The US and El Salvador: Parallels on Political Persecution and Mass Incarceration
2025-09-08 19:00 - 20:30 (America/New_York) | Online Event
Monday, September 8th, 7pm EST

Presidents Donald Trump and Nayib Bukele are running parallel authoritarian projects that use national security to justify human rights abuses via mass incarceration. Platforms like MAGA and Bukele’s Nuevas Ideas party cloak their abuses of power as concern for public safety, scapegoating immigrants or weaponizing fears of gang violence to further their agendas. The truth is, facilities like Alligator Alcatraz in Florida and CECOT in El Salvador don’t exist to protect the public — they seek to terrorize marginalized communities and set a precedent for indefinite detention with no hope of due process.
Join Lourdes Palacios, a popular movement leader and former senior government official in El Salvador, in discussing her work to free political prisoners and support their families.
Hear from Mneesha Gellman, associate professor and director of the Emerson Prison Initiative, who recently visited El Salvador and spent time interviewing families of prisoners at CECOT and other Salvadorian facilities.
We will also learn from our cosponsor CISPES (The Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador) who will share details about their upcoming week of action, beginning September 15th, providing us with specific ways that the audience can get involved!
We won’t stand by as civilians permanently disappear into state-sanctioned prison camps. Learn about the connections between U.S. and Salvadoran carceral regimes, and how you can take action. Live interpretation will be provided in both English and Spanish.

Image credits:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Entrance_of_CECOT.png
https://www.heute.at/i/wie-im-huehnerstall-italiener-klagen-ueber-zustaende-120120945/doc-1j0rglmlh4

Lunes, 8 de septiembre, de 7:00 p.m. a 8:30 p.m. EDT
Inscríbase aquí
Los presidentes Donald Trump y Nayib Bukele están ejecutando proyectos autoritarios paralelos que utilizan la seguridad nacional para justificar los abusos contra los derechos humanos mediante el encarcelamiento masivo. Plataformas como MAGA y el partido Nuevas Ideas de Bukele disfrazan sus abusos de poder como preocupaciones por la seguridad pública, utilizando a las personas inmigrantes como chivos expiatorios o aprovechando el miedo a la violencia de las pandillas para promover sus agendas. La verdad es que instalaciones como Alligator Alcatraz en Florida y CECOT en El Salvador no existen para proteger a la gente, sino que buscan aterrorizar a las comunidades marginalizadas y sentar un precedente para la detención indefinida sin esperanza de un proceso justo.
Únase a Lourdes Palacios, líder de un movimiento popular y ex alta funcionaria del gobierno de El Salvador, para conocer su trabajo para liberar a los presos políticos y apoyar a sus familias.
Escuche a Mneesha Gellman, profesora asociada y directora de la Iniciativa Penitenciaria de Emerson [Emerson Prison Initiative], que recientemente visitó El Salvador y pasó un tiempo entrevistando a presos en CECOT y otras cárceles salvadoreñas.
También aprenderemos de nuestro copatrocinador CISPES (Comité en Solidaridad con el Pueblo de El Salvador), que compartirá detalles sobre su próxima semana de acción, que comenzará el 15 de septiembre, y nos proporcionará formas específicas en las que el público puede participar.
No nos quedaremos de brazos cruzados mientras las personas siguen desapareciendo de forma permanente en campos de prisioneros sancionados por el Estado. Conozca las conexiones entre los regímenes carcelarios de Estados Unidos y El Salvador, y cómo puede tomar acción. Tendremos interpretación en vivo tanto en inglés como en español.
Inscríbase aquí
Créditos de las imágenes:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Entrance_of_CECOT.png
https://www.heute.at/i/wie-im-huehnerstall-italiener-klagen-ueber-zustaende-120120945/doc-1j0rglmlh4

Tell Gov. Healey: No Tax $$$ for Sheba ARC
2025-09-09 11:00 - 12:30 | Massachusetts State House, 24 Beacon St, Boston
Learn About the Campaign: tinyurl.com/webinar-sep7
Join the Letter Delivery: tinyurl.com/rsvp-sep9
Gather on the front steps of the State House, on Beacon St. in front of the golden dome.

