Massachusetts Peace Action

To Win Our Survival: Building the Next Era of our Movements
2025-04-16 19:00 - 20:30 (America/New_York) | Online Event
In this interactive workshop, facilitators Daisy Carter and Rebecca Harris from The Climate Mobilization Project will invite participants to reflect on the moment we’re in, and where movements for peace and climate justice can go from here. Building on Climate Mobilization Project’s work with food sovereignty, mutual aid, climate justice and anti-war groups in Kentucky and Virginia, we will share tools for participants to explore their role in supporting survival programs that expand access to climate disaster preparedness, food, care, and more while growing movements for climate, economic, and racial justice.
Survival programs are a bold new approach to growing movements that have enough people power to fight back.Groups across the U.S. have come together to build a mass grassroots movement with the power and resources to win our survival. We are growing this movement by organizing people into grassroots projects that grow a regenerative economy and culture; expand food, energy, water, and land access and sovereignty; and fight back together against the systems that threaten our lives and communities.

Daisy Carter (she/they) is a New Orleans native, queer multi-disciplinary artist, yogi and climate justice organizer working at the intersections of mutual aid, disaster resiliency, African-American herbalism, and grassroots organizing. Daisy is inspired by the black radical movements of the so-called U.S and African diaspora, reimagining what healing + self-determination look like for frontline, BIPOC (black, brown, and people of color) communities who are most vulnerable to climate disaster. For the past few years, they have been organizing around mutual aid, environmental + climate justice, and building BIPOC and marginalized leadership throughout Kentucky. In 2021, they founded Rise and Shine, a community-led mutual aid organization building power and solidarity with low-income, BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and other marginalized communities in Bowling Green, Kentucky and beyond. She has also led numerous political campaigns, direct actions, and led outreach + communications strategy for organizations such as The Sierra Club, Kentuckians for the Commonwealth, and the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for a Moral Revival. At the Climate Mobilization, she is supporting programming, the development of the Movement Incubation Program, and the creation of climate survival projects.
Rebecca Harris (she/her) is Resource Organizing Director and Co-Leader at Climate Mobilization Project. She first began organizing at age 16 during the movement to end the U.S. wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. After years of organizing for economic justice and housing rights, she joined Climate Mobilization Project as Organizing Director, a role in which she coached dozens of local climate groups, launched the campaign for a national Climate Emergency Declaration, and supported the organization in its increasing focus on racial and economic justice and anti-militarism. Rebecca previously worked as a journalist covering equity in Chicago public schools and as the Development and Communications Manager at Latino Union of Chicago, an immigrants’ and workers’ rights organization. She is a 2017 graduate of the Reframe Mentorship in strategic communications.

Register to attend.

What Happened to "First, Do No Harm"?
2025-04-15 12:00 - 13:00 | Francis St & Huntington Ave, Francis St & Huntington Ave, Boston, MA, 02115

Music for Peace: Athena's Oboe
2025-04-12 19:30 - 21:30 | Harvard-Epworth Methodist Church, 1555 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA, United States
For our Spring concert this April, we honor the Greek Goddess of Wisdom and the mythical inventor of the oboe with the program “Athena’s Oboe.” Join us as we revisit classical works as well as sample neo-classical ones. Delight in the virtuoso music of Mozart and Beethoven. Revel in the humor and rhapsody of Grazyna Bacewicz. Call forth Spring with Athena’s oboe!
Violinist Jean Bäverstam, violinist/violist Amy Galluzzo, and cellist Sam Ou are critically acclaimed artists who are known for their “riveting,” “nuanced,” “fiery,” and “meltingly melodic outpourings” that have left audiences “speechless.”
Amanda Hardy’s gorgeous oboe sounds are familiar to Boston Symphony Orchestra audiences. She is a frequent guest principal oboist with the BSO and is principal oboist with the Portland Maine Symphony Orchestra.
Program
Beethoven String Trio in G major, op. 9 no. 1
Bacewicz Oboe Trio
Mozart Duo no. 2 in Bb major for Violin and Viola
Mozart Oboe Quartet
The concert will be held at Harvard-Epworth Methodist Church, 1555 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge 02138, near Harvard Law School.
Benefits Massachusetts Peace Action Education Fund. $25 for Mass. Peace Action members, $10 for students and low incomes.
To reserve, write a check to “Massachusetts Peace Action Education Fund” or “MAPA EF” and mail to MAPA EF, 1991 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA 02140, or call 617-354-2169 with credit card number. Or reserve your tickets online.
Donations to support our work for peace are welcome in any amount. Supporters donate $250 or more to Massachusetts Peace Action Education Fund; they receive two tickets with preferred seating in the first 3 rows and recognition in the program. Sponsors donate $500 and receive four tickets; Benefactors donate $1,000 and receive eight tickets. All contributions above $25 per concert are tax-deductible.
The audience is invited to join the musicians and Peace Action members at a reception after the concert. The venue is wheelchair accessible via the entrance on the right as you face the church.
Amanda Hardy joined the Portland (Maine) Symphony Orchestra as principal oboe in November 2013 where she occupies the Clinton Graffam Chair. An in-demand artist in New England and beyond, Amanda is a frequent performer with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Boston Pops, with whom she has both toured internationally and recorded. Amanda recently joined the faculty at Boston University as Lecturer in Oboe, is Assistant Professor of Oboe at the Boston Conservatory at Berklee, and is on the faculty of New England Conservatory Preparatory School. She holds a Bachelor of Music in oboe with a piano minor from Drake University and a Master of Music and Graduate Diploma from NEC. Previous festivals include the Masterworks Festival, the Chelsea Music Festival, the Aspen Music Festival and School, and Tanglewood Music Center in 2010 and 2011 where she was awarded the Mickey L. Hooten Memorial Award both summers. Her solo work can be heard on, Dancing with J.S. Bach (2019), on the Chelsea Music Festival Live label. Her teachers include John Ferrillo, Marilyn Zupnik, Anne Gabriele, and Jay Light; summer studies with Elaine Douvas and Richard Woodhams.
Demonstrating “superior leading” (Boston Musical Intelligencer), Taiwanese violinist Jean Huang Bäverstam‘s active performing career has brought her to concert halls internationally and have impacted listeners throughout the United States. “(I was) left speechless after having the chance to watch and listen to Jean Huang close up” is how WBUR-FM described her performance. Huang holds a Doctoral of Musical Arts degree in Violin Performance with honors from the New England Conservatory with the Doctoral thesis topic “A Performative Analysis and the Critical Edition: Francis Poulenc Violin Sonata”. Huang maintains a private studio in Boston, with students ranging from six years old to adults. She also teaches violin at the NEC School of Continuing Education and Preparatory School.
An active performer, Jean serves as the Concertmaster of both Phoenix Orchestra in Boston and Cape Cod Chamber Orchestra and has received recognition from local prominent newspapers and music critics. Jean’s recent concerto appearances include a sold-out performance of Vaughan William’s Lark Ascending with the CCCO, and Mozart’s Violin Concerto No.5 with the Music for Peace Orchestra under the direction of Victor Rosenbaum. A consummate artist, Jean delves into all aspects of her field. In the summer of 2013, she designed and created her own violin which was based on a Guarnerius model. Her other affiliations include Miclot Chamber Players, Vangarde Orchestra, Anastasia String Quartet, and Trio Flamecrest.
Praised for her “nuanced Mozartian phrasing” and her “delicacy and, when needed, force” (Boston Musical Intelligencer), violinist and violist, Amy Galluzzo enjoys an active career as both a chamber musician and soloist. For many years, Amy was a member of the Carpe Diem String Quartet, touring around the United States and internationally, performing a wide range of repertoire. Amy has performed at several prestigious summer festivals, including the Tanglewood Music Festival, Chelsea Music Festival, Taos, and Sarasota Music Festival, and has collaborated with artists such as Masuko Ushioda, John Ferrillo, James Buswell and Carol Ou. More unusual collaborations include Yihan Chen, pipa, Scott McConnell, steel pan, and Dariush Saghafi, santoor.
Amy Galluzzo began her violin studies in Great Britain and went on to study with Dona Lee Croft, a professor at the Royal College of Music, London. Amy received her Bachelor of Music and Master of Music with Honors, and a Graduate Diploma from the New England Conservatory in Boston, where she studied with Marylou Speaker Churchill and James Buswell. She is currently a candidate for the degree of PhD from the Steinhardt School, New York University. Amy teaches through the New England Conservatory Preparatory School and Continuing Education department.

