BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//Massachusetts Peace Action - ECPv6.16.2//NONSGML v1.0//EN CALSCALE:GREGORIAN METHOD:PUBLISH X-ORIGINAL-URL:https://masspeaceaction.org X-WR-CALDESC:Events for Massachusetts Peace Action REFRESH-INTERVAL;VALUE=DURATION:PT1H X-Robots-Tag:noindex X-PUBLISHED-TTL:PT1H BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/New_York BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 TZNAME:EDT DTSTART:20240310T070000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0400 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 TZNAME:EST DTSTART:20241103T060000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 TZNAME:EDT DTSTART:20250309T070000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0400 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 TZNAME:EST DTSTART:20251102T060000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 TZNAME:EDT DTSTART:20260308T070000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0400 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 TZNAME:EST DTSTART:20261101T060000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 TZNAME:EDT DTSTART:20270314T070000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0400 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 TZNAME:EST DTSTART:20271107T060000 END:STANDARD END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260519T120000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260519T130000 DTSTAMP:20260520T155610 CREATED:20260504T162849Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260508T002452Z UID:10004215-1779192000-1779195600@masspeaceaction.org SUMMARY:The Deep Roots of the Ukraine War\, with Richard Sakwa DESCRIPTION:While all eyes are focused elsewhere\, the war in Ukraine rages on. And the distortion of the war and its causes continue to lead the U.S. and the west down a road that has led to catastrophe for Ukraine and that continues to feed the danger of nuclear war. Professor Richard Sakwa helps us break through this distorted narrative about the war to a deeper understanding of this tragic conflict that is wreaking such human\, physical and ecological damage in Ukraine. \nOn May 19 at noon join Professor Richard Sakwa\, among the leading authorities on Ukraine and Russia\, to delve deeper into understanding the war\, diplomacy\, and peace movement priorities in this continuing dangerous time. Richard Sakwa is a professor of Russian and European Politics at the University of Kent and is widely recognized as the leading Russia scholar in Europe. The webinar begins at noon eastern time because of the difference in time zones in the U.S. from those in Europe. \nProfessor Sakwa will be discussing the subject of his new book\, The Russo-Ukrainian War: Follies of Empire. The number of casualties in the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war is rapidly approaching 1.5 million\, with no resolution in sight … a staggering reality. Seeking to make what sense is possible of this catastrophic conflict\, Richard Sakwa meticulously explores the origins\, course\, and consequences of the war in the sweeping context of global and domestic politics since 1945. \nSakwa’s balanced analysis centers on what he perceives as the five levels of the conflict: the dynamics of Ukrainian politics\, the evolution of Russo-Ukrainian relations\, the relationship between Russia and the West\, broad changes in international politics\, and the prospects for a viable and sustainable peace. In explaining—without endorsing—the logic behind actions on all sides\, his goal is to contribute to a path toward that peace. \n \nRichard Sakwa is Emeritus Professor of Politics at the University of Kent at Canterbury\, UK. After graduating in History from the London School of Economics\, he took a PhD from the Centre for Russian and East European Studies at the University of Birmingham. He held lectureships at the Universities of Essex and California\, Santa Cruz\, before joining the University of Kent in 1987. He has written widely on comparative politics\, international relations and political philosophy\, with a focus on Russian and European affairs. His latest books are The Putin Paradox (Bloomsbury\, 2020)\, Deception: Russiagate and the New Cold War (Lexington Books\, 2022)\, The Russia Scare: Fake News and Genuine Threat (Routledge\, 2022)\, The Lost Peace: How the West Failed to Prevent a Second Cold War (Yale University Press\, 2023) and The Culture of the Second Cold War (Anthem Press\, 2025). His book The Russo-Ukrainian War: Follies of Empire was published by Lynne Rienner Publishers in March 2026. \n \n \nSponsored by MAPA’s Ukraine: A Time for Peace Campaign. URL:https://masspeaceaction.org/event/the-deep-roots-of-the-ukraine-war-with-richard-sakwa/ LOCATION:Online Event CATEGORIES:Ukraine/Russia ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://masspeaceaction.