Justice 4 All Thursdays
2025-09-11 11:00 - 13:00, 2025-09-18 11:00 - 13:00, 2025-09-25 11:00 - 13:00, 2025-10-02 11:00 - 13:00, 2025-10-09 11:00 - 13:00 | 1000 District Avenue Burlington, MA 01803 United States, 1000 District Avenue, Burlington, 01803, United States
Via Turn Purple 2 Blue:

Greater Assabet Indivisible Network (GAIN) invites you to stand in solidarity with immigrants and resistance to ICE and their cruel and lawless detention of our neighbors Thursdays from 11am-1pm. Regardless of any other political views, you are welcome to join us and demand Justice 4 All so long as you do so non-violently.
Our friends at Bearing Witness have been hosting gatherings at this location for many weeks. We are an unaffiliated group, but very much aligned with their values and mission. Our goal is to add to the total number of hours that citizens stand in non-violent opposition to the deplorable detainment conditions at this location. If you have been to Bearing Witness on Wednesdays, we would love to have you at Justice 4 All Thursdays.
Schedule (Starting Thursday, September 4 – more dates to follow)
11:00-11:30 Welcome; music; announcements
11:30-12:30 Stand with signs along District Ave
12:30-1:00 Optional short march down to Mall Rd.
What happens at this ICE office?
ICE personnel depart from District Ave. in unmarked vans with tinted windows on missions to abduct immigrants across New England. Immigrants may also show up at the office for appointments. The facility on District Ave was never intended to be a detention center, yet immigration lawyers and media interviews reveal that people are now being housed here in conditions that have been called “abysmal” and “unsanitary.”
What to expect at Justice 4 All?
We are committed to nonviolence, and we stand peacefully with signs outside the facility. We do not block the entrance, we do not physically approach ICE agents as they walk to/from the parking lot, and we do not block traffic on District Ave.
Signs
This is a very targeted action outside the ICE facility, so it’s not the venue for protesting other causes. Even though we care deeply about other issues, while outside ICE we must remain focused on immigration.
Parking and other tips
For parking, please use the Macy’s overflow lot (75 Burlington Mall Road, follow signs for Macy’s, see map). For those with mobility challenges, please keep in mind that the lots closest to ICE — the FAA lot beside ICE and the BAE Systems lot directly across the street from ICE — have both been blocked off. There are restaurants nearby (Clover, Pressed Cafe, Chipotle) to get food and use the bathroom. Before arriving, please consider your own self-preservation (citizenship status) and self-care (sunscreen, hydration, etc.)

Democrats Must Stop Gaza Genocide
2025-09-13 08:00 - 11:00 | MassMutual Center, 1277 Main St, Springfield, MA, 01103, United States
The Democratic State Convention will be held in Springfield on Saturday, Sept 13. The party leadership has refused to address the Gaza starvation and genocide at the convention and has watered down the party platform to the point where it is almost meaningless.
MAPA members and allied Palestine activists will pass flyers to convention delegates calling on Congress to support the Block the Bombs Act, which would cut off offensive weapons shipments to Israel.
Join us as we reach out to the thousands of delegates. We need volunteers to pass out flyers starting at 8am, with the peak hours being from 9:30am – 11:00 am. Additional people will hold up banners, signs and Palestine flags. For those who are delegates, we’ll also have a literature table inside. Please sign up to help. Bring banners, signs and flags.
Enter on the corner of Main Street and Bruce Landon Way. The Convention Center carpark is at 41 Harrison Ave, $20 a day.
See the flyer we’ll be handing out to delegates. Sign up to be there and help out.

Voices from Palestine and the Region
2025-09-13 17:00 - 19:00 | First Parish of Watertown, 35 Church St, Watertown, MA, 02472, United States

Castle in the Sky Showing and Discussion
2025-09-14 13:00 - 15:30 | West Newton Cinema, 1296 Washington Street, West Newton, 02465, United States
Film showing of Castle in the Sky at West Newton Cinema followed by a discussion of the film with Greater Boston Physicians for Social Responsibility and The Ikeda Center for Peace, Learning, and Dialogue.
From the legendary Studio Ghibli and director Hayao Miyazaki comes a rollicking adventure about a a young girl with a mysterious crystal pendant who falls out of the sky and into the arms and life of young Pazu. Together they search for a floating island, the site of a long-dead civilization promising enormous wealth and power to those who can unlock its secrets. But greedy pirates, spies, and the army are also all in hot pursuit! As one of Studio Ghibli’s earliest films, and the first to be released officially under the studio’s banner, “Castle in the Sky” quickly established the studio’s reputation for strong heroines, unforgettable storytelling and beautiful artwork.
Directed by Hayao Miyazaki
Starring Mayumi Tanaka, Keiko Yokozawa, Kotoe Hatsui, Minori Terada, Fujio Tokita