Praised for his “impassioned performance” (Boston Globe) and playing “with remarkable ease and clarity, while maintaining a graceful—if vociferous—line that fit well into the narrative” (The Boston Musical Intelligencer), cellist Sam Ou enjoys an active musical life in the Greater Boston area. Mr. Ou gave the world premiere performance of Larry Bell’s Cello Concerto: The Triumph of Lightness with the Boston Civic Symphony at New England Conservatory of Music’s Jordan Hall (NEC). In March of this year, he performed Yehudi Wyner’s Cello Concerto: Prologue and Narrative with the New England Philharmonic to celebrate the Pulitzer prize-winning composer’s 95th birthday.
An avid chamber musician, Mr. Ou has collaborated and performed with the Borromeo String Quartet, James Buswell, Lucy Chapman, Hung-Kuan Chen, Pi-Hsien Chen, James Dunham, Thomas Hill, Patricia McCarty, Paul Neubauer, Heiichiro Ohyama, Lois Shapiro, Marcus Thompson, and Yehudi Wyner. As one-half of the Formosa Duo, he performs regularly with pianist Chi-Chen Wu.
Mr. Ou became the new assistant professor of cello and music theory at Kutztown University in Pennsylvania starting in the fall of 2024. For the past two decades, he has been a faculty member at NEC’s Preparatory School and School of Continuing Education, where he also served as assistant string chair.

Tesla Tax Day Takedown
2025-04-12 12:00 - 14:00 | Boston Tesla Showroom, 888 Boylston St (Prudential Center), Boston, MA, 02115
Join us to deliver a tax day message to MAKE TESLA PAY!
A peacefully rally and protest organized by Tesla Takedown and the A&R Just Budget and Tax Coalition.
Register to attend.

NO cuts to vital social programs!
US House Republicans have proposed $1.5 trillion in cuts to Medicaid, SNAP, Veterans’ Healthcare, and other social programs to pay for tax cuts for the rich.
Meanwhile, Elon Musk has begun slashing 50% of government workers while taking a chainsaw to Social Security, Medicaid, and Medicare.
NO tax cuts for billionaires and their corporations!
Tesla paid NO federal income tax in 2022 and 2024. Tesla paid only $48 million on $10.8 billion in income over three years – just 0.4%! Tesla and SpaceX also received $38 billion in government contracts, loans, and tax credits over the past 20 years.
Between 2014 and 2018, Elon Musk personnal paid only 3.27% total in income taxes and NO federal taxes in 2018!
Tesla is not alone. 23 corporations paid ZERO federal taxes! Make giant corporations and billionaires pay their fair share!
DON’T BUY TESLAS! SELL YOUR CARS! JOIN THE MOVEMENT!
Register to attend.

Tesla Takedown is a peaceful protest movement. We oppose violence, vandalism and destruction of property. This protest is a lawful exercise of our First Amendment right to peaceful assembly.
#TeslaTakedown #BoycottTesla

"Deadly Betrayal: The Truth about why the US Invaded Iraq" with Dennis Fritz and Lawrence Wilkerson
2025-04-11 18:00 - 20:00
Former Air Force command chief master sergeant Dennis Fritz and Colonel (ret.) Lawrence Wilkerson will be speaking at the Community Church of Boston at 6:00pm on Friday, April 11 about chief Fritz’ book Deadly Betrayal: The Truth About Why The US Invaded Iraq. This book provides important context for current events happening in West Asia/Middle East.
Following their talk and Q&A discussion (from 6:00pm – 7:30pm), copies of Deadly Betrayal will be available for purchase and signing from 7:30pm – 8:00pm.