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/05-19-26-The-Deep-Roots-of-the-Ukraine-War-v2-1280-x-720-px.png ORGANIZER;CN="Massachusetts Peace Action Education Fund":MAILTO:info@masspeaceaction.org END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260515T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260515T213000 DTSTAMP:20260520T155611 CREATED:20260409T133718Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260515T195527Z UID:10004161-1778871600-1778880600@masspeaceaction.org SUMMARY:Ghost Hunting: Palestine Film Series DESCRIPTION:In order to confront the ghosts that haunt him\, Palestinian director Raed Andoni assembles an eclectic group of ex prisoners to recreate the Al-Moskobiya\, Israel’s main interrogation centre\, where he was himself jailed at age 18. Day after day\, these construction workers\, a blacksmith\, an architect\, an assistant director give shape to their memories of how they survived with grit and a sense of humor. As the walls of the cells rise\, the tongues and the emotions loosen. \nGhost Hunting is a 2017 Palestinian documentary film directed by Raed Andoni and starring Ramzi Maqdisi. It was awarded the best documentary at the Berlinale 2017. Also\, it was selected as the Palestinian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 91st Academy Awards.   The film runs 94 minutes and will be followed by discussion. \nDirections: The film will be shown in the Parish Hall of St. James Episcopal Church\, three blocks north of Porter Square in Cambridge. The location can be confusing. If you have not been to the venue before\, please review these directions and arrive a few minutes early to make sure you find us!  When you arrive\, call 617-466-9274 to get in the building. URL:https://masspeaceaction.org/event/ghost-hunting-palestine-film-series/ LOCATION:St James Episcopal Church – Parish Hall\, 1991 Massachusetts Ave\, Cambridge\, MA\, 02140 CATEGORIES:Arts and Culture,Palestine/Israel ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://masspeaceaction.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Ghost-Hunting-05-15-web.rev2_.png ORGANIZER;CN="Massachusetts Peace Action Education Fund":MAILTO:info@masspeaceaction.org END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260429T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260429T200000 DTSTAMP:20260520T155611 CREATED:20260414T005915Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260422T193438Z UID:10004164-1777489200-1777492800@masspeaceaction.org SUMMARY:Iran\, the United States\, and Why this War Matters DESCRIPTION:Why is the US at war with Iran? \nDid Iranians come into existence in 1979 and start shouting “Death to America”?  \nIran is one of the most consistently demonized nations in U.S. discourse. U.S. officials\, and media\, frequently use obscene\, dehumanizing\, and misleading language with regards to Iran. \nThis consistent dehumanization helps manufacture consent for policies that have devastated the lives of ordinary Iranians in both Iran and the U.S. U.S. policy towards Iran over the past 47 years has consisted of economic warfare\, sabotage\, and overt and covert war\, with brief interludes of diplomacy. \nHowever\, the history of U.S.-Iran interactions is longer than that.  \nHow did we get here? What is the responsibility of those of us living in the U.S. towards ordinary Iranians and how does endless war affect us? \nWe will briefly review the history of U.S.-Iran relations in the context of the broader history of the Iranian struggle for sovereignty and attempt to address these questions. \nOur main presenter\, Bahar Sharafi\, is an Iranian-American activist\, born in Tehran with family there.   Now living in Dorchester\, she is a MAPA board member and co-chair of the MAPA-initiated Stop the US War on Iran committee.  Bahar is a volunteer leader with the Massachusetts Chapter of the National Iranian American Council\, and a co-founder of CD8 for Palestine. She spoke on the US-Iran war to 130\,000 people at the “No Kings III” rally on Boston Common\, March 30.  A second presenter will explain actions you can take and how to get involved. \nBahar is the narrator of the short film “A Glimpse of Iran“\, which shares sights\, sounds and reflections from her last trip to Iran\, and describes what it feels like to live in America while it wages an illegal war on her homeland. URL:https://masspeaceaction.org/event/iran-the-united-states-and-why-this-war-matters/ LOCATION:Online Event CATEGORIES:Middle East Wars ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://masspeaceaction.