Backyard Cookout, Social and MAPA Fundraiser
2025-09-14 16:00 - 18:00 | Somerville, MA (exact location given upon registration)
Paul Shannon and Vickie Rothbaum, and their Somerville neighbors, Harris Gruman and Giuliana Minghelli, invite you to a cookout/social and fundraising event to benefit Mass Peace Action (MAPA).
Join us on Sunday, September 14, from 4pm to 6pm for our backyard cookout in Somerville!
(A seven minute walk from the Porter Square red line station. And there will be plenty of on-street parking on a Sunday)
There will be lots of hamburgers, hot dogs and veggie burgers in addition to vegetarian and vegan options, simple desserts, beer, wine and soft drinks
Hear about Mass Peace Action’s work to end the wars in Gaza and Ukraine. Under these dire cirumstances in which we live, discuss how we can unite our efforts for peace with ecology and social and economic justice. Harris will explain efforts to promote a “Caring Society” by prioritizing government support for health and human services over weapons and militarism.
Meet our current group of young organizers and hear why they decided to connect with MAPA. And our Executive Director, Brian Garvey, will inform us about MAPA’s work in helping to organize “big, beautiful” weekly protests against I.C.E. and lay out MAPA’s exciting program for the Fall.
And just have a good time connecting with your activist friends and colleagues.
Please use this link to let us know you are coming and we will get back to you with our address. https://masspeace.us/somerville-cookout-2025
Or call Paul at 617-623-5288 (landline, no texting. Just leave a message).
And, of course, at the event you can make a donation of any amount to keep our work for peace strong!
Hope you can join us on the 14th
(A rain date will be decided on if necessary, but the peace gods have promised lovely early fall weather)

Paul Shannon and Vicki Rothbaum
Harris Gruman and Giuliana Minghelli

Defend the Guard
2025-09-16 13:00 - 17:00 | Massachusetts State House, 24 Beacon St, Boston
S.2471/H.3829 upholds the framework of the U.S. Constitution by ensuring that the Massachusetts National Guard is only called upon for active federal military service when there has been an official declaration of war by Congress, as required by Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution. Its purpose is to require a shift in American foreign policy and curtail the federal government’s ability to wage endless war without congressional oversight or accountability. Defend the Guard would have no effect on either deployments to other states in the union or overseas training missions.
The hearing for this bill will take place on Tuesday, September 16th in front of the Joint Committee on Veterans and Federal Affairs. The hearing will be at the Massachusetts State House in room A-1 from 1-5pm. Please join us in testifying in favor of this bill to uphold the U.S. Constitution.
Register below by 12pm on Monday September, 15. You may testify in person or virtually.

Dire Healthcare Situation in Gaza
2025-09-16 19:00 - 20:30 | Online Event
Dr. Perlmutter, Dr. Syed and Dr. Sidhwa will talk about their most recent experiences working in the remaining hospitals in Gaza where they witnessed severe injuries and the impact of starvation and displacement on the Palestinians struggling to survive.
Dr. Mark Perlmutter is a hand and upper extremity orthopedic surgeon in North Carolina. During his second trip to Gaza, he worked in Al-Aqsa hospital in Deir al-Balah and the Nasser Medical Complex in the south of the territory in March 2025 as part of a WHO program. Perlmutter was working at Nasser hospital when the second floor of the building was targeted in an airstrike. The president of the World Surgical Foundation, he has worked in dozens of disaster zones worldwide for decades, including the 9/11 attack in Manhattan, the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in Shreveport, Louisiana, and the 2010 earthquake in Haiti.
Dr. Mimi Syed DO, MBA, FACEP, a board-certified emergency medicine physician, is an assistant clinical professor at University of Washington and Washington State University. She is a fellow of the American College of Emergency Physicians. Dr. Syed served in Gaza from August 8 to September 5, 2024, and December 3 to December 31, 2024, at both al-Aqsa Hospital and Nasser Hospital.
Dr. Feroze Sidhwa is a general, trauma, and critical care surgeon in Stockton, California who has worked in conflict zones worldwide. He has had extensive experience working with patients in Gaza in March-April 2024 and again from March 3-April 1, 2025 with the American NGO MedGlobal. In collaboration with other healthcare professionals, Dr. Sidhwa published the New York Times October 9, 2024 review “65 Doctors, Nurses and Paramedics: What We Saw in Gaza“.
Register to attend:

What in the World is Happening with Ukraine?
2025-09-17 19:00 - 20:30 | Online Event
A look at the immediate and big picture developments that combine to bring us to the present situation in Ukraine which clarifies the issues that need to be resolved to end the war.
An eye-opening analysis of the underlying causes of the war which, if not addressed, stand in the way of a stable diplomatic settlement: NATO expansion, Kyiv’s repression of Russian speaking Ukrainians, dismissal of Russia’s core security interests, European and U.S. exclusion of Russia from the European security architecture. And on the other hand, Ukraine’s legitimate security concerns and need to protect its territorial integrity. Interestingly, George Beebe does not see the acquisition of Ukrainian territories as a Russia’s goal in fighting the war. Rather, he claims, the focus for Russia all along has been its security concerns as it understands them.
The presentation then turns to the issue of how to resolve these underlying causes in a way that leads to a diplomatic resolution of the war. Here the presentation opens us up to stretch our thinking about what compromises might be possible. Given the actual causes of the war, Russia’s real goals in conducting it, and Russia’s advances on the battlefield, Mr. Beebe sees certain elements of a solution as essential while others might be susceptible to compromise. Essential ones would be no NATO membership for Ukraine, an end to the exclusion of Russia from Europe, guarantees for Ukraine’s Russian speakers to their culture and religion, and negotiation of a new security architecture for Europe that includes Russia’s security concerns. This new security architecture based on the principle of common security would then open up the possibility of negotiations for nuclear and conventional arms control (which Putin brought up at the press conference after his Alaska meeting with Trump).
Areas of possible compromise that benefit Ukraine might be Russian approval of Ukraine joining the European Union, firm security guarantees from the countries of the U.N. security council (not NATO countries), which weapons and military training Ukraine could acquire, and long term compromises over territories now controlled or annexed by Russia.
In the midst of this analysis George Beebe will provide a critique of Trump’s policies and goals.We all have a lot to learn from this webinar which will help us get a better understanding of a Ukrainian crisis which remains the most likely trigger for terminal nuclear war if not resolved.

George Beebe is Director of Grand Strategy at the Quincy Institute. He spent more than two decades in government as an intelligence analyst, diplomat, and policy advisor, including as director of the CIA’s Russia analysis, director of the CIA’s Open Source Center, and as a staff advisor on Russia matters to Vice President Cheney. His book, The Russia Trap: How Our Shadow War with Russia Could Spiral into Nuclear Catastrophe (St. Martin’s Press, 2019), warned how the United States and Russia could stumble into a dangerous military confrontation. Prior to joining QI, George was Vice President and Director of Studies at the Center for the National Interest and before that he served as president of a technology company that measured the impact of events, issues, and advertising campaigns on audience views. He speaks Russian and German.
Register for this event:

Sponsored by the Ukraine Campaign of Massachusetts Peace Action and the Campaign for Peace, Disarmament, and Common Security.

The Wrong Way to Combat Antisemitism
2025-09-18 19:00 - 21:00 | St. James Episcopal Church Parish Hall, 1991 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA, 02140, United States
MAPA will present a teach-in on the right and wrong ways to address antisemitism. The workshop will include viewing a 40-minute film, “Exploring an Antiracist, Solidarity Approach to Antisemitism”, which is based on a conversation among seven well-informed people held in June of this year. View the film trailer.
The meeting will include small-group discussions. This teach-in will encourage participants to think critically about the issues raised by the work of the MA Special Commission on Combating Antisemitism and its role in shaping state policy, and motivate participants to get involved in expressing their views to their legislators about the work of the Commission and introduce mechanisms and tools for doing so.
The film and teach-in materials were developed by Together for an Inclusive Massachusetts (TIM), a diverse alliance of Jewish, Muslim, Arab, labor, education, civil rights and other organizations, including MAPA, advocating for justice and equity in Massachusetts.
The event is in-person only. Attendance is open and free to MAPA members and supporters, but to allow us to organize the discussions, you must sign up to attend. Do not show up for the event without signing up. If you would like to organize a similar event in your location, contact us at info@masspeaceaction.org.
Click below to register

Rally to Divest MA from Genocide
2025-09-19 12:00 - 14:00 | Massachusetts State House, 24 Beacon St, Boston
Join us on September 19, in front of the Massachusetts State House to raise our voices against Israel’s decision to erase the very idea of a Palestine and to “put another nail in the coffin” of this hope. It’s time for Massachusetts to end its investments in the merchants of death who are profiting from this mass murder and starvation being carried on in front of the world.
Time to get the word out that our divestment bill is about to be voted on by the
Legislature

We will thank the legislators on the Public Service Committee for meeting with us over
the past 3 months and for engaging with us in serious conversation about the horror in
Gaza and why our bill could play a role in the effort to prevent the annihilation of
Palestinians.
We will point out that our bill provides the Legislature to with an opportunity to make a
courageous statement on the moral issue of our time.
A positive vote means that our bill moves on to the next stage in the legislative process.
Without a positive vote our bill dies.

