FIRST THEY CAME FOR THE IMMIGRANTS… Understanding & Responding to Mass Deportations
2025-03-18 19:00 - 20:30 (America/New_York)
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.

Arise & Resist: Our Time to Act is Now
2025-03-15 13:00 - 17:00 | St James Episcopal Church, 1991 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA, 02140
Saturday, March 15, 2025
1:00pm-5:00pm
St James Parish, 1991 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge MA 02140
Enter on Beech St.
masspeace.us/arise-resist-act
As the new regime rampages against us, we will forge new connections to empower ourselves to fight back with clarity and strength. It’s time to strategize – together.
From our January 19 conference, four different plans of action have emerged so far: Fight Budget and Tax Cuts, Palestine Solidarity, Concord 250 Protest/ Direct Action, and a Rapid Response Network. Join us on March 15 to strengthen these projects collectively. We intend to put our plans into action. Now, more than ever, we need to work better together!
The meeting will begin in the Sanctuary, then move to breakout spaces, and conclude with a final session in the Parish Hall. Enter on Beech St which is closest to the Sanctuary.
Agenda
Opening Session – Sanctuary
Overview – political framing – 10-15 min

4 project reports 5-10 min each – total 45 min

Rapid response network
Budget and Taxes
Concord 250 Protest / Direct Action
Palestine Solidarity

Breakouts – 90 min
Rapid response network – Classroom 113
As the extremist right wing billionaire’s administration strips our government for parts, as I.C.E. hunts down our immigrant neighbors, as Israel keeps up its attacks on Palestine, we are seeing federally funded community support programs disappear. We know the suffering in our communities is just beginning. In response, Arise and Resist has been developing a Rapid Response network to protect our neighbors and mobilize opposition. We will share what we have accomplished so far and
strategize together on how to strengthen and broaden the network to reach across our state and involve more activist and community groups.
Fight Tax and Budget Cuts – Lounge
We know that there is a rising discontent with federal policies being inflicted by Elon Musk and other Trump appointees. People on the front lines in our struggles for affordable housing, decent health care, and food security need to advocate for a Budget for All to serve our needs. Arise and Resist has begun to develop such a peoples’ budget campaign. Join us to strategize how best to launch that campaign.
Concord 250 Protest / Direct Action – MAPA office (room 115)
On April 19th the town of Concord, MA will celebrate the 250th Anniversary of the beginning of the American Revolution. (President Trump may – or may not – attend) Many voters are now alarmed by the Republicans’ billionaire enabling and anti-democratic acts. We plan to be in Concord to connect with their “Tax the Rich” sentiments and encourage individuals to sign on with local groups and organizations that are actively opposing Trump’s policies. We need support to make our presence large, mobile, and effective.
Palestine Solidarity – Parish Hall
We have a large and very diverse local Palestinian solidarity movement. If we could find ways to collaborate, we would become much more effective. Let’s focus on campaigns that would spark the most engagement. Join us to discuss what those campaigns would be.
Reportbacks – 30-45 min – Parish Hall
Directions and Parking: We are meeting at St James Church, 1991 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge 02140. Enter from Beech St as shown on the floor plan.
The church is three blocks north of Porter Square.
By car, there are parking meters on Mass. Ave., which must be fed from 8am to 8pm Monday to Saturday. Maximum time is 2 hours which costs you $2.50 in quarters or by app. To park for 4 hours, put in 10 quarters, note the zone number and time, and pay by app after 2 hours.
Arise & Resist Coalition: Alliance for Water Justice in Palestine, CD8 for Palestine, Communist Party of Massachusetts, Green Rainbow Party, Jewish Voice for Peace Boston, Massachusetts Alliance of HUD Tenants, Massachusetts Peace Action, Northshore for Palestine. All progressive groups invited to join!
Contact: arise-resist@masspeaceaction.org

Political Repression, Then and Now
2025-03-10 15:00 - 16:00 | Online Event
Register to attend.