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Iran-US-and-Why-War-Matters-04-29.rev2_.png ORGANIZER;CN="Massachusetts Peace Action Education Fund":MAILTO:info@masspeaceaction.org END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260421T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260421T203000 DTSTAMP:20260520T155611 CREATED:20260406T205432Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260413T161922Z UID:10004159-1776798000-1776803400@masspeaceaction.org SUMMARY:Ukraine War: Its End-Game Could End Up in Nuclear War DESCRIPTION:Our guest speaker is Prof. Peter Kuznick of American University\, founder of the Nuclear Studies Institute and longtime advocate for nuclear disarmament. He will discuss how the Ukraine War is the most likely international flashpoint that could lead to WWIII between the US/NATO and Russia\, which would probably mean a catastrophic nuclear war. \nNow in its fifth year\, Prof. Kuznick will discuss the growing possibility of a Ukrainian military defeat later this year after Russia mounts an anticipated major offensive this spring or summer. Russian forces not only could push Ukrainian troops entirely out of the eastern region of the Donbas\, but also continue advancing west to the Dnieper River\, effectively occupying half of Ukraine’s territory and threatening major cities like Kharkiv and Odessa. \nThe US/NATO might choose to help Ukraine avoid such a defeat by escalating and sending in EU troops; airpower to set up a no-fly-zone; long-range missiles like the Tomahawk that could reach deep into Russia’s heartland; and drone/missile attacks as they have done in the past two years on Russian strategic early-warning radar systems\, airbases with nuclear-capable bombers\, and even to assassinate Putin in one of his residences near Moscow. These are red lines that Russia has said could lead to the use of nuclear weapons. \nProf. Kuznick will also discuss the very dangerous mistake made by both Biden and Trump to let the START nuclear arms limitation treaty to expire on Feb. 5. To avoid a hugely expensive and even more destabilizing nuclear arms race\, Trump should accept Putin’s offer of a 1-year extension of START while negotiating a new and even more effective treaty. Trump should also save billions of U.S. tax dollars by stopping development of the Golden Dome missile defense program. \nHe will also discuss the greatly exaggerated threat of Russia attacking European countries after it conquers Ukraine. This fear of Russia is driving EU governments to increase military spending and prepare for a major war with Russia by 2030\, while slashing their budgets for human service and environmental priorities. \nPeter Kuznick is Professor of History and founder and Director of the Nuclear Studies Institute at American University. A longtime advocate for nuclear disarmament\, he has written extensively about science and politics\, nuclear history\, and Cold War culture. He is the author of Beyond the Laboratory: Scientists as Political Activists in 1930s America (2019); the co-author of Rethinking the Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki with Akira Kimura; and Rethinking Cold War Culture (2010) with James Gilbert. He and Oliver Stone co-authored the 10 part Showtime documentary film series and book both titled The Untold History of the United States. You can follow Professor Kuznick on his substack: https://substack.com/@peterkuznick. \nRegister to attend: \n \nSponsored by Ukraine: A Time for Peace Campaign\, cosponsored by MAPA’s Nuclear Disarmament Working Group. URL:https://masspeaceaction.org/event/ukraine-war-its-end-game-could-end-up-in-nuclear-war/ LOCATION:Online Event CATEGORIES:Nuclear Disarmament,Ukraine/Russia ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://masspeaceaction.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/04-21-Kuznick.png ORGANIZER;CN="Massachusetts Peace Action Education Fund":MAILTO:info@masspeaceaction.org END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260414T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260414T203000 DTSTAMP:20260520T155611 CREATED:20260325T203701Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260327T024721Z UID:10004149-1776193200-1776198600@masspeaceaction.org SUMMARY:No to Nuclear DESCRIPTION:…Why Nuclear Power Destroys Lives\, Derails Climate Progress and Provokes War \n \nJoin us for a discussion of Linda Pentz Gunter’s newly published book  No To Nuclear: Why Nuclear Power Destroys Lives\, Derails Climate Progress and Provokes War in a webinar moderated by Chris Nord of the C-10 Research and Education Foundation.  \nThe nuclear power industry wants us to believe that theirs is the only technical fix for our deliverance from the climate crisis. While the public\, politicians and the media have been easily swayed\, Gunter blasts aside the industry’s claims that it is safe and green. In No to Nuclear\, she compellingly argues that nuclear power is too slow\, too expensive\, too dangerous and too integrally connected to the nuclear weapons complex to serve as a rational energy choice.  