Look what’s happening right in MA

Anti-nuclear Protest, Boston, MA, USA. 1977. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. Author: Derzsi Elekes Andor.

By  Cole Harrison, Massachusetts Peace Action

Note from Kathie MM: Massachusetts Peace Action is very active on behalf of peace and social justice. Here are some of their upcoming activities.

Palestine to Detroit-Flint Photo Exhibit

PARALLELS EXIST BETWEEN THE REGIONS of Palestine and two Michigan cities regarding water rights, namely access, testing, purity, pricing, sanitation, distribution, and disposal….Find out more »

March 25 @ 12:15 pm – April 30 @ 12:15 pm

Cambridge Friends Meeting, 5 Longfellow Park  Cambridge,  Google Map

 

 

The World Is Over-Armed and Peace Is Under-Funded

April 14 @ 10:00 am – 1:30 pm

Walpole Common, 5 West st  Walpole, MA United States + Google Map

Walpole Tax Day Rally for Peace and Economic Justice:  the   will hold a Tax Day Rally at the Gazebo on the Walpole Common. Find out more »

Tax Day Rally

April 14 @ 12:00 pm – 2:30 pm

Cambridge Common, Garden Street and Appian Way  Cambridge, MA 02138 + Google Map

Time to stand up for our values and priorities! President Trump’s tax bill is ensuring billions of dollars in profits to large corporations– and peanuts to working people…. Find out more »

Rethinking the Nuclear Weapons Issue

April 15 @ 12:30 pm – 2:00 pm

First Church in Cambridge – Harter Room, 11 Garden Street  Cambridge, MA 02138 + Google Map

Come and hear a stimulating talk on a life-and-death issue. Dr. Elaine Scarry will present a basic review of the current US policy on nuclear issues.… Find out more »

Discussion of the Poor People’s Campaign

April 15 @ 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm

Watertown Free Public Library, 123 Main St  Watertown, MA 02472 + Google Map

What is the Poor People’s Campaign? Why is there A National Call for Moral Revival? Find out more »

Shout Heard Round the World

April 16 @ 12:00 pm – 5:00 pm

Lexington Common National Historic Site, 1875 Massachusetts Avenue  Lexington, MA United States + Google Map

SHOUT HEARD AROUND THE WORLD Or just a whisper at Hanscom Field as drums and fifes sound patriotic tunes elsewhere this coming Patriots Day?  …Find out more »

Recognizing Ourselves in Today’s Migrants and Refugees: The Need to Take Action Against Racism and Xenophobia

April 22 @ 1:00 pm

Cambridge Friends Meeting, 5 Longfellow Park  Cambridge, + Google Map

A Talk with Oscar A. Chacón, Executive Director, Alianza Americas….Find out more »

Rally for Palestine!–Education Under Occupation

April 22 @ 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm

Boston Common – Park St, Tremont & Park Streets  Boston, MA 02108 United States + Google Map

As students living in the United States on the 70th anniversary of the Nakba, we raise our voices and our fists in solidarity with our student counterparts in Palestine….Find out more »

Walk for Water 5K in Support of Palestinian Refugees

April 28 @ 11:00 am – 2:00 pm

450 Kendall St, Cambridge, MA

In times of crisis, a healthy environment provides a sense of stability. 1for3 is a Boston-based non-profit organization working to promote health, education, and the environment for Palestinian refugees….Find out more »

Combatants for Peace

April 28 @ 3:30 pm – 5:30 pm

Belmont/Watertown United Methodist Church, 421 Common St  Belmont, MA 02478 + Google Map

In 2006, Israeli and Palestinian former combatants laid down their weapons and established Combatants for Peace….. Combatants for Peace were nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, 2017. Two Combatants… Find out more »

Workshop on Nuclear Ban Treaty Compliance

May 6 @ 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm

14 Sterling St, Newton, MA

Good news!  There’s a new Nobel Peace Prize-winning Nuclear Ban Treaty, already agreed by 122 countries, that makes these WMDs illegal.  Come learn how YOU can compel divestment, legislation, and enforcement here in the US. For more information: Call Joan Ecklein: 617 244-8054  Find out more »

Peace Partners 2018: 22nd Annual Mother’s Day Walk

May 13 @ 8:00 am

Town Field Park, 1520 Dorchester Avenue  Dorchester, MA 02122 United States + Google Map

22ND ANNUAL MOTHER’S DAY WALK FOR PEACE DIGNITY AND COMPASSION FOR ALL MAPA/WILPF registrants: Follow this registration link and find “Peace Partners 2018” in the Teams field. Contact Claire Gosselin at claireg53@gmail.com for questions.   Donation Page: https://www.z2systems.com/np/clients/lbdpeace/campaign.jsp?campaign=33&fundraiser=26525&  The Mother’s Day Walk for Peace is a celebration of our potential to create more peaceful communities. Find out more »

Visit our website to learn more about joining the organization.