Meltdown of Democracy: Bringing Nukes Back Despite Statewide Vote Against Them
2025-09-23 19:00 - 20:30 | Online Event
The Energy Affordability, Independence, and Innovation Act (H.4144) has lots of good things in it. There is at least one big problem with it, though: the bill’s Section 45 would repeal a citizen-initiated ballot measure – without going back to the voters first. It is in the Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities, and Energy and is being fast-tracked for passage in the fall.
Section 45 calls for the repeal of a 1982 Act that created democratic control of dangerous nuclear technology. It contains two key things: Before any new nuclear power facilities are built in Massachusetts, a majority of voters must approve, AND the vote cannot even be held unless there is an operating, permanent repository for the radioactive waste that would be generated. There is no permanent repository! The dangerous high-level waste is sitting out in the open at six reactor sites ringing Massachusetts, including in Plymouth, Rowe, and nearby Seabrook and VT Yankee.
Governor Healey has chosen to just get rid of the law, silencing our voices (and the democratic process) She wants to build Small Modular Reactors (SMRS) even though it would be many years before these are practical—and they will be extremely expensive, still produce toxic nuclear waste, and include safety and security concerns. Far better to invest NOW in conservation and sustainable and safer forms of energy!
Panelists for the webinar are long-time environmental activists who have decades of experience fighting the nuclear industry and the pro-nuclear lobby. They will discuss the history of nuclear power in and around Massachusetts and its toxic impact on our communities, the Governor’s proposal for bringing in new nuclear, and will also offer a more democratic and carbon-free, nuclear-free path forward. Join us and find out what you can do for a safer environment for all.
Deborah Katz, CSW is executive director of Citizens Awareness Network, a non -profit, grassroots New England organization fighting for clean air, democracy, and environmental justice. She coordinates environmental justice tours including tours to Utah, Nevada, Washington, DC and South Carolina, three Action Camps, and national People’s Summits on Nuclear Waste. Katz is an author who published Valley of the Shadow, a picture book on the grief process for the left behind.
Diane Turco is Executive Director of Cape Downwinders, a Cape Cod volunteer community grassroots organization with the mission to investigate, educate, and agitate for protection of the people and environment from ongoing threats to communities from Holtec-Pilgrim’s decommissioning plans and nuclear waste dump at the site in Plymouth. After meeting Dr. Helen Caldicott in 1981, Diane began working then to end nuclear weapons and nuclear power and continues today. She is a retired teacher of children with intensive special needs and a grandmother of three sweet boys.
Chris Nord is the co-founder and Board member of the C-10 Research and Education Foundation – whose mission includes real-time radiological monitoring near the Seabrook atomic reactor, as well as education the public about safe and sustainable energy a alternatives. He is Vice-President of the Citizens Awareness Network and founding member and non-violence trainer of the Clamshell Alliance. He is the creator of the presentation “Nuclear Spent Fuel and Homeland Security: The Case forHardened Storage.” and also co-producer of “Circles Around the Fire”, a 30-minute slide/video program on nuclear power in New England.
Organized by MAPA’s Nuclear Disarmament WG and Indigenous Solidarity WG. Cosponsored by the Commonwealth Coalition For Democracy and Safe Energy

The Hard Work of Hope
2025-09-24 19:00 - 20:30 | Broadside Bookshop, 247 Main St, Northampton, MA, 01060

Tabling for the UN International Day for the Elimination of Nuclear Weapons
2025-09-26 12:00 - 13:00 | Park St Station, Park & Tremont Streets, Boston
On Friday, 09/26, join our tabling at Park St Station from 12-1pm. In the midst of all that is happening in the U.S. and in the world, it’s important to reach out beyond our NDWG circle and remind people of the nuclear threat and also what we can do to eliminate nuclear weapons.

Projections of Gaza
2025-09-27 19:15 - 20:30 | Harvard Square, Harvard Square Station, Cambridge, MA, 02138
Join us in Harvard Square as we project images and sounds from Gaza to raise awareness of the ongoing starvation of Palestinians. We will be flyering and asking passersby to sign postcards to send to their representatives.

People's Hunger Strike Press Conference
2025-10-01 11:30 - 12:30
Resistance to the Gaza genocide is rising from civil society worldwide, and in Boston, the Peoples Hunger Strike, launched Sept. 4, has demanded Congress, and specifically Rep. Katherine Clark, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, and Sen. Ed Markey, block the bombs the U.S. is sending to Israel. We are proud of MAPA members Jeannine Connerney and Zarina Memon who are among the hunger strikers.
Join us at a press conference! Hunger strikers will share their experiences and deliver 1,000+ letters to Senators Warren and Markey demanding an end to the US-Israeli perpetrated genocide in Gaza.
CONGRESS, BLOCK THE BOMBS!