She reveals how the nuclear sector not only fundamentally harms the lives of Indigenous peoples and communities of color but also devalues nature and the environment. In short\, the nuclear power industry is costing us the chance of a genuinely just energy transition. \nLinda Pentz Gunter is the founder and executive director of the US-based non-profit Beyond Nuclear. The organization works to educate the public\, media and decision-makers about the necessity to abolish nuclear power and nuclear weapons and the inextricable link between the two. Previously\, she was a journalist at USA Network\, Reuters\, and The Times. She launched\, and writes for Beyond Nuclear’s online magazine\, Beyond Nuclear International. \nChris Nord is the co-founder and Board member of the C-10 Research and Education Foundation – whose mission includes real-time radiological monitoring near the Seabrook atomic reactor\, as well as education the public about safe and sustainable energy a alternatives.  He is Vice-President of the Citizens Awareness Network and founding member and non-violence trainer of the Clamshell Alliance.  He is the creator of the presentation “Nuclear Spent Fuel and Homeland Security: The Case for Hardened Storage.” and also co-producer of “Circles Around the Fire”\, a 30-minute slide/video program on nuclear power in New England. \nRegister to attend: \n \nSponsored by MAPA Nuclear Disarmament Working Group\, New Hampshire Peace Action\, Peace Action Maine\, and New Jersey Peace Action. Cosponsored by Commonwealth Coalition for Democracy & Safe Energy\, Clamshell Aliance\, and MAPA Indigenous Solidarity. \nTo purchase a copy of Linda’s book\, click the linked title here: No To Nuclear: Why Nuclear Power Destroys Lives\, Derails Climate Progress And Provokes War  \nTo pay in US dollars\, click the tab at the top (that defaults to UK pounds) and choose North America (US$) and fill out the form (choosing United States as your country).  Receive 40% off the cover price through April 14\, 2026. URL:https://masspeaceaction.org/event/no-to-nuclear/ LOCATION:Online Event CATEGORIES:Nuclear Disarmament ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://masspeaceaction.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260414-NoTo-Nuclear.png ORGANIZER;CN="Massachusetts Peace Action Education Fund":MAILTO:info@masspeaceaction.org END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260413T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260413T213000 DTSTAMP:20260520T155611 CREATED:20260330T174920Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260403T132632Z UID:10004151-1776110400-1776115800@masspeaceaction.org SUMMARY:Venezuela: What Really Happened January 3? What is Happening Now? DESCRIPTION:Two leading activists and former members of the Bolivarian government will speak to these questions\, and then answer yours as we continue to build a movement to support the Bolivarian Revolution\, the Venezuelan people\, and the President of that country\, kidnapped and held for ransom. \nMicaela Ovelar\, former political advisor to President Hugo Chavez and currently professor of Political Studies\, Government and International Relations at the Bolivarian University of Venezuela\, as well as a member of the “State and Social Protests” Study Group at the Bolivarian University of Venezuela; the “Social Movements and Rural and Urban Education” Study and Research Group at the State University of Southwest Bahia (UESB)\, Brazil; and serves on the Editorial Board of the journal *Práticas Educativas\, Memórias e Oralidades* (Revpemo) at the Federal University of Ceará (UECE)\, Fortaleza\, Brazil. \nLeonardo Flores\, Venezuelan-American political analyst and activist with CODEPINK. He is a founding member of the Venezuela Solidarity Network and worked as a consultant with the Alliance for Cuba Engagement and Respect. His articles have been published in CounterPunch\, Common Dreams\, and Peoples Dispatch\, among others. Leonardo’s media appearances include Democracy Now\, Telesur\, RT and Pacifica Network radio stations. \nRegister to attend: \n \nSponsored by MAPA Education Fund; cosponsored by CODEPINK URL:https://masspeaceaction.org/event/venezuela-what-happened-january-3/ LOCATION:Online Event CATEGORIES:Latin America ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://masspeaceaction.