Historians for Peace and Democracy and Convergence Magazine are pleased to present “Political Repression, Then and Now,” live on YouTube at 3 pm Eastern on Monday, March 10, 2025.
The webinar will discuss the history of political repression in the United States. The speakers will draw on their research and experiences to explore topics such as Jim Crow’s repression against Black people, attacks on civil liberties, FBI surveillance, and the various Red Scares, linking these past examples to current attacks on social movements and civil rights.
Featuring:

Robin D.G. Kelley, Chair in US History, UCLA
Ellen Schrecker, Professor of History, Yeshiva University
Beverly Gage, Professor of History, Yale University
David Cole, Professor of Law & Public Policy, Georgetown Law Center

Moderated by Margaret Power, co-chair of Historians for Peace & Democracy
We hope you will attend this important event so please click HERE to RSVP to ensure you will receive the link to view the teach-in.
Brought to you by: Historians for Peace & Democracy, Convergence Magazine, Scholars for a New Deal for Higher Education, Massachusetts Peace Action, Coalition for Action in Higher Education, and Brooklyn for Peace

Israelism
2025-03-08 14:00 - 16:00 | Watertown Free Public Library, 123 Main St, Watertown, MA, 02472
This documentary film focuses on the portrayal of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in American Jewish institutions.
Cosponsored by MAPA

Needham for Palestine Standout
2025-03-08 12:00 - 13:00 | Needham Town Hall, 1471 Highland Ave, Needham, 02492, United States
Join Needham for Palestine at noon on Saturday, March 8, for a standout outside of Needham Town Hall.

Let This Radicalize You: MAPA Winter Common Read
2025-03-06 19:00 - 20:30, 2025-02-20 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.

Protest Israeli former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett
2025-03-06 16:15 - 17:30 | John F. Kennedy Memorial Park, John F. Kennedy St. and Memorial Drive, Cambridge, MA, 02138, United States

Seeking Women's Health Justice: Activating Our Resources in Challenging Times
2025-03-05 19:00 - 20:30
The series, Seeking Women’s Health Justice, examines women’s health from the perspective of justice – with the awareness that peace is a fundamental component of health.
“Accelerated Action” is the theme of International Women’s Day 2025 – gender equity, reproductive rights and the reduction of violence against women and girls are highlighted.
In the spirit of supporting these aims, Massachusetts Peace Action features the webinar, Seeking Women’s Health Justice: Activating our Resources in Challenging Times.

Panelists will discuss a broad perspective of ways to address the anti-woman, anti-minority, anti-immigrant, and anti-LGBTQ policy regulations.
This will include a national appraisal of efforts to combat restrictive laws and executive orders; analyses and viewpoints to counter economic challenges; and the public health response to inhumane dictates.
Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) is an activist, a legislator, a survivor, and the first woman of color to be elected to Congress from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Throughout her career as a public servant, Congresswoman Pressley has been a champion for justice and healing: reproductive justice, justice for immigrants, consumer justice, justice for seniors, justice for workers, justice for survivors of sexual violence, justice for the formerly and currently incarcerated individuals, and healing for those who have experienced trauma.
Steffie Woolhandler, M.D., MPH is currently a Distinguished Professor at Hunter College, after serving as a Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. In addition to her duties at Hunter she continues to collaborate with research colleagues at Harvard, where she is a Lecturer in Medicine. She is a leading advocate for health care justice and national health insurance for the United States.
Chris Chanyasulkit, PhD, MPH is a public health practitioner, advocate, keynote speaker, and master connector who speaks both nationally and internationally about public health; literacy; civic engagement; and racial, gender, and health equity. She is the Past President of the American Public Health Association (APHA), a mom of three, a dog mom of two pups, and an avid reader.
Register to Attend:

Co-sponsors:

Peace Caucus in affiliation with APHA, Women’s Health Institute, Women’s Caucus in affiliation with APHA, Advocacy and Research on Reproductive Wellness of Incarcerated People, National Nurses United, CodePink, UMass Amherst School of Public Health & Health Sciences, MA Public Health Association, MassCare, Grandmothers for Reproductive Rights, Suffolk University Center for Women’s Health and Human Rights