NOTE: Since we are purchasing copies of the book in advance, if you would like to purchase a copy, please let me know, so we know how many copies to order.

The event is both in-person (565 Boylston St. Boston, MA 02116, 2nd floor) or on Zoom. Register and select the option you like! The event is sponsored by Community Church of Boston and Massachusetts Peace Action. Thank you and we hope to see you there.
Parking is available at the Back Bay Garage, with entrances at 85 St. James Ave. and 199 Clarendon St. Community Church of Boston can validate so parking is only $8!

About the book:

Based on dramatic first-hand evidence, Deadly Betrayal uncovers why and how a cabal of Pentagon Advisors in the George W. Bush Administration created a fabricated justification to attack Iraq.
The book provides a detailed insider account of how a Pentagon cabal strategized to manipulate intelligence, pressure the United Nations, force a Congressional authorization for the use of force through political threats, and scare the American people after 9/11 into supporting an attack on Iraq.
Authored by a Pentagon insider and senior enlisted leader of nearly three decades standing, Command Chief Master Sergeant, Retired, Dennis Fritz worked directly for and advised some of the most senior General Officers in the Department of Defense. They included General Richard B. Myers, who served as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the height of the Iraq War. After military retirement, Fritz found himself inside Donald Rumsfeld’s Pentagon working for Douglas Feith, the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy and key architect of the case for war. He was detailed to the Pentagon as a contracted Research Fellow and Analyst on a special project to gather and review all Iraqi Pre-War Planning Documents for declassification. His access to thousands of personal handwritten notes, documents, and Pentagon’s internal conversations, has allowed him to tell the real story of why America invaded Iraq.
“This book is an actual act of service. It will help many people, including veterans, connect the dots to explain this century’s American wars and give them further permission to ask tough and uncomfortable questions.”
—Matthew Hoh, former Marine Corps officer and Iraq War veteran who resigned his State Department position in Afghanistan over that war’s 2009 escalation.
“I have known Dennis Fritz for three decades and served with him for many of those years. As my senior enlisted advisor in several commands, I benefited from his sound counsel. While I do not agree with some of his conclusions in this book . . . I respect Dennis and was always proud to serve alongside him.”
—General Richard Myers, Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
“Sooner rather than later, in my view, historians will write the complete and accurate history of these disastrous wars from start to finish, and sordid will it be. Alas, however, as with most history that is as accurate as humans can make it, those guilty of the crimes and ravages it inevitably encompasses, will have escaped all but a divine providence’s justice. This book at least will perhaps disturb their present comfort. It does mine.”
—From the Foreword by Larry Wilkerson, former Chief of Staff to Secretary of State Colin Powell

Current Realities and Prospects for Palestine-Israel
2025-04-08 19:30 - 21:00 | First Parish Cambridge (Meeting House), 1446 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, 02138
Featuring Palestinian Human Rights Activist ISSA AMRO in discussion with PETER BEINART
Suggested donation at the door of $20 for Youth Against Settlements in Hebron
Issa Amro is a human rights defender based in Hebron city, West Bank. The co-founder of the direct action group Youth Against Settlements and the executive director of Working for Peace and Justice: Friends of Hebron, Amro is popularly referred to as the ‘Palestinian Gandhi. He has been widely recognized for his work encouraging peaceful resistance against the Israeli occupation for which he has been imprisoned scores of times. From 2016-2021 he was on trial in Israeli military court on 18 charges deemed ‘baseless’ by Amnesty International. In 2024 Amro and Youth Against Settlements received the Right Livelihood Award, known as the ‘alternative Nobel Prize.’ He has been nominated for the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize.
Peter Beinart is professor of journalism and political science at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism in the City University of New York, editor-at-large of Jewish Currents and a contributing opinion writer at The New York Times. He is also a nonresident fellow at the Foundation for Middle East Peace. His books include The Crisis of Zionism and Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza – a Reckoning. (Copies will be available).
Sponsored by the Alliance for Water Justice in Palestine
Co-sponsored by 1for3.org, Alliance for a Secular & Democratic South Asia, Boston Workers Circle, Ceasefire MV/Islanders for Palestine, Community Encampments for Palestine, Gralta Foundation, HRA:PI/CD3, Lexington for Palestine, Jewish Voice for Peace – Boston, Massachusetts Peace Action, National Lawyers Guild- MA Chapter, Northshore for Palestine, Olive Branch for Fair Trade Inc., Palestinian House of New England, Peace & Common Security Working Group of Watertown Citizens, Peace & Justice Committee of Friends Meeting, Sawa, UUME- MA.

Challenge Smokescreen Antisemitism at Commission Hearing
2025-04-07 13:00 - 17:00 | Newton City Hall, 1000 Commonwealth Ave, Newton, MA, 02459, United States
The sixth meeting of Massachusetts’ Special Commission on Combatting Antisemitism is scheduled for April 7th @ 1pm in Newton City Hall and will be available to watch livestreamed here. This is the first time the commission is hearing public comment and they need to hear your voice!
Register to Give Public Comment to the Commission April 7th
We strongly encourage allies to sign up to give public comment in person (or provide testimony in writing):

In-person testimony: to give public comment you must register directly with the Commission here by the deadline on April 2nd @ 5pm. There is a hard 3-minute time limit per speaker. A panel of speakers will be limited to 6 minutes (per panel, not per speaker).
Written testimony: submit to SCCA@malegislature.gov.
Share a copy of your testimony with your state senator and state representative.
TIM is tracking the Commission’s gatekeeping of viewpoints aligned with our coalition. Please help by forwarding your testimony to us at inclusivemassachusetts@proton.me.