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/2026April13-Venezuela.png ORGANIZER;CN="Massachusetts Peace Action Education Fund":MAILTO:info@masspeaceaction.org END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260408T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260408T210000 DTSTAMP:20260520T155611 CREATED:20260330T221001Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260406T115619Z UID:10004152-1775678400-1775682000@masspeaceaction.org SUMMARY:Cuba Under Siege: What Happens Next? DESCRIPTION:Rafael Hernández\, leading scholar of both Cuban politics and Cuba-US relations takes on the question of the outlook and options for Cuba in the face of the US all out siege and oil blockade.  How long can Cuba hold out?  What is the nature of the crisis internally?  What are the plans and prospects for the Cuban government in the face of this dire situation? \nHernández is a Cuban writer\, scholar and political analyst. He is the editor of Revista Temas\, the leading Cuban magazine in the social sciences and the humanities\, temas.cult.cu\, with its blog Catelejo\, a space for other well known Cuban intellectuals\, with articles such as the recent\, Is Cuba Collapsing\, by Marta Nuñez. He leads a monthly gathering\, Ultimo Jueves\, which brings together intellectuals\, academics and ordinary Cubans to discuss and debate the pressing issues of the day.  His publications include several books and essays on Cuban and U.S. policies\, inter-American relations\, international security\, migration\, Cuban culture\, civil society and politics\, including Looking at Cuba: Essays on Culture and Civil Society (2001)\, The Other War: Studies on Strategy and International Security (2000)\, The History of Havana (2006) and Shall We Play Ball? Debating U.S.-Cuban Relations (2011). \n \nMerri Ansara\, moderator\, is the coordinator of the Cuba Subcommittee in MAPA’s Latin America/Caribbean Working Group (LA/CWG) . She has just returned from the Nuestra America convoy to Cuba. \nSponsored by MAPA Education Fund\, cosponsored by CodePink and by HotHouse: the Center for International Exhibition and Performance. \n \nRegister to attend. URL:https://masspeaceaction.org/event/cuba-under-siege-what-happens-next/ LOCATION:Online Event CATEGORIES:Latin America ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://masspeaceaction.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/04-08-Cuba-Under-Siege.var3_-1.png ORGANIZER;CN="Massachusetts Peace Action Education Fund":MAILTO:info@masspeaceaction.org END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260403T160000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260403T170000 DTSTAMP:20260520T155611 CREATED:20260326T165056Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260326T165513Z UID:10004150-1775232000-1775235600@masspeaceaction.org SUMMARY:Defending Campus and Schools Expression DESCRIPTION:The AAUP and AFT have organized a national campaign resisting the Trump attacks on our campuses\, to engage faculty\, staffs\, students and alumni The call is for teach-ins on the first Fridays of the month leading up to a national event on Friday May 1\, 2026. Many college and university campuses lack active AAUP chapters or AFT locals. However\, many Peace and Justice advocacy groups have members or supporters on local campuses. To advance the Days of Action Campaign the Books Not Bombs Committee is hosting a series of Zoom Teach-ins. The fifth in our Zoom Teach-ins will be Friday April 3\, 4-5 pm. \n– Welcome and Our Tasks- Owen Madaus (Books Not Bombs Committee); \n– Plans for May Day in Mass\, Friday May 1\, 2026 – Jeremy Shenk & Liz Eng (AFTMA); \n– Protecting Campus Speech – Prof. Isaac Kamola (AAUP Center for the Defense of Academic Freedom);  \n– Pressing Urban School Budget Issues – Erik Berg (Pres. Boston Teachers Union); \n– Ongoing Student Organizing on Campuses – Hannah Markel\, Jessica Valatka (UMass\, Amherst); \n– Promoting Free Speech in Mass Public Schools – Dr. Aaron Shakow (Concerned Jewish Faculty and Staff); \n– Key Budget & Education debates in the MA State Legislature\, Including Proposed Referenda – Harris Gruman (SEIU1199); \n– Opposing Supplementary Funding for War –Jonathan King (Mass Peace Action Ed Fund and MIT AAUP)); \n –  Publicity and Outreach for May Day events. URL:https://masspeaceaction.org/event/defending-campus-and-schools-expression-apr/ LOCATION:Online Event CATEGORIES:Books Not Bombs ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://masspeaceaction.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/04-03-defending-campus-expression.png ORGANIZER;CN="Massachusetts Peace Action Education Fund":MAILTO:info@masspeaceaction.org END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260317T130000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260317T143000 DTSTAMP:20260520T155611 CREATED:20260303T005738Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260309T182207Z UID:10004137-1773752400-1773757800@masspeaceaction.org SUMMARY:The Real Origins of the Ukraine War and Why It Matters Today DESCRIPTION:Swiss Col. Jacques Baud (retired) is a military and international affairs analyst who will speak about his first-hand knowledge of the Donbass area of Ukraine. From 2012-2017\, he was seconded to NATO by the Swiss government to head NATO Counterproliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons Unit (SALW) in Brussels\, as well as of programs against landmines. In that capacity\, he monitored the SALW situation in the Donbass from 2014 to 2017 and designed de-mining projects in Ukraine.