Courage and Resistance – Day of Action in Solidarity with Immigrant Communities
2025-03-05 11:00 - 13:00 | Boston City Hall Plaza, Government Center, Boston
There’s been a lot of “bad news” since January 20th.
In better news this week: Chelsea and Somerville filed a federal lawsuit challenging the Trump Administration’s efforts to coerce them into participating in mass deportation efforts. Represented by Lawyers for Civil Rights, the Cities assert that the Administration’s heavy-handed tactics—threatening to strip sanctuary cities of federal funding and prosecute them for failing to bend to the President’s will—violate their Constitutional rights. Read more
Also in better news, a federal judge blocked immigration enforcement at some houses of worship. The preliminary injunction only applies to the plaintiffs’ houses of worship: Quaker, Baptist, and Sikh.
These examples highlight how important it is right now for faith-based organizations, non-profits, local government and individuals to remain steadfast and not hesitate to challenge the attacks on our communities and our rights that just keep on coming from the new administration. Rather than allowing ourselves to feel overwhelmed, or letting the absolutely ridiculous and obviously unconstitutional nature of these attacks lull us into a false sense of security (“they can’t really do that, can they?”) we must ALL rise to the occasion. RIGHT NOW.
They also demonstrate that not only do we have the power to fight – WE CAN WIN. Bravo to these municipalities and faith groups, for recognizing their responsibility to the people they represent, for refusing to capitulate the way so many corporations have been doing, seemingly at the slightest encouragement.
Another example of bravery and commitment to the values we hold dear is Boston’s own Mayor Wu. As a result of her progressive track record and public refusal to sacrifice her responsibility as a steward of the city of Boston and a representative of the people of Boston, Mayor Wu has been targeted, insulted and threatened by the Trump administration, most notably by the “border czar” Tom Homan.
Mayor Wu has been called before Congress to testify on Boston’s Trust Act and the moves the city has made to separate itself from the enforcement of federal civil laws. The Mayor has agreed to testify and she has responded publicly by saying in part, “From the beginning, it’s clear that Boston’s progress may seem threatening to some. We are a community here that prioritizes investing in every generation, being welcoming, inclusive, and then having the receipts and the results to show that that is a way of serving everyone even better.”
As Mayor Wu gets prepared to testify and provide a strong defense of the way we do things here in Boston, MIRA is asking members of our community to thank Mayor Wu for standing up for our shared values.
Join us March 5 11am to 1pm in front of City Hall to demonstrate our support for Mayor Wu, and to show that Boston and all of MA is indeed a community of people who have the courage to welcome.

War is Not Justified by Party Politics
2025-03-04 19:00 - 20:30 | Online Event
Register to attend.

Why have our movements for peace, justice and the environment let party politics lead us into a pro-war position? Why does party politics lead us to support wars, or at least not oppose them, purely on the basis of which party is conducting them? This growing polarization is leading us to support or oppose other critical policies as well, purely on the basis of what party those policies are identifies with — rather than a rational and moral assessment of the issue at hand.
This webinar looks at the contrast between the bi-partisan militarism of the United States, on the one hand, and the starkly different governing philosophies of the two parties, on the other. A critique of the Labor Movement’s relationship to this problem offers a long-term case-study, but one also increasingly relevant to the environmental movement, and even the peace movement. The current setback for the Democrats offers us a chance to reflect on what our core values are and how we navigate our relations with party politics going forward.
Don’t miss it.
Register to attend.

Harris Gruman is the Executive Director of the Service Employees International Union Massachusetts State Council. In that role he has helped lead campaigns to win union rights for child care providers and rideshare drivers. In 2013, he founded and has since helped lead the Raise Up Massachusetts coalition of labor, community and faith organizations, which has nearly doubled the minimum wage to $15-per-hour, created the most extensive paid family and medical leave program in the United States, and won a constitutional amendment to raise tax rates on the top One Percent. In 2024 Harris joined the board of directors of Mass. Peace Action.
This webinar is cosponsored by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 509.

The Destruction of Healthcare Systems in Gaza: Realities, Ramifications & ACTIONS
2025-03-01 13:00 - 16:00 | Community Church of Boston, 565 Boylston St, Boston, 02116
Register to attend.

Join us for a panelist event to discuss on-the-ground realities in Gaza and the West Bank and the short & long-term ramifications of the destruction of the healthcare systems. Get immediate & impactful action steps to help the people of Palestine!
Dr. Bram Wispelwey is a Harvard Chan School of Public Health, Co-Founder of Health for Palestine, recently in the West Bank.
Dr. Ahmad Thaer is a Palestinian-American emergency physician who worked at Nasser & Al-Aqsa in Gaza in 2024.
Dr. Othman Mohammad, Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist, Gaza Mental Health Expert and a Diaspora Palestinian
The event will be at Community Church of Boston, 565 Boylston St., Boston 02116, and also can be viewed online.
Sponsored by MAPA and JVP Boston, cosponsored by CCB, SEMA for a Free Palestine, Watertown Citizens for Peace, Justice and the Environment, Alliance for Water Justice in Palestine, Doctors Against Genocide, Arlington for Palestine.