Need guidance on what to include in your testimony? TIM drafted this tip sheet including topics the Commission is required to address as well as sample talking points.
The hearing will also feature two presentations**:

Eric Olshan, Former U.S. Attorney, Western District of Pennsylvania, lead prosecutor in U.S. v. Robert Bowers (Tree of Life Synagogue Case)
Ariella Hellman, Director of Government Affairs Agudath Israel of America, New England Office. (Agudath Israel published an op-ed in the Boston Globe defending Columbia University’s capitulation to the Trump administration’s demands)

**bookmark the Commission’s hearing page for late additions to the agenda
Register to Give Public Comment to the Commission April 7th

Understanding Palestine and Israel
2025-04-06 14:00 - 16:00 | St. James Episcopal Church, 1991 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA, 02140
How the Gaza conflict spilled over to affect the U.S. election and the rights of its citizens
A Book Talk with Phyllis Bennis in Conversation with Rami Khouri
Register to attend.

Join us for a discussion with Phyllis Bennis, activist, political analyst, and author of the recently published Understanding Palestine and Israel. Rami Khouri, Palestinian-American academic and journalist with over 50 years of experience reporting in the Middle East, will serve as moderator.
As the war in Gaza continues amidst a fragile ceasefire agreement, the struggle and call for justice in Palestine persists with many searching for truth and clarity. In Understanding Palestine and Israel, with a foreword by Palestinian analyst Omar Baddar, Phyllis Bennis answers key questions regarding the history and the current situation of the war between Israel and Palestine, addressing events prior to October 7, 2023, through Israel’s genocidal war and the aftermath of Donald Trump’s 2024 re-election.
From freedom of speech, the 2024 election, to your tax dollars, Bennis and Khouri will unpack historical perspectives, their experiences, and the impact the Palestine-Israel conflict has on Americans and the world today.
The event will conclude with a book signing. Books will be available for purchase ($20) and are currently available to preorder through the registration link.
Phyllis Bennis is a fellow at the Institute for Policy studies, serving as co-director of the New Internationalism Project, and writes and speaks widely on U.S. wars and foreign policy, authoring numerous books. She is also an international advisor to Jewish Voice for Peace and an activist in national and global movements supporting Palestinian rights. Bennis has been twice short-listed to become the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
Rami G. Khouri is a Palestinian-American academic and journalist whose family resides in Beirut, Amman, and Nazareth. He is Distinguished Public Policy Fellow at the American University of Beirut and Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Arab Center Washington, D.C. During his 50-year career in journalism across the Middle East he was Editor of the Jordan Times and the Daily Star (Beirut) newspapers, and contributed reporting and opinion pieces from the Middle East to the Financial Times, NPR, BBC radio, and other outlets.
Register to attend.

Cosponsored by Alliance for Water Justice in Palestine, Community Church of Boston, Jewish Voice for Peace Boston, and Watertown Citizens for Peace Justice and Environment
Other Talks by Phyllis Bennis:
Friday, April 4 at 6 pm: Lenox Community Centre, 65 Walker St, Lenox, MA 01240.
Saturday, April 5 at 4:00 pm: Possible Futures, 318 Edgewood Ave, New Haven, CT 06511. Sponsored by JVP New Haven and Mending Minyan.
Monday, April 7 at 6:00 pm: Event organized by Traprock Communication at All Souls Unitarian-Universalist Church, 399 Main Street, Greenfield, MA.
Tuesday, April 8 at 7:00 pm: UMass Amherst, Thompson 106 (near parking garage). Sponsored by SJP, FJP, JVP, Interlink etc … Phyllis Bennis in conversation with Michel Moushabeck. RSVP.
Wednesday, April 9 at 7:00 pm: Event organized by Southern Vermont for Palestine in Brattleboro, VT.

What About Gaza?
2025-04-04 18:00 - 20:00 | Lenox Community Center, 65 Walker St, Lenox, MA, 01240
Justice Democracy International Law & Freedom in America
Understanding Palestine and Israel: Discussion and book signing with author Phyllis Bennis
Register to attend.

Join us for a discussion with respected political analyst and author Phyllis Bennis. Her new book, Understanding Palestine and Israel, answers important questions including perspectives often missing from corporate media: history that shaped the area, events leading up to the current crisis and how this has affected international law, human rights, the recent American elections, and the erosion of democracy.
Tickets are free, but please register to reserve a seat.
Phyllis Bennis is a fellow of the Institute for Policy Studies where she co-directs the New Internationalism Project. She has written numerous books on Palestine, foreign policy, and the UN. She serves as an international advisor to Jewish Voice for Peace, and has been shortlisted twice to become the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
Other talks by Phyllis Bennis:
Saturday, April 5 at 4:00 pm: Possible Futures, 318 Edgewood Ave, New Haven, CT 06511. Sponsored by JVP New Haven and Mending Minyan.
Sunday, April 6 at 2:00 pm: Massachusetts Peace Action. Venue: 1991 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA 02140.
Monday, April 7 at 6:00 pm: Event organized by Traprock Communication at All Souls Unitarian-Universalist Church, 399 Main Street, Greenfield, MA.
Tuesday, April 8 at 7:00 pm: UMass Amherst, Thompson 106 (near parking garage). Sponsored by SJP, FJP, JVP, Interlink etc … Phyllis Bennis in conversation with Michel Moushabeck. RSVP.
Wednesday, April 9 at 7:00 pm: Event organized by Southern Vermont for Palestine in Brattleboro, VT.

Ceasefire NOW Grassroots Lobby Days Training
2025-04-02 19:30 - 2025-04-03 19:30 | Online Event
MAPA is coordinating the Massachusetts delegation for the Ceasefire NOW Grassroots Advocacy Days in Washington, DC. We will be lobbying in-person on Capitol Hill on April 8th, 9th, and 10th, demanding our members of Congress advocate for peace and justice in Palestine and support important legislation, including an enduring ceasefire, cutting U.S. weapons sales to Israel, and restoring funding for UNRWA. Prior lobbying experience is not required.
For those interested in attending lobby days, please register through the national Peace Action link here.