Massachusetts Peace Action, 11 Garden St., Cambridge, MA 02138 617-354-2169  • info@masspeaceaction.org • Follow us on Facebook or Twitter

Can generals sometimes be right?

Israel-Palestine handshake symbol. licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. Author: Wickey-nl.

by Kathleen Malley-Morrison & Ed Agro

Monday’s engagingpeace post discussed the opposition of General Dwight D. Eisenhower to the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Although it is easy to stereotype military commanders as always believing that the only tools available in their fight against designated enemies are death and destruction, there are other recent examples of leaders who do not promote endless war.

In a recent (June 29, 2016) Associated Press article by Dan Perry and Joseph Federman, we learn thatAn extraordinary array of former top commanders are now criticizing Netanyahu in increasingly urgent terms, accusing him of mishandling the Palestinian issue and allying with extremists who are bent on dismantling Israel’s democracy.”

More specifically, and more dramatically, “a group representing more than 200 retired leaders in Israel’s military, police, Mossad spy service, and Shin Bet security agency presented a plan to help end the half-century occupation of the Palestinians through unilateral steps, including disavowing claims to over 90 percent of the West Bank and freezing Jewish settlement construction in such areas.

The movement, called Commanders for Israel’s Security, reflects an increasingly widespread assessment that Israel is drifting catastrophically toward permanent entanglement with the Palestinians and conflict with the world community.”

These courageous and long-overdue recommendations of the Commanders would move Israel in the direction of compliance with the UN General Assembly Resolution 181 (Partition Plan) of November 29, 1947,  and away from the violence that continues today.

We have one point of disagreement with the Perry and Federman article.  They state: “Complicating the picture is that the Gaza pullout ended badly from Israel’s perspective: Hamas militants took it over, leading to three wars between the sides.”

This assertion misses the fact that Hamas was elected in a process all observers considered to be fair; it was only after Israel, with American help, declared that election to be illegitimate that Hamas returned to armed resistance.  Another thing that’s not well known is that Hamas was formed years ago with the help of Israeli fifth-columnists as a way to weaken the Palestinian Authority and render rational discussion impossible.

Overall, the Perry and Federman article is excellent, very informative and heartening! It’s taken years to reach recognition that Israel cannot continue its current policies, even with the self-serving military and economic assistance of the U.S. government.   Let’s hope reason and humanity prevail. Let’s hope the wrong-headed Netanyahu government falls and Israel finally joins the Middle East. And not to forget, the Israeli/Palestinian anti-Apartheid (for want of a better word) activists have been working against insuperable odds for many many years.

 

 

Profiting from Prisons: The Evil Corporation Connection Part 2

 

Demonstration at Red Cross building in Hebron, Palestine, on February 20, 2012, against Israel’s policy of “administrative detention” and demanding that international society recognize Palestinian prisoners as Prisoners of War. Available under Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.

This is Part 2 of a series by Dot Walsh.

My research on for-profit prisons   brought me to a G4S site  advertising security products and services in 125 countries. Intimately connected with the military,  G4S actively recruits and hires veterans for their programs and has partnered with U.S. Army’s Partnership for Youth Success.

G4S is a major security provider to the Israeli government, operating security patrol units that secure oceanic facilities, transport routes, and buildings and equipment of the security and finance industries .  Previously, they also manned checkpoints until there was such negative publicity and outrage that this service was ended.

G4S operates the entire security system for many of the prisons designated for Palestinian political prisoners, with one major prison incarcerating a population of 2,200. Some of these prisoners have not been charged yet and some are administrative detainees. Prominent people around the world who have spoken out against the brutality and torture conducted within these prisons include Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Noam Chomsky .

In 2012, G4S was cited as violating Article 76 of the Geneva Convention for transferring children from the occupied territories and subjecting them to abusive treatment .  With the current violence in Israel-Palestine escalating, it would seem possible that the United States could play an important role in speaking out against the violation of human rights and the G4S monopoly–if there was enough awareness among the American people to speak out.

Dot Walsh is a lifelong peace activist and member of the Engaging Peace Board of Directors.