Western Massachusetts Stands with Smith SJP
2025-02-27 12:00 - 13:00 | Smith College, John M. Greene Hall, 60 Elm St, Northampton, MA, 01060
This rally, organized in consultation with Smith Students for Justice in Palestine, is intended to show broad community support for the demands that Smith College:
(1) completely divest from holdings that are in any way connected with the genocide against the Palestinian people;
(2) speak out against Israel’s scholasticide against the Palestinian people;
(3) end new Smith policies aimed at suppressing free speech at Smith.

War and the Economic System with Malaika Jabali (a WIRN webinar)
2025-02-25 20:00 - 21:30 | Online Event
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What is our economic system? What are its defining features? What does it have to do with war? Christian Sorensen will interview author and attorney Malaika Jabali.
Malaika Jabali is the Senior News and Politics Editor at Essence Magazine. She is the 2024 New Arizona Fellow at New America. Her writings have appeared in such outlets as the Guardian, Jacobin, Teen Vogue, The Intercept, and Current Affairs Magazine. Malaika is a graduate of Columbia Law School and a licensed attorney. Her debut book — It’s Not You, It’s Capitalism: Why It’s Time to Break Up and How to Move On — centers revolutionaries of color and guides the reader through how to dump the economic system that we live under.

Eradicating Gaza: How to Remember and Forget Genocide
2025-02-24 18:00 - 19:30 | Online Event
Register to attend.

A discussion with Prof. Omer Bartov. As we’ve been witnessing a genocide in Gaza for the past 15 months, it’s timely to reflect on the politics of the use of the word “genocide”, and the use and misuse of the memory of the Holocaust in WW2.
Prof. Bartov will also expand our thinking about the development of Zionism over time: as a settler colonization effort, as a mechanism for helping Jewish refugees and as an ideological national movement.
Omer Bartov is an Israeli-American historian. He is the Samuel Pisar Professor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Brown University, where he has taught since 2000. Bartov is a historian of the Holocaust and is considered a leading authority on genocide.

Somehow This Madness Must Cease! Rally to Commemorate the 3rd Anniversary of the Ukraine War
2025-02-24 12:00 | Park St Station, Park & Tremont Streets, Boston
Register to attend.

3 years of war in Ukraine is enough. Enough death and destruction in Ukraine. Enough danger that any new escalation can lead to World War 3 and nuclear war. Enough threats to the existence of Ukraine and to NATO expansion to Russia’s border. Enough to the ecological devastation of air, soil and wildlife caused by this climate devastating war. Enough to tens of billions of dollars taken from the needs of our communities and sent to keep the war going.
We ask: Where has our present policy over these 3 years led us? Is the war closer to ending? Is Ukraine in better shape or worse shape than 3 years ago when we torpedoed a negotiated settlement that would have safeguarded Ukraine’s sovereignty and independence?
We don’t know what Trump will do. But we do know what is needed:Negotiations. But not negotiations for a frozen conflict that can and will erupt at any time. Rather negotiations for a lasting peace that would minimally have to be based on recognizing the security concerns of both Ukraine and Russia; on mutually recognized resolutions on the fate of the four regions of Ukraine currently claimed by Russia; on the rights of Russian speakers in Ukraine; and on a mutually satisfactory definition of long-term Ukrainian neutrality. And such negotiations must be a first step toward new security system for ALL of Europe including Russia. A security system that spans far over the NATO/Ukraine/Russia conflict to include all the stakeholders of Europe in a collective order based on cooperation and conflict resolution rather than ultimatums and saber rattling. This was the vision that inspired the whole world at the end of the first cold war until NATO bases expanded eastward to dozens of new countries. It’s the vision that is desperately needed now to end this new cold war that puts our world in jeopardy.
Join us on Monday, February 24 to commemorate this 3rd anniversary of the war and insist that there must be no more such anniversaries.
Let us know you will be coming by filling out this short form
Register to attend.