Then, fill out MAPA’s logistics questionnaire.
Once you have registered to lobby, sign-up for ONLY ONE of the training sessions below, which will both be held at 7:30 pm EST.
Ceasefire NOW Advocacy training session, Wednesday, April 2nd – REGISTER HERE
Ceasefire NOW Advocacy training session, Thursday, April 3rd – REGISTER HERE

What is the Boston Regional Intelligence Center?
2025-04-02 18:30 - 20:30 | Farnsworth House, 90 South St, Jamaica Plain, MA, 02130
Jamaica Plain Progressives will organize a Q&A session with three members of the Boston City Council on April 2nd at 6:30pm in Jamaica Plain where we will seek to understand more about the Boston Regional Intelligence Center (BRIC).
BRIC is a fusion center that includes collaboration with federal agencies like the FBI, DHS, as well as several municipalities in the greater Boston area. We know from public records request the BRIC has been tracking members of the Palestinian solidarity movement. This is also where local police share data with ICE for general enforcement efforts against the immigrant community.
The cities that participate in this fusion center include Brookline, Boston, Cambridge, Chelsea, Everett, Quincy, Revere, Somerville, and Winthrop.
Every year, local government has to approve grants from municipal police agencies which is a way to push back against funding for the BRIC. This Q&A session will feature Boston City Councilor At Large Henry Santana who is also the Chair of the Public Safety Committee, district 6 City Councilor Ben Weber, and City Councilor At-Large Julia Mejia to answer our questions about the BRIC.
This event might be a useful event for members of your community to understand the type of surveillance that may be taking place of residents.

Here is info about the event: What is the BRIC?
When: April 2, 2025 at 6:30pm
Where: Farnsworth House, 90 South Street
Registration: https://mobilize.us/s/WyCRaF
There was a hearing in Boston City Hall last week that you can watch at the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5S39n4wkRIg
Here is information from the ACLU MA and MJL that is somewhat outdated but still relevant:
– ACLU Breaking up with the BRIC
– MJL Get the BRIC out of Boston

No More Arms to Israel! Free Rumeysa Ozturk!
2025-04-02 12:00 - 13:30 | JFK Federal Building, Cambridge St at Sudbury St, Boston, MA, 02108, United States
The Senate will vote on Sen. Bernie Sanders’ resolution of disapproval of $8.8 billion of bombs which President Trump plans to send to Israel.
Israel broke the ceasefire on March 18 and has since killed over 800 Palestinian civilians in Gaza.
Hooded ICE agents captured Tufts graduate student Rumeysa Ozturk on a Somerville street last week. Her only offense was writing an article calling for divestment of university funds.
Join us at the JFK Federal Building Wednesday to speak to Senator Markey and Warren’s representatives. We will read letters signed by Massachusetts organizations and individuals.

Sign up to attend!
Organizations can sign a letter to oppose US arms to Israel. Individuals, sign here.

Divesting from Israel's Genocide
2025-04-01 19:00 - 20:00 | Online Event
Register to attend.

Join us on April 1 to learn about:
1. The specific weapons that Israel is employing to maintain its apartheid system and for its assault on Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon and Syria.
2. The military contractors who produce and provide these weapons to Israel – especially those here in Massachusetts.
3. How divestment campaigns work and how they can function to push for an end to U.S. war aid to Israel.
4. The Bill in the Massachusetts Legislature (H.D.3630) to divest the Mass. State Pension Plan from companies selling weapons to Israel and Mass. Peace Action’s divestment campaign focused on pressuring the Mass. State Pension Fund and Massachusetts Universities to divest their holding in companies that provide these weapons to Israel.
Noam Perry is AFSC’s Economic Activism associate and one of the creators of Investigate, AFSC’s project that aims to expose corporate involvement in oppressive state violence structures and to promote standards for corporate social responsibility and respect for human rights. Its research efforts focus on corporations involved in incarceration and immigrant detention, the Israeli occupation, and the border industries. These are AFSC program focus areas, where there is an identified lack of available resources, coupled with explicit requests for such resources from the movements we work with. The Investigate project reaches out to the responsible investment community, to community activists, and to interfaith partners with information and tools for corporate engagement, corporate accountability, and divestment initiatives, to support the building of wide movements that can influence, limit, and monitor corporate abuse.
Register to attend.

No Arms to Israel! Power Hour
2025-03-31 12:00 - 13:00 | Online, MA, United States
NIAC (National Iranian American Council), Peace Action and hopefully other organizations will host an Action Hour/Power Hour to rally support for Senator Sanders’ Joint Resolutions of Disapproval (JRDs) to stop $8.8 billion in new US weapons transfers to Israel. We’ll have a brief description of the JRDs, then get on the phone to call our US Senators. Please plan to join us and invite others.
Background:
Sen. Sanders announced that he will force a vote on two Joint Resolutions of Disapproval against specific weapons transfers to Israel, probably April 2-4.

“Next week, the Senate will vote on two Joint Resolutions of Disapproval (S.J.Res.26 and S.J.Res.33) to block $8.8 billion of weapons to Israel, including:
* 35,529 MK 84 or BLU-117 General Purpose bomb bodies; and 4,000 I-2000 Penetrator warheads (all are varieties of 2,000-pound bombs), valued at $2.04 billion.
* 2,166 GBU–39/B Small Diameter Bombs (SDBs); 2,800 MK 82 General Purpose 500-pound bombs; 17,479 Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) Guidance Kits; and 17,475 FMU–152 A/B bomb fuzes
These weapons have all been used by Israel to commit apparent war crimes against Palestinians in Gaza. With Israel having broken the ceasefire on March 17 by unleashing massive genocidal violence which has killed nearly 800 Palestinians since then, it’s more important than ever to ensure that we block weapons deliveries to Israel.

Please join us, and if you can’t, call your senators at 202.224.3121.