Two Years of Genocide: Rise Up for Gaza
2025-10-05 12:00 - 17:00 | Israeli Consulate, 1 Washington St, Boston, MA, 02108
On October 5th, we will take the streets in the masses to show that the people of Boston stand with Gaza. From wherever we are, we will make it clear: we demand a total arms embargo and sanctions against Israel.
As we mark two years of genocide, we recall our responsibility to the people of Gaza, who have resisted an all-out war on their lives for over 700 days. In confronting those who continue to make this genocide possible, we affirm that the United States, Canada, Europe, and Arab states bear full complicity in Zionism’s crimes. The time is now to link arms, reenergize ourselves and our people, and stop the world for Gaza. Join us on October 5th for an international day of action.
We will not rest until the genocide is brought to an end, until those who bear responsibility are made to answer for their crimes and until Palestine is free, from the river to the sea.

Crossroads of Sound - Music from Turkey and Beyond
2025-10-05 14:30 - 16:30 | St. James Episcopal Church Parish Hall, 1991 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA, 02140, United States
Musicians:
Volkan Efe – oud, kanun, tanbur, voice
Theresa Thompson – violin, bendir
Joolz – piano, voice, bendir
Michael K. Harrist – yayli tanbur, bendir, voice
At the convergence of cultures and melodies, where traditions intertwine and harmonies flourish, we invite you to join us for an extraordinary musical experience – “Crossroads of Sound.” This unique concert transcends borders and genres, showcasing the shared makam tradition that binds Turkey, Azerbaijan, and the Balkans in a tapestry of sound.
Experience the diversity of musical forms as we journey through classical compositions, spirited folk rhythms, ethereal Sufi chants, and daring improvisations. Witness the fusion of traditional and contemporary as ancient Middle Eastern instruments such as the oud and tanbur merge seamlessly with Western counterparts like the piano and violin. The musical dialogue between these instruments creates a captivating symphony, echoing the harmonious coexistence of diverse worlds and musical forms.
Originally from Turkey, musician Volkan Efe regularly performs in Boston and is the founder of Boston Meshk Ensemble, a Turkish music chorus studying classical music from Turkey, and co-created the Makam Healing Project. He is a winner of the 2019 Passim Iguana Music Fund.
Theresa Thomspon is a multi-instrumentalist who performs joyfully and extensively throughout genres, including Ottoman/Turkish music, Western Classical, American roots, and indie music. She co-founded Crossroads of Sound along with Volkan Efe as well Tunefoolery Music, a non-profit organization for musicians in mental health recovery.
Music-educator and multi-instrumentalist Michael Harrist works across a wide range of traditions, including Ottoman/Turkish music, Hindustani, Jazz, Western Classical, and American roots music and has perfomed with various ensembles. He is founding director of Halcyon Arts New England, faculty at Kean University, and founder/director at Harrist Music Studios.
Joolz is a transdisciplinary artist whose music transcends her Taiwanese-American roots, classical training, multicultural and wildlife explorations. A founding musician at Crossroads Makam, Trespassers, Global Voices Live, she engages with diverse communities and environments to unearth new insights to our planet. She is a graduate of Stanford, Juilliard, ENMP Alfred Cortot, and The New School.
Repertoire:
1) Hicaz Mandira – Turkish instrumental dance tune
2) Monahogios O Konstantis – Anonymous traditional Greek song
3) Free Improvisation – Spontaneous collective creation
4) Al sazini sevdicegim – Turkish song, composed by Bimen Sen (Armenian heritage)
5) Nihavend Saz Semai – Neyzen Tevfik, Turkish classical instrumental form
6) Rast Curcuna – Pendik – Original composition by Michael K. Harrist
7) Perde Kaldirma – Meditative improvisation
8) Ben yürürüm yane yane – Turkish Sufi devotional song
9) Degdi saçlarima bahar yeli – Traditional Azerbaijani song
10) Naili ahla Zahra – Traditional Arabic song
Sample video: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SIELvAQEwxqWiwNVAj5pil0vaNjAtq1M/view?usp=drive_link