\nAdditionally\, as a UN expert in the Rule of Law and Reform of Security Institutions\, he contributed to projects related to the reform of the Ukrainian army at the end of 2014.\nHe has been outspoken in his views that the Ukrainian government\, aided by the U.S. and EU\, did not abide by the Minsk treaty\, but instead conducted lethal military shelling of Donbass cities\, called an anti-terrorism campaign\, aimed at an armed insurgency of ethnic Russian Ukrainians whose religious\, cultural\, linguistic\, economic\, and political rights were being increasingly restricted by the central government in Kiev.\nBaud has recently been severely sanctioned by the EU for his views. He will share his perspective not only on the origins of the civil war in Ukraine\, but on the current military and political situation and the prospects for a negotiated settlement of the war. \nSwiss Col. Jacques Baud (retired) holds a Master’s in Econometrics and Postgrade Diplomas in International Security and International Relations from the Graduate Institute for International Relations in Geneva.  He worked several years in the Swiss Strategic Intelligence Service. He was trained in US and British intelligence. \nHis extensive expertise in strategic analysis\, conflict mediation and international security spans decades. At the United Nations headquarters in New York\, he was the Head of Policy and Doctrine in the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations (2009-11) where his team worked on the protection of civilians in war. He is member of the UN Expert Group on the Rule of Law and Security Sector Reform. He authored several books on weapons\, intelligence\, asymmetric warfare and terrorism. He is currently retired and lives in Brussels (Belgium). \nBaud is the author of many books including Covert Wars in Ukraine (2025)\, The Russian Art of War: How the West Led Ukraine to Defeat (2024)\, Operation Z: The Hidden Truth of the Ukraine War (2022)\, and Putin: Master of the Game (2019). \nRegister to attend: \n \nSponsored by MAPA’s Ukraine: A Time for Peace Campaign. URL:https://masspeaceaction.org/event/the-real-origins-of-the-ukraine-war-and-why-it-matters-today/ LOCATION:Online Event CATEGORIES:Ukraine/Russia ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://masspeaceaction.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Jacques-Baud-copy.png ORGANIZER;CN="Massachusetts Peace Action Education Fund":MAILTO:info@masspeaceaction.org END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260306T160000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260306T170000 DTSTAMP:20260520T155611 CREATED:20260301T224620Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260302T200543Z UID:10004139-1772812800-1772816400@masspeaceaction.org SUMMARY:Defending Campus and Schools Expression DESCRIPTION:The AAUP and AFT have organized a national campaign resisting the Trump attacks on our campuses\, to engage faculty\, staffs\, students and alumni The call is for teach-ins on the first Fridays of the month leading up to a national event on Friday May 1\, 2026. Many college and university campuses lack active AAUP chapters or AFT locals. However\, many Peace and Justice advocacy groups have members or supporters on local campuses. To advance the Days of Action Campaign the Books Not Bombs Committee is hosting a series of Zoom Teach-ins. The fourth in our Zoom Teach-ins will be Friday March 6\, 4-5 pm. \nProgram for March 6: \n– Plans for May Day\, Friday May 1\, 2026 – Lukas Moe (national AAUP/AFT); \n– Fund Education and Human Needs\, Not Foreign Wars – Owen Madaus and Jonathan King (Books Not Bombs Committee); \n– Resisting Efforts to Censure Faculty in Virgina: Prof. Bethany LeTiecq (George Mason U. AAUP\, Virginia); \n– Student Expulsion for Expression at MIT – Prof. Haynes Miller (MIT AAUP); \n– Mass Teacher’s Association Concerns and Priorities – Deb McCarthy (V-P\, MTA); \n– Ongoing Student Organizing on Campuses – Hannah Markel\, Jessica Valatka\, (UMass\, Amherst); \n– Need to protect international students among us – Prof Lou Kruger (Northeastern University); \n– Publicizing Program and Outreach for April Teach-in\, Friday April 3. URL:https://masspeaceaction.org/event/defending-campus-and-schools-expression/ LOCATION:Online Event CATEGORIES:Books Not Bombs ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://masspeaceaction.