Art & Activism: Stickers for Solidarity with Palestine
2025-03-30 14:00 - 16:00 | St. James Episcopal Church, 1991 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA, 02140
Join us for a creative and educational workshop where we’ll make stickers and explore the history of art as a tool of resistance in Palestine. Learn how Palestinian artists have used their work to fight oppression, preserve culture, and inspire solidarity. All supplies will be provided—just bring your creativity and commitment to justice!

RSVP here!

Land Day
2025-03-30 12:00 - 15:00 | Roxbury Crossing, 1400 Tremont St, Boston, MA, 02120

Peace Prize Women Strive for Peace & Justice
2025-03-29 11:30 | Jamaica Plain Branch of the Boston Public Library, 30 South St, Jamaica Plain, MA, 02130, United States
What can we learn from them in these turbulent times?: Emily Greene Balch (1867-1961) and Jane Addams (1860-1935)
Brilliant Emily Greene Balch (EGB) grew up in Jamaica Plain, helped to establish a settlement house in Boston, and taught pioneering social economics at Wellesley College for 22 years. She went to work for WILPF in Europe using her multiple language, analytical, and writing skills which the charismatic, also brilliant, Jane Addams depended on. Both were prolific writers and worked HARD all their lives to stop and prevent wars. They also had balance in their lives.
This event covers what these women, particularly EGB, offered the world…and how it could be utilized today.

Program:
10:45am – Introductions

11am – Catia Confortini, Professor of Peace & Justice Studies, Wellesley College – “Race and Imperialism in the Work of Emily Greene Balch”

11:45am – Video-1995 Emily Greene Balch Commemoration, Wellesley College
12:30pm – Gloria McMillan, Videographer and editor (Children of Steel)

Register to attend.

Cosponsored by JP Historical Society, Massachusetts Peace Action, Boston Women’s Heritage Trail, Wellesley College Peace & Justice Studies, Peace & Justice Committee of Cambridge Friends Meeting.

Stand with Rumeysa Ozturk
2025-03-26 17:30 - 18:30 | Powder House Square, 850 Broadway, Somerville, MA, 02144
On March 25th PhD Tufts grad worker Rumeysa Ozturk, a Fulbright scholar, was ambushed by ICE agents on her way to an Iftar dinner with friends after leaving her apartment. Rumeysa was likely targeted after being recently doxxed by Canary Mission. Neighbors report that unmarked cars were surveilling the location for two days before grabbing her on the street. We do not yet know where she is detained.
This marks the first known abduction and disappearance of student activist in Boston and Massachusetts, but ICE has been abducting our community members increasingly over the last 2 months. We must stand together against the deportation machine.
As the Zionist regime continues its genocide on Gaza, murdering nearly 1,000 people in the last week and disappearing nearly 10,000 Palestinians, the Trump administration has shown that it will keep following suit by detaining students without cause.
We must show that our communities will not back down to the Trump administration abducting our students, deporting our neighbors and eroding our constitutional rights to resist the genocide in Gaza, in which the Trump administration itself bears direct complicity.
JOIN US IN THE STREETS: STAND UP FIGHT BACK!

A New Generation of Nuclear Lies: Small Modular Reactors and Nuclear Plant Reopenings/ Relicensing
2025-03-24 19:30 - 20:45 | Online Event
Register to attend.

Bring your questions to Professor M.V. Ramana, author of Nuclear is not the Solution: The Folly of Atomic Power in the Age of Climate Change (2024) and Paul Gunter, spokesman on nuclear reactor hazards and security concerns for Beyond Nuclear. They will explore the industry and government’s arguments for nuclear power as reliable “green” energy while heavily subsidizing a nuclear power comeback at the taxpayers’ expense. Would the rebound of nuclear power be an environmental disaster at the expense of truly renewable sources of energy that are available to us today? Linda Pentz Gunter of Beyond Nuclear will moderate.
M.V. Ramana is the Simons Chair in Disarmament, Global and Human Security and Professor at the School of Public Policy and Global Affairs, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. Ramana is the author of “The Power of Promise: Examining Nuclear Energy in India” (Penguin Books, 2012), co?editor of “Prisoners of the Nuclear Dream” (Orient Longman, 2003) and the author of “Nuclear is not the Solution: The Folly of Atomic Power in the Age of Climate Change” (Verso books, 2024). He is a member of the International Panel on Fissile Materials (IPFM), the International Nuclear Risk Assessment Group (INRAG), the Canadian Pugwash Group, and the team that produces the annual World Nuclear Industry Status Report. He is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and a Leo Szilard Award from the American Physical Society.
Paul Gunter is a longtime environmental activist, energy policy analyst and spokesperson with Beyond Nuclear on nuclear reactor hazards and security. He serves as Beyond Nuclear’s regulatory watchdog on the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the commercial nuclear power industry. He is a 2008 recipient of the Jane Bagley Lehman Award from the Tides Foundation for environmental activism on the nuclear power and climate change issue. He has widely appeared in print and electronic media including Amy Goodman’s “Democracy Now.” He was a cofounder of the antinuclear Clamshell Alliance in 1976 to oppose the construction of the Seabrook (NH) nuclear power plant through public education, mobilization and non violent direct action that helped launch the U.S. antinuclear movement. Prior to joining Beyond Nuclear he served for 16 years as the Director of the Reactor Watchdog Project for Nuclear Information and Resource Service in Washington, DC.

Sponsored by MAPA and Peace Action Maine. Cosponsored by Beyond Nuclear, Clamshell Alliance, Veterans for Peace national, VFP Golden Rule project, Nuclear Energy Information Service, Nuclear Information and Resource Service, Citizens Awareness Network, Cape Downwinders, Pax Christi MA, United American Indians of New England, North American Indian Center of Boston, Winona LaDuke, Tara Houska, Diné No Nukes, Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safely, No TMI Restart, Dorchester People for Peace, New Hampshire Peace Action, New Jersey Peace Action, Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, Massachusetts State Warheads to Windmills, MA Catholics for Indigenous Rights.

