outside Woodbridge Hall early Friday morning to tape a 60-foot banner to the building’s front door and call for the Yale Corporation — the University’s principal governing body — to divest Yale’s endowment from weapons manufacturers.

The banner read “Yale Corp Divest From Weapons” and was rolled out over the steps and onto the building’s walkway. It displayed the names of thousands of Palestinians who have been killed in Gaza during the Israel-Hamas war.

Demonstrators stood in front of the building with signs reading “Divest Now!” and “Yale Divest.” One banner read “It’s Your Yale. They’re Your Bombs….”

The demonstration also comes on the morning of the Yale Corporation’s scheduled visit to campus for meetings that will last through the weekend….

On Nov. 2, University President Peter Salovey told the News that the University is “revisiting” its policy on weapons manufacturing under the University’s ethical investment framework. In 2018, Yale divested from assault weapons retailers, citing violence in communities across America. …
Since Thursday night, community members have sent over 600 letters to the Corporation calling for divestment from all weapons manufacturing via an online campaign sponsored by the Endowment Justice Coalition. …

[For links and the full YDN article: https://yaledailynews.com/blog/2023/12/01/students-call-for-yale-corp-to-divest-from-weapons-manufacturers-in-front-of-woodbridge-hall]

Veterans for Peace Joins International Delegation to Gaza Border

by Gerry Condon, Veterans for Peace

I have the honor of representing Veterans for Peace on an international delegation currently in Cairo, Egypt. We are seeking permission to travel to the Rafah border crossing with Gaza, where hundreds of trucks loaded with humanitarian aid are being held up. We are calling for an immediate end to the US-backed Israeli slaughter of innocents in Gaza. And we are calling for the border with Egypt to be opened up to allow the massive delivery of desperately needed food, water, medicine, and fuel.
We are among the first of many international humanitarian and human rights delegations that are heading for the Gaza border in order to provide practical and moral support to the Palestinian people.

We encourage people all over the world—and especially in the United States—to continue pressing for a Ceasefire, Humanitarian Aid, the Release of All Prisoners, and Negotiations that respect the Palestinians’ Right to Survival, Dignity, and Self-Determination.

Below are excerpts from the press release we released on Sunday, November 12.

“ …In response to the Palestinian and Arab calls for civil society to challenge Israel’s deadly occupation by heading immediately towards the Egyptian-Palestinian crossing to bring urgent humanitarian relief to 2.3 million people, we have just submitted a request to the Egyptian authorities for permission to travel to Rafah….

“We urge all peoples and governments to act urgently to end this horror. There are hundreds of aid trucks currently parked in the desert waiting to enter the Rafah crossing. We demand they be allowed to reach Palestinians whose needs are dire and desperate.”

“Stop Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza Now! Open the Rafah border Now!”
veteransforpeace.org, 206-499-1220

Oppenheimer Offers Opportunity

by Henry Lowendorf, GNH Peace Council

Oppenheimer, the film, is a biography of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the leader of the scientific team researching, developing, and producing the first atomic bombs, with U.S. B29s dropping two on Japanese cities 78 years ago. The movie reveals two time bombs that started ticking in 1945. One scores 90 seconds to midnight on the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists’ Doomsday Clock. The second exploded as the Cold War, right after the U.S. and its Soviet ally victoriously ended World War II, and, like cluster bombs, repeatedly bursts forth to maim its victims.

The film explores the morality of waging war not just on civilians but on civilization itself. But Oppenheimer, the physicist, realized that he had no moral authority over, or physical control of, his nuclear offspring once they were turned over to the generals and the commander in chief.

Expressing his anguish was not politic. Second thoughts about creating the existential monster of monsters that incinerated noncombatant men, women, and children in 1945, and possibly billions more, landed him in the clutches of Congressional thought-minders. The McCarthy era tore Oppenheimer’s life apart, ruining his reputation and removing his security clearance and his ability to conduct research.
McCarthyism, a product of the 1950s, continues now. The U.S. administration censors dissenting voices by members of Congress who call for diplomacy to end the war in Ukraine. The corporate media, led by the New York Times, slander activists in the peace movement who demand the same.

Beyond watching the riveting drama, what actions can viewers of Oppenheimer take? The Greater New Haven Peace Council has been handing audience members entering and leaving the theater a flier with a QR code on side one to sign a petition offered by CodePink calling for the U.S. to sign on to the UN Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and lead the other eight nuclear-weapons states to follow suit. The petition is here: https://www.codepink.org/nonukes. Side two spells out the ongoing manmade disaster called the military budget.

To download your own file of the flyer to use: https://nhpeacecouncil.org/oppenheimer-flier-handout

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