From Qatar to Iran: Regional Implications of Israel's Genocide in Gaza
2025-10-06 19:00 - 20:00 | Online, MA, United States
Two years into the genocide in Gaza and amid Israel’s unprecedented strikes on Qatar and Iran, how has this wave of aggression eroded prospects for Palestinian liberation, reshaped Gulf alliances, and impacted the Middle East’s delicate power balance? Join us for a timely discussion on regional shifts and President Trump’s Gaza plan with two preeminent Middle East experts, Trita Parsi and John Mearsheimer.
Please register here to attend: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_u8-yOIZaRZCishwUbvYNcg

Disrupting Genocide: Louisville's 'Raytheon 5' (a WIRN webinar)
2025-10-08 20:00 - 21:30 | Online Event
Wednesday, October 8, 2025 8:00 PM – 9:30 PM ET

At 5:30am on February 2, 2024, fifteen protesters blocked all entrances to Raytheon Corporation and BAE Systems in south Louisville, successfully shutting down daily operations for the day. LMPD arrested the protestors and they spent half a day in jail. Ten of the protestors plead guilty and accepted a deal while five remained and decided to take the case to trial. This webinar welcomes three members of the Raytheon 5 to discuss their journey from arrest to spectacle of their gag-ordered trial, where all five were found guilty of trespassing on key infrastructure assets.

This webinar welcomes three members of the Raytheon 5 to discuss their journey from arrest to spectacle of their gag-ordered trial, where all five were found guilty of trespassing on key infrastructure assets.
Presenters:
Scott Rosario Mottola is a writer, organizer, and service industry worker. They are an original founding board member of Locals for Liberation and currently live in Louisville, KY.
Sonja Wilde-de Vries is a lifelong queer anti-racist and social justice organizer. She/they is a daughter of holocaust survivors. Wilde-de Vries is also a documentary film filmmaker (Out: The Making of a Revolutionary, Gay Cuba ) has published several books of poetry, including “ Planting A Garden In Baghdad “ and co-founded “Queers for Cuba” Wilde-de Vries considers Palestine to be the epi-center of Liberation for all and in her free time communes with trees and wild critters. Wilde-de Vries has been to occupied Palestine several times.
Ash Eisenmenger, is an artist who’s been involved in the movement for collective liberation in various capacities since awakening to systemic oppression through an AORTA Cooperative workshop in 2014. She dreams of living to see a world in which we’re all free.

Immigration Teach-In @ Community Church of Boston
2025-10-09 18:00 - 21:00 | Community Church of Boston, 565 Boylston St, Boston, 02116
How Immigration Became Weaponized to Drive US Democracy into Crisis with Sarah Towle and Panelists
Thursday, October 9th at 6 PM to 9 PM (ET)
Community Church of Boston
565 Boylston St. Boston MA 02120, 2nd Floor
Join us for an Immigration Teach-In with Sarah Towle, author of Crossing the Line: Finding America in the Borderlands, alongside a panel of local immigrant and refugee providers and first-hand responders to ICE overreach and Injustice. Learn what actions you can take and what resources are available as well as where you can volunteer to help.
Cosponsored by: Massachusetts Immigrant & Refugee Advocacy Coalition (MIRA), The Asian Pacific Islander’s Civic Action Network (APIs CAN), Community Church of Boston (CCB), Luce: Immigrant Justice Network of Massachusetts, The Boston Immigration Justice Accompaniment Network (BIJAN)
Join us in Person at Community Church of Boston, 565 Bolston St. Boston MA 02120, 2nd Floor. On street parking or at Back Bay Garage, 199 Clarendon St. Discount vouchers available.

Boston Condemns Genocide
2025-10-09 18:00 - 21:00 | Boston Consulting Group, 200 Pier 4 Blvd, Boston, MA, 02210
Boston Consulting Group has cancelled their Boston WorldWide Alumni Day for this evening for “unforeseen” reasons. Boston Condemns Genocide will continue with our event to expose BCG as partners in genocide.
Our event will run from 6pm to 8:30pm with our spectacular speaker line up and projection of GHF sites and atrocities.
Boston Consulting Group was the key architect and operator of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, and is directly complicit in the “aid death traps” that killed thousands of Palestinians seeking food, water, and fuel. Join us to disrupt their Worldwide Alumni Day 2025 alongside GHF whistleblower Anthony Aguilar and Doctors Against Genocide co-founder Dr. Karameh Hawash-Kuemmerle.
Why we’re acting:
• BCG designed and ran GHF’s operations
• Their involvement makes them a direct contributor to genocide
• Alumni Day is their annual celebration of corporate influence
Be there to:
• Expose BCG’s role in GHF
• Demand full disclosure and accountability
• Challenge corporate complicity
When BCG engages, ideas become systems. Rise up for Gaza & shut down war profiteers on October 9 @ BCG HQ!