For background and information about the Ukraine War visit our web page at https://masspeaceaction.org/our-issues/ukraineatimeforpeace/
Sponsored by Mass. Peace Action’s Campaign: Ukraine – A Time for Peace 617-354-2169

Collective Liberation Film Series: From Palestine to Cuba
2025-02-22 13:00 - 15:30 | Great Falls Market, 109 Avenue A, Great (Turners) Falls, 01376, United States
Cuba Presentation: Returning from Cuba to share the voices of farmers, economists, entrepreneurs, artists and activists speaking to the blockade, the future of Cuba and our collective liberation.
Saturday February 15th, 1:00 pm
Great Falls Market, 109 Avenue A, Great (Turners) Falls, MA

SEMA.FreePalestine presents "Walled Off"
2025-02-20 18:00 - 20:00 | Greaer SE Mass Labor Council, 560 Pleasant St, New Bedford, United States
The SE Mass Coalition for a Free Palestine begins its second Palestine Film Series on February 20 with Walled Off, a documentary film by Vin Arfuso in collaboration with Anwar Hadid, Kweku Mandela, Roger Waters and Immortal Technique.
6pm to 8pm at the SE Mass Central Labor Council, 560 Pleasant St., New Bedford.
Walled Off Hotel is a guesthouse established by the notorious artist Banksy in the Palestinian city of Bethlehem. The film takes an intimate look at the lives of Palestinians living under Israeli occupation, and highlights the importance of creative resistance as a form of protest. In telling the stories of individual Palestinians, the documentary explores the ways in which media coverage of the conflict perpetuates an inaccurate and biased narrative. Through interviews with activists, politicians, and everyday citizens, the film offers an often unseen perspective on the Palestinian struggle for freedom. The film ultimately seeks to challenge the mainstream media narrative of the occupation, and to bring to light the realities of life under military.

U.S.-China Nuclear Rivalry and the Taiwan Question
2025-02-19 19:00 - 20:30 | Online Event
Register to attend.

In the last five years, nuclear tensions between the U.S. and China have accelerated dramatically driven by a series of factors, including the severe deterioration of cross-Strait relations. This presentation will summarize thinking on both sides of the Pacific regarding the current state of this nuclear rivalry and its relationship to the Taiwan issue. Prof. Goldstein will also answer questions about his Asia trip during the winter holiday that took him to northeast China, Kazakhstan, the Philippines, and also South Korea.
Lyle J. Goldstein is the Director of the China Initiative and Visiting Professor at the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at Brown University. At Brown, he is investigating the costs of great power competition with both China and Russia in association with the Costs of War Project at Watson. Goldstein serves concurrently as Director of Asia Engagement at the Washington think-tank Defense Priorities, which advocates for realism and restraint in U.S. defense policy. He has a PhD from Princeton, is fluent in both Chinese and Russian, and tweets at @lylegoldstein.
Sponsored by MAPA Education Fund, cosponsored by Campaign for Peace, Disarmament, and Common Security.
Register to attend.

The Urgency of Peace Negotiations to End the Ukraine War
2025-02-18 19:00 - 20:30 | Online Event
This webinar on the Ukraine/Russia war takes place only days before the war’s third anniversary. Retired Army Lt. Colonel Daniel Davis will discuss the urgency of peace negotiations before Ukraine loses even more territory and soldiers to Russia, and to prevent the risk of the war escalating into a far more dangerous one — even nuclear war — between the US/NATO and Russia.
Lt. Col. Daniel L. Davis (retired) is a senior fellow and military expert at Defense Priorities and host of the Daniel Davis Deep Dive show on YouTube. He served for 21 years, including deployments to combat zones in Iraq and Afghanistan. He is the author of The Eleventh Hour in 2020 America. Colonel Davis gained some national notoriety in 2012 when he returned from Afghanistan and published a report detailing how senior U.S. military and civilian leaders misled the public and Congress into believing the war was going well while, in reality, it was headed toward defeat. His work on defense and foreign affairs has been published in The Washington Post, The New York Times, and other major media outlets, and he is a frequent guest commentator on NBC News, BBC, Fox News, Fox Business News, CNN, and other television networks.
Register to Attend:

Trump's Second Term: NATO, War, and the Economy
2025-02-18 13:00 - 14:30 | Online Event
Register to attend.