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/260306-Protecting-Campus-Expr.r2a.png ORGANIZER;CN="Massachusetts Peace Action Education Fund":MAILTO:info@masspeaceaction.org END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260305T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260305T190000 DTSTAMP:20260520T155611 CREATED:20260124T155239Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260226T150935Z UID:10003843-1772737200-1772737200@masspeaceaction.org SUMMARY:State of Passion DESCRIPTION:We present State of Passion\, a feature-length documentary film by Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi. \nAfter 43 horrific days working round the clock under constant bombardment in the emergency rooms of Gaza’s Al Shifa and Al Ahli hospitals\, British-Palestinian reconstructive surgeon\, Dr. Ghassan Abu Sittah\, emerged to find himself as a face of Palestinian resistance. \nWith news footage of him pale and shell-shocked reverberating around the world\, he spoke of a catalogue of horrors from lacerated bodies\, to amputations without anesthetics\, orphaned children with no surviving family\, and the deliberate targeting of medics and hospital facilities. \nThis was Ghassan’s sixth and most horrific Gaza “war”.  Why does he do it?  Where does he find the strength to face it again and again? How does it impact his family? How do they process the risks he takes? The answer lies simply in their shared passion: Palestine\, a passion they articulate through their support of his perilous humanitarian work. \nFilmmakers Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi\, close friends of the Abu Sittahs\, share that same passion.  They were waiting anxiously for Ghassan to emerge from Gaza\, following a long and terrifying journey through the night\, to meet him in Amman.  Determined to capture his raw emotions\, they began filming him the moment he arrived through the door.  Following him to Beirut\, Amman\, London\, Kuwait and Dubai\, they and he explore their common State of Passion. \nFollowing the film\, a discussion will be led by Michael Maria\, Director of the Boston Palestinian  Film festival\, and Nadine Bahour\, a researcher at FXB Harvard School of Public Health. \nThe film will be shown in the Parish Hall of St. James Episcopal Church\, three blocks north of Porter Square in Cambridge.  The location can be confusing.  If you have not been to the venue before\, please review these directions and arrive a few minutes early to make sure you find us! URL:https://masspeaceaction.org/event/state-of-passion/ LOCATION:St James Episcopal Church – Parish Hall\, 1991 Massachusetts Ave\, Cambridge\, MA\, 02140 CATEGORIES:Arts and Culture,Palestine/Israel ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://masspeaceaction.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/260305-State-of-Passion.png ORGANIZER;CN="Massachusetts Peace Action Education Fund":MAILTO:info@masspeaceaction.org END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260224 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260225 DTSTAMP:20260520T155611 CREATED:20260210T200652Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260220T011145Z UID:10004121-1771891200-1771977599@masspeaceaction.org SUMMARY:This War Must End\, and It Must End Now DESCRIPTION:Join us on Tuesday\, February 24\, to mourn the 4th anniversary of the Ukraine war.\nBoston – Park Street Station\, 12 noon to 1:15 pm \nPittsfield – Rep Richard Neal’s office\, 78 Center St\, 12 noon \nNorthampton – Rep Jim McGovern’s office\, 94 Pleasant St\, noon \nSpringfield – Rep Richard Neal’s office\, 300 State St\, 1pm \nWorcester – Memorial Auditorium\, 2 Highland St\, 3pm\n \nThis month also commemorates the expiration of the New Start Treaty\, as President Trump refused to negotiate with Russia to extend this last remaining nuclear weapons control treaty. We are about to begin a nuclear arms race\, which will consume vast resources that both countries need to benefit their own people. \nWe have never been closer to nuclear war since the Cuban Missile Crisis over 60 years ago. In Ukraine\, we are dancing on the edge of nuclear war with the world’s largest nuclear power. Whatever our perspective on Russia’s invasion\, it is time to acknowledge that the U.S. and NATO strategy of “fighting Russia to the last Ukrainian” has been a catastrophe and total failure. In fact\, the very existence of an independent Ukraine is now in doubt. Further escalations only make that outcome more likely. \nThe U.S. and Europe have poured hundreds of billions of dollars into the war\, despite the acute need for those funds back home. Trump and Biden have provided Ukraine with the most sophisticated weapons and with intelligence