Pro-Palestinian Activism: The Road Ahead Amid Political Upheaval
2025-03-23 13:30 - 15:00 | Online Event
You are invited to register for this powerful and timely webinar with co-presenters Rabbi Alissa Wise and Huwaida Arraf.
Rabbi Alissa Wise is a community organizer, educator, organizational consultant, and ritual leader with over two decades of movement-building experience. She is the Lead Organizer of Rabbis for Ceasefire which she founded in October 2023. She is co-author of Solidarity is the Political Version of Love: Lessons from Jewish Anti-Zionist Organizing (Haymarket, 2024). You may read more about her here: https://rabbiwise.org/about-me/
Huwaida Arraf is a Palestinian American activist and lawyer who co-founded the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), a Palestinian-led organization using non-violent protests and international pressure to support Palestinians. You may read more about her here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huwaida_Arraf
Register to attend.

Cosponsored by Center for Nonviolent Solutions and Massachusetts Peace Action.

Religious Leaders Respond to Injustices in Palestine
2025-03-22 14:30 - 16:00 | Church of the Good Shepherd, 9 Russell Ave., Watertown, MA, United States

World Water Day: Protest Israel's Attacks on Palestine's Resources
2025-03-22 13:00 - 14:00 | Downtown Crossing, Boston, MA, United States

Let This Radicalize You: MAPA Winter Common Read
2025-03-20 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom Online Meeting
The Common Read is a great fit for MAPA members and our interns, past and present. It is especially valuable to young organizers and instructive for all of us.
Authors Kelly Hayes and Mariame Kaba each have decades of organizing experience and they maintain that ORGANIZING IS THE ANTIDOTE TO DESPAIR. Historian Robin D. G. Kelley says about the book- “Hayes and Kaba have turned decades of collective wisdom and experience into the text we desperately need right now.”
Each of the book’s ten chapters shares examples of the nuts and bolts of grassroots organizing, where “finding common ground with a broad spectrum of people” is the goal. Chapter eight is titled “Hope and Grief can Co-exist”. The authors’ discussion of the importance of listening skills and patience (along with Paulo Freire’s approach to political education) will resonate with many of us who have been in meetings where we find ourselves working hard to maintain relationships while navigating differences. Here are Hayes and Kaba on BUILDING A MOVEMENT THE SIZE OF THE ONE WE NEED: “it’s not as simple as handing newcomers a new set of politics and telling them, “Yours are bad, use these instead.”
The first of five 90 minute sessions will be held on Thursday, January 23, 7 to 8:30 PM, covering the book through chapter two Remaining meetings will continue on Thursday evenings- February 6 and 20 and March 6 and 20, and all will be on Zoom. Completing the book on the first day of Spring, we’ll move forward with new knowledge and tools to resist the abandonment of our communities by corporations and government and to oppose the U.S. war machine at every turn.
You can get the book in paperback, ebook or hardcover for 40% off from Haymarket Books – copy this link in your browser to see the options: https://www.haymarketbooks.org/books/1922-let-this-radicalize-you . FYI, there’s a workbook which we have saved as a PDF to be printed or viewed digitally, and other resources to access.
Sponsored by Massachusetts Peace Action Education Fund. Register to attend.

The Racket, with Matt Kennard (a WIRN webinar)
2025-03-19 16:00 - 17:00 | Online Event
Unfortunately, Matt Kennard has told us he must reschedule his webinar with us. We’ll make arrangements with him asap and let you know when he’ll be with us.
But, in the meantime… We have an alternative webinar for you tomorrow. WIRN activists Ken Jones and Melody Shank recently returned from a 2-week trip to Hebron in the West Bank of Palestine, part of a Community Peacemaker Team (CPT) delegation. They recorded a conversation with CPT member Mona El-Zuhairi about the trip and the realities in Hebron. So, instead of having Matt, they’ll do a webinar showing that recorded conversation, followed by a Q&A with Melody and Ken about their trip to Palestine. The program will be held at 8pm!
If you’ve already registered for the Kennard webinar, you needn’t do anything. An updated link has been sent your way! If you’d like to register for the program on the West Bank, click here!

Women in Conflict Zones
2025-03-19 12:00 | Online Event
Register to attend.

On March 19 at 12pm ET, an important event will take place to amplify the voices of women who have been affected by conflict in various parts of the world. The Women in Conflict Zones webinar aims to shed light on the profound impacts of war on women and children and to discuss measures being taken to mitigate these effects.
The webinar will feature speakers from a diverse array of countries, including Belarus, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gaza, Lebanon, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Korea, Sudan, and Syria. Each speaker will have five minutes to share their experiences and insights regarding the unique challenges faced by women and children in their respective regions due to ongoing conflict. This platform not only serves as a means to share stories but also as a call to action for global solidarity and support in ending violence and fostering peace.
Women from various conflict zones will provide firsthand accounts of the struggles and resilience of those living amidst war. Their testimonies will highlight the physical, emotional, and social tolls that armed conflicts impose on women and children, who are often among the most vulnerable populations during such crises. The speakers will also discuss initiatives and efforts being undertaken within their communities to promote safety, healing, and long-term peace.
This webinar takes place during the second UN Decade for People of African Descent (2025-2034), which focuses on “Recognition, Justice, Development.” The over-representation of African countries in the list of conflict zones underscores the critical need for targeted efforts and interventions to address the systemic issues that perpetuate violence and instability in these regions. The webinar aims to bring attention to these issues and to mobilize support for African women and children who bear the brunt of wars and conflicts.
Register to attend.