Donald Trump has returned to the presidency demanding that NATO nations increase their military spending to 3%, possibly 5% of GDP, and threatening massive tariffs. His commitments to NATO remain uncertain, as does his administration’s approach to the Ukraine War and possible ceasefire-related diplomacy. His “America First” agenda includes a $100 billion increase in the Pentagon’s already gargantuan budget.
What are the implications for Euro-American relations with Russia, for NATO or pressures for an independent European military, for the U.S., European, and world economies? How should the U.S. and European peace movements respond?
Niamh Ni Bhriain coordinates TNI’s War and Pacification program, which focuses on the permanent state of war and pacification of resistance. She holds an LLM in International Human Rights Law from the Irish Centre for Human Rights at the National University of Ireland Galway (NUIG).
Reiner Braun served as General Secretary of the International Peace Bureau. He has decades of experience in the German and European peace movements, was deeply involved the Max Plank Institute’s planning for the Einstein Year, and he has been a leading figure in promotion of Common Security diplomacy.
Michael Klare is a visiting fellow of the Arms Control Association, secretary of its board of directors, emeritus professor of the Five Colleges Peace and World Security Studies program at Hampshire College, and a regular contributor for The Nation Magazine.
Register to attend.

Cosponsored by Massachusetts Peace Action.

From Crisis to Action: Building Ecosystems of Defense and Change
2025-02-17 19:00 - 21:00 | Online Event
As the political landscape is rapidly changing – with pieces of the Federal government being dismantled, mass deportations, and widespread uncertainty about our futures – we feel driven to respond but stuck. Our ability to take action (protest, lobby, spread awareness, etc.) is driven by our theories of power and change, as well as our belief that we can be effective. If our theories of change don’t seem applicable, we feel helpless and confused.
This workshop will create space for us to discuss how we should view power, theories of change, and apply them to the new chaotic moment. Should we stick to what we were doing? Should we totally change our game plan? How can we be more effective?
The space will be accessible for both those who are experienced activists, organizers, or scholars, as well as those who are new to thinking about political change and what to do.
Cosponsored by MAPA

CANCELLED: Music for Peace: Love Letters from Around the World
2025-02-15 19:30 - 21:30 | Harvard-Epworth Methodist Church, 1555 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA, United States
The Music for Peace concert with Psychopomp scheduled for tonight, Saturday, February 15, has been cancelled due to snow. We will reschedule a Psychopomp performance in the fall.
Join us this Valentines season for an enchanting program to celebrate love in all its forms. The program features Smetana’s The Moldau, a patriotic anthem, and Psychopomp Ensemble’s heartfelt tribute to Bach alongside works by Hindemith and Kurtág. The ensemble will also offer exciting original arrangements of music by jazz legends Bill Evans, Thelonious Monk, Ran Blake, and the modern sensation Laufey, among others. Don’t miss this unforgettable celebration where love knows no boundaries!
The concert will be held at Harvard-Epworth United Methodist Church, 1555 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, near Harvard Law School, at 7:30 pm.
Benefits Massachusetts Peace Action Education Fund. $25 for Mass. Peace Action members, $35 for non-members, $10 for students and low incomes.
To reserve, write a check to “Massachusetts Peace Action Education Fund” or “MAPA EF” and mail to 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 $35 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 a ramp to the left of the church.
Co-founded by pianists Chi-Wei Lo and Xiaopei Xu, Psychopomp Ensemble weaves together a diverse tapestry of traditional serious music, third stream, jazz, pop, blues, minimalist, and contemporary, creating an auditory experience that defies categorization.
Their arrangements—some in their psychopomp mode—blend improvisation, re-composition, and unaltered portions into original works, guiding both connoisseurs and newcomers through their musical universe. The Boston Musical Intelligencer describes them as offering “new directions in pianism” and exploring the “far reaches of musical possibilities.” They aspire not merely to stake a claim but to reshape the landscape, push boundaries, and redefine possibilities within the realm of two-piano as well as four-hand repertoire.
Recently, Psychopomp Ensemble appeared on The Kamerman Piano Series at the University of West Florida and at Puddingstone Events in Rhode Island. Additionally, Psychopomp’s past performance highlights include concerts presented by UCLA, the Chinese American Museum (LA), the Atlantic Symphony Orchestra, Scripps College, Ukraine Forward, the College Music Society, the Foundation for Chinese Performing Arts, the Lancaster Piano Festival, and the German Society of Pennsylvania. In 2021, Psychopomp Ensemble participated in interdisciplinary events in Los Angeles, which garnered coverage from more than a dozen media outlets, including The LA Times, NBC News, Shanghai Morning Post, Qilu Evening News, and others.
Chi-Wei Lo is a pianist, improviser, and arranger whose performances utilize a plethora of musical languages. As a co-founder of the Psychopomp Ensemble, Lo has continually pushed boundaries, blending interdisciplinary art forms with both traditional and avant-garde musical elements to create compelling concert experiences.
With a career spanning diverse platforms, Lo has been presented by the Atlantic Symphony Orchestra, North American Medical Orchestra, The Lancaster Piano Festival, College Music Society, UCLA, Lilypad, Chamber Music Charlestown, The Harvard Musical Association, The Chinese American Museum (LA), Foundation for Chinese Performing Arts, Caroga Arts Collective, New Asia Chamber Music Society, the German Society of Pennsylvania, and the Counterpoint Ensemble (Taiwan), among many others.
Lo holds a Bachelor of Music (B.M.) and a Master of Music (M.M.) in piano performance from The Juilliard School. He is expected to complete his Doctor of Musical Arts (D.M.A.) in Contemporary Musical Arts (formerly Contemporary Improvisation) at the New England Conservatory this year. Currently, Lo shapes the next generation of musicians as an Assistant Professor of Composition at Berklee College of Music and a Theory Instructor at the New England Conservatory. During the summer, he teaches improvisation classes and piano at The Lancaster Piano Festival, where he delivers all pre-concert talks, sharing his expertise and passion for music with festival attendees.
Hailed by The Boston Globe as “a world-class pianist,” Xiaopei Xu has captivated audiences worldwide with her “spellbinding and expressive”performances (BMInt). She made her Boston Symphony Hall concerto debut with Boston Pops in 2018, and has appeared as a soloist and chamber musician in venues across three continents.
Xu’s recent performances have been presented by the Atlantic Symphony Orchestra, Harvard Musical Association, Foundation for the Chinese Performing Arts, The Stecher and Horowitz Foundation, German Society of Pennsylvania, Lancaster International Piano Festival, Chinese American Museum(LA), Ukraine Forward, College Music Society… etc.
Xu holds her Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Boston University, Master’s degree from Yale University and Bachelor’s degree from the New England Conservatory of Music. Her principal teachers include Hung-Kuan Chen, Xun Pan, Meng-Chieh Liu, and Boaz Sharon. She has also worked with influential musicians such as Claude Frank, Richard Goode, and Paul Badura-Skoda.

The True Superheroes of Gaza Standout
2025-02-14 17:00 - 18:30 | AMC Boston Common, 175 Tremont St, Boston, 02111
Following the February 14th release of Marvel’s, Captain America: Brave New World, join us outside of the AMC Boston Common Theater to recognize true superheroes: those who have sustained, protected, and saved the victims and survivors of the genocide in Palestine.
Read more about our project!

Stop the Coup
2025-02-14 12:00 - 14:00 | Boston Common – Parkman Bandstand, Tremont St, Boston
Cosponsored by MAPA
Co-Sponsoring Organizations (alphabetical) with frontline/impacted groups first (frontline are groups organized for and by an impacted group for that groups liberation)
Impacted/Frontline Groups

Asian American Resource Workshop
Boston Coalition for Palestine
Boston Dyke March
Cosecha Massachusetts
Essex County Community Organization (ECCO)
Families for Justice as Healing
Fore River Residents Against the Compressor Station (FRRACS)
GreenRoots
Homes for All Massachusetts
IfNotNow Boston
North American Indian Center of Boston
Palestinian House Of New England
Palestinian Youth Movement
Springfield Climate Justice Coalition
TransResistance

——————————
Allies/Solidarity

350 Mass
Act on Mass
Activist Evenings Brookline Indivisible
American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts
Boston Democratic Socialists of America
Boston Friends of Standing Together
Boston Immigration Justice Accompaniment Network
Brookline PAX
Cambridge Citizens Coalition
Cambridge Residents Alliance
Canton Residents For a Sustainable Equitable Future
Cape Ann Indivisible
Cape Cod Women for Change Indivisible
Citizens for Public Schools
Climate Action Now Western Mass
Climate Reality Massachusetts Southcoast
Communist Party of Massachusetts
Community Action Agency of Somerville, Inc.
Concord Indivisible
Dominican Development Center, Inc.
Elders Climate Action – Mass Chapter
Extinction Rebellion Boston
First Parish UU Brookline climate, immigration and racial justice committees
Friends of the Notch Forest
Greater Andover Indivisible
Greater Haverhill Indivisible
Green Energy Consumers Alliance
Indivisible Boros and Beyond
Indivisible Mass Coalition (IMC)
Indivisible Melrose, Wakefield Plus
Indivisible Upper Cape
Interfaith Ceasefire
Jamaica Plain Progressives
Jewish Climate Action Network (JCAN)
Jewish Voice for Peace – Boston
Kavod Boston
Mass Power Forward Coalition
Massachusetts Action for Justice
Massachusetts Families for Vaccines
Massachusetts Interfaith Power & Light
Massachusetts Peace Action
Ma’yan Tikvah
MCAN – Massachusetts Climate Action Network
Mothers Out Front Massachusetts
North Parish Climate Justice Group
North Parish of North Andover UU Racial Justice Team
Northshore For Palestine
North Shore Indivisible
Our Revolution Massachusetts
Pipe Line Awareness Network for the Northeast (PLAN)
Progressive Democrats of MA (PDM)
Progressive Massachusetts
Progressive Mass of Western Norfolk County
Save Massachusetts Wildlife
Shared Habitat Earth
Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ) Boston
Sierra Club Massachusetts
Social Action Committee, The First Church in Belmont, Unitarian Universalist
Social Action Committee First Parish Plymouth
State House Standout for No New Fossil Fuel Infrastructure
Stop Bullying Coalition
Swing Blue Alliance
The Enviro Show
Third Act MA
Trees as a Public Good Network
UU Mass Action
Workers World Party – Boston

Accessibility Information: March will be about .8 miles, mostly flat, accessible to wheels.
We represent diverse movements, organizations, and philosophies. Some of us have been resisting oppression our whole lives; others are mobilizing for the first time. All are welcome. Though our goals, tactics, and experiences vary, we are united in the belief that Trump, Musk, and MAGA must be stopped. Organizing collectively around that shared goal will enable us to build power and take action from our homes, workplaces, and the streets. Together, WE are the movement this moment needs.
stopcoupma@proton.me

Peace & Justice Conversations: Dynamic Community Resistance in West Africa
2025-02-10 19:00 - 20:30
Register to attend.

In West African cities, urban poor families and communities must struggle every day to survive — not just to live on meager day-to-day incomes, but to tenaciously resist and mitigate the dynamics that threaten their very shelter and livelihoods. This conversation looks broadly at over a decade of work supporting multi-pronged community resistance to mass forced evictions, and dives deep into the struggle of the Otodo Gbame community in Lagos, whose true story of resistance from 2016-2017 inspired the co-production of The Legend of the Vagabond Queen of Lagos, which recently premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival.
Megan Chapman is a human rights lawyer who has worked on the ground in West Africa, principally in Lagos, Nigeria and Cotonou, Benin, over the last 12 years. The organization she co-founded in West Africa works with urban poor communities threatened by mass forced eviction using a multipronged approach that empowers residents to lead the changes they want to see in their communities and the cities where they must fight to remain. She is now the co-director of the World Fellowship Center, supporting progressive movements for social justice, facilitating exchange between activists, and fostering global grassroots solidarity.
Register to attend.

About NHPA’s bi-weekly Zoom Peace & Justice Conversation Series: 2020’s upheavals brought us to a new moment of reckoning and possibility. How do we want to live in the world? What do we value? How can we make the changes we’ve been yearning for? NH Peace Action has been engaged in working for change for decades. We’d like to bring you into these conversations about issues and options for the future. There is no charge to attend, but your contributions in any amount are greatly appreciated.
Cosponsored by NH Peace Action, Massachusetts Peace Action & Peace Action Maine.