Some way out of here: Peace and Justice Movements and Priorities
2025-10-09 19:00 - 20:30
Campaign for Peace, Disarmament and Common Security, co-sponsored by MAPA, will host a webinar on Thursday, October 9 from 7-8:30pm.
We are living through an ugly and increasingly dangerous time. From the genocide in Gaza to the grinding Ukraine war, the kidnapping of innocent immigrants on our streets to the assaults on our electoral system. people are killed and abused, human rights and democracy under attack. Midst massive and disorienting geopolitical changes we are also in the midst of a new Cold War and escalating many sided arms races.
BUT, resistance is strong. Millions of people are joining rallies and standouts. Students and faculty resisting MAGA and corporate take overs of their universities. Nonviolent interventions to protect immigrants. A younger generation insisting on the end to genocide and respect for Palestinian rights. Opposition to increasing military spending, support for the Back from the Brink disarmament campaign. Court case after court case. Base building for the 2026 elections. Nonviolent civil disobedience more…
What are the states of and challenges to our movements? What are and should be their priorities? Join us on October 9, 7 p.m. EDT.
Speakers:
Cole Harrison is Administrative Director of Massachusetts Peace Action (MAPA) and MAPA Education Fund (MAPAEF), taking responsibility for the organization’s finances and technology systems, and was executive director for 2012 to 2024.
Ann Wright will speak on the role of citizen activists and the hundreds who have participated in the Gaza flotillas over the past 17 years, with a focus on the recent Gaza Sumud flotilla and the Gaza Freedom flotilla.
Nick Rabb (he/him) is a scholar and organizer based in Los Angeles, and has been active with the climate justice and university anti-militarism movements. He is a postdoctoral researcher at California State University, Los Angeles researching misinformation and STEM education.
Click below to register

The Hard Work of Hope: Lessons from Organizing
2025-10-10 19:00 - 21:00 | St. James Episcopal Church Parish Hall, 1991 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA, 02140, United States
The Hard Work of Hope: Lessons from organizing
October 10th, 7 to 9 pm
1991 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge MA

A dialogue with Author Michael Ansara and Grace Sanford, Northeastern Student and member of the Board of Massachusetts Peace Action, and Sam Levine, Emerson Student and recent MAPA Intern.
Michael Ansara is political organizer, poet and essayist. His memoir, The Hard Work of Hope, traces the hard fought struggles, victories and lessons of the Civil Rights Movement, the 10 year struggle to oppose and end the US involvement in the War in Vietnam, and then the grassroots and statewide community organizing campaigns of Massachusetts Fair Share. He is a poet and essayist, a co-founder of Mass Poetry, and currently serves on the Executive Committee of the Redress Movement and on the organizing team for Together We Elect. His book, The Hard Work of Hope, has met critical acclaim since its release in July 2025.
Grace Sanford is a student at Northeastern University, former MAPA intern and member of the Board of Massachusetts Peace Action.
Sam Levine is a student at Emerson College and a recent intern at Massachusetts Peace Action.

Massachusetts Peace Action, October 10th, 7 to 9 pm 1991 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge MA

Burlington Bastion of Democracy
2025-10-11 05:00 - 19:00 | 1000 District Avenue Burlington, MA 01803 United States, 1000 District Avenue, Burlington, 01803, United States
Via Mass 50501:
We are a Bastion of Democracy!
The constitution is as powerful as the number of voices willing to speak out to uphold it.
Join us on Saturday, October 11th for a peaceful standout from 5am-7pm in front of the Burlington ICE facility.
On October 11th, Americans from all walks of life will come together in Burlington to stand in joy, resolution, and solidarity outside the Burlington ICE facility to support and defend the constitution of the United States. We will start gathering at 5am and we will remain until 7pm. Some courageous attendees will be there the whole time, and many more will come and go as they are able.
Each attendee will have the option to recite the civil servant oath of office as a form of dedication to their personal role in this standout. Come with your songs, your spirit, and your unbending will to speak out on behalf of our constitution. Together we will be an unshakeable voice saying in unison that we will not abandon our shared ideals. Together we will be a bastion of democracy.
We ride at dawn!
Join Mass 50501 and their coalition partners in a peaceful standout. Bring water, snacks, a chair if you’d like one, and anything else you may need to stand outside for an extended period of time. Bring your signs to “Support and Defend the Constitution”, and bring signs citing your favorite parts of the constitution itself. Come to meet other honorable and dedicated Americans in this demonstration of resilience and resolution.