Speakers
Olga Karatch (Belarus); Cyrille Rolande Bechon (Cameroon); Raissa Kasongo and Yvette Mushigo (Democratic Republic of the Congo); Hanan Awwad (Gaza/Palestine); Hala Kilani Hala and Shirine Jurdi (Lebanon); Namatama Sakabilo (Mozambique); Zullaihat Muhammad Ohiare (Nigeria); Cho Young-mi (South Korea); Reem Abbas (Sudan); Oula Ahmad (Syria)
Sponsored by World BEYOND War, Southern Anti-Racism Network, International Peace Bureau, Convention for Pan-Africanism and Progress (CPP), and CODEPINK
Co-sponsored by MAPA

FIRST THEY CAME FOR THE IMMIGRANTS… Understanding & Responding to Mass Deportations
2025-03-18 19:00 - 20:30
A CPDCS Webinar, March 18, 7pm-8:30pm EDT
At the forefront of the Trump/MAGA white supremacy campaign is the mass deportation of millions of immigrants, most of whom are guilty of no more of fleeing for their lives from war zones and communities consumed in violence, or in pursuit of work and economic security. Families are being shattered, lives put at risk. And like Trump’s protectionist tariffs, the deportations undermine our communities’ and national economic vitality.
Join three immigrant rights experts and activists to learn what is happening and how we can respond.
Araceli Argueta is the Organizing and Advocacy Director for the American Friends Service Committee’s New Jersey Immigrant Rights Program. She is an organizer, anthropologist and campaigner from El Salvador. She has organized for more than 10 years across Latin America with women, youth and indigenous people, creating tools and tactics to mobilize people from different backgrounds. She has worked on gender rights, migration, environmental and biocultural protection.
Itzel Hernandez is an immigrant rights organizer with the American Friends Service Committee in Red Bank, New Jersey. She is also a DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) recipient.
Dr. Alexandra Piñeros Shields is Associate Professor and directs the Master of Public Policy Program at the Heller School, Brandeis University where she teaches courses on immigration policy, economic justice, and participatory action research. She serves on the Boards of the ACLU and the Massachusetts Budget & Policy Center.
Cosponsored by MAPA

Stop the Genocide Emergency Protest
2025-03-18 17:00 - 19:00 | Park Street Station, Boston
Join the Boston Coalition for Palestine for an emergency protest at Park St. Station tonight at 5pm!
ISRAEL HAS RESUMED ALL OUT WAR ON GAZA: EMERGENCY PROTEST STOP THE GENOCIDE
Tue March 18
5PM
Park Street MBTA Station, Boston, MA
Last night, heavy Israeli airstrikes targeted homes, schools, tents and shelters across Gaza, killing over 400 Palestinians and injuring hundreds more.
The US-Israeli genocide in Gaza, having never ended, is now returning to a state of all-out war. Trump and Netanyahu repeatedly refused to abide by the terms of the ceasefire and have refused to engage in negotiations in good faith. US bombs are falling on the people of Gaza once again, who have been under total seige for over 2 weeks.
We must unite to stand up for Palestine and against genocide. The Palestinian people have remained strong and steadfast throughout the past 18 months of genocide. Now is the time to organize, grow the movement, take to the streets, and to continue to stand on the right side of history.
Join us for an emergency mobilization to stop the genocide today, Tuesday, 5 PM at Park Street.
Additional rallies today:
Worcester, 4:00 – 5:30 pm, Lincoln Square. Sponsored by: Saints Francis & Thérèse Catholic Worker
For more info, contact Claire Schaeffer-Duffy 774 239-4022

Lawrence, 5:00 pm, Lawrence City Hall, 200 Common St. Sponsored by Merrimack Valley for Palestine

Babies, Children and Health Care Workers: The Impact of the Occupation and Assault on Gaza
2025-03-17 19:00 - 20:30 | Online Event
Register to attend.

Dr. Ali travelled to Gaza, Palestine in February 2024 to provide humanitarian aid where he primarily worked in the largest functioning Neonatal intensive care unit at the time. He will talk about his experience working in the NICU, about the hostages and unlawful imprisonment including Palestinian children in Israeli prisons, and the torture and abuse of healthcare staff.
Dr. Arham Ali is an Assistant Professor and a Pediatric Intensivist at Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital. He attended medical school internationally in Karachi, Pakistan. Thereafter, he completed a post-doctoral research fellowship in Pediatric Burns at the University of Texas Medical Branch and Shriners Hospital in Galveston, TX. Ali then went on to complete his intern year of residency at Crozer Chester Medical Center, in Philadelphia. The remainder of this Pediatrics residency was completed at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Chicago. Finally, his fellowship in Pediatric Critical Care was completed in 2021 at UCLA/Mattel Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles. Ali was honored with an opportunity to travel to Gaza, Palestine in February 2024 to provide humanitarian aid where he primarily worked in the largest functioning Neonatal intensive care unit at the time.

Investigating War Crimes in Gaza - Al Jazeera Investigations
2025-03-17 18:00 - 20:00 | First Unitarian Church in New Bedford, 71 8th St, New Bedford, MA, 02740
Please join us for Investigating War Crimes in Gaza, the second film SE Mass Coalition for a Free Palestine’s Spring 2025 Film Series. Filmed and produced by Al Jazeera.

Oct 3, 2024 – This feature length investigation by Al Jazeera’s Investigative Unit exposes Israeli war crimes in the Gaza Strip through the medium of photos and videos posted online by Israeli soldiers themselves during the year long conflict. The I-Unit has built up a database of thousands of videos, photos and social media posts. Where possible it has identified the posters and those who appear. The material reveals a range of illegal activities, from wanton destruction and looting to the demolition of entire neighbourhoods and murder. The film also tells the story of the war through the eyes of Palestinian journalists, human rights workers and ordinary residents of the Gaza Strip. And it exposes the complicity of Western governments – in particular the use of RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus as a base for British surveillance flights over Gaza.

Back From The Brink
2025-03-16 14:00 - 16:00 | St. James Episcopal Church, 1991 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA, 02140
In partnership with Greater Boston Physicians for Social Responsibility, the Boston-hub of Back from the Brink will be hosting an organizing meeting on Sunday, March 16th from 2-4pm at the Saint James’ Episcopal Church in Cambridge (a 5 minute walk from the Porter Square T-station).
Join us for inspiration, food and refreshments, and a strategy session to create the future we deserve. All are welcome; no experience is necessary.
