Author: Jeff Klein - Page 5 - Massachusetts Peace Action

Ireland and Palestine

June 3, 2021 Jeff Klein

By Jeff Klein The Irish know something about colonialism. Long before there was a British Empire on which “the sun never set,” Ireland was the testing ground for English conquest and confiscating land from the natives. Modern day European settler colonialism had its start in […]

Peace doves fly on the grounds of the historic Hazrat-i-Ali mosque, in the city of Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan. The doves are part of a campaign launched by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) in observance of the International Day of Peace. (UN Photo/Helena Mulkerns)

Biden’s Initial Steps in the Middle East Are Positive, But Not Enough

May 20, 2021 Jeff Klein

by Jeff Klein There is some good, if tentative, news regarding the Biden administration’s changes in Middle East policy that may lead to a long-term decrease in the US military footprint and may lessen the threat of new armed conflicts in the region. (Unfortunately, it […]

Palestinian teenager Ali Abu Alia, killed by Israeli military forces December 4

Stop Sending Murder Weapons to Israel!

December 15, 2020 Jeff Klein

by Jeff Klein On December 4 this year, a Palestinian boy, Ali Abu Alia, was shot and killed by Israeli security forces as he watched a protest in his West Bank village of al-Mughayer. Unarmed villagers were demonstrating against the confiscation of their farm lands […]

Jeff Klein (left) with co-workers at GE Lynn, circa 1979. The Steam Turbine division of GE Lynn was closed in the late 1980s and “Building 57” where the photo is from was torn down , along with other buildings, and made into a parking lot.

Can We Build a Progressive Future If We Dismiss a Large Part of the Working Class?

November 22, 2020 Jeff Klein

by Jeff Klein I’m happy to be retired. After decades working as a machinist in New England factories and shops, I can’t say I miss having to clock into the job at 7am. I don’t miss the sweaty, dirty and sometimes dangerous work I had […]

On November 11, the Best Way to Honor Veterans is Not to Sacrifice More of them in Senseless Wars

November 11, 2020 Jeff Klein

By Jeff Klein Accepted for publication in the Dorchester Reporter The holiday we mark as Veterans Day on November 11 was originally called “Armistice Day,” commemorating the end of the First World War on November 11, 1918. The slaughter of 1914-1918 was then called “the […]

Americans Have Always Been “Suckers” for War

September 11, 2020 Jeff Klein

by Jeff Klein Previously published in CounterPunch Trump’s reported comments about the dead soldiers of World War I as “suckers” and “losers” has caused a well-deserved uproar. We may never know whether Trump actually said those things, but the sentiments are certainly in line with […]

Reinventing law enforcement in Boston

June 18, 2020 Jeff Klein

by Jeff Klein Originally published in the Dorchester Reporter Many people who hear calls to “defund” or “abolish” the police may have the impression that these are demands to eliminate law enforcement altogether. That is incorrect. The intent is to reinvent law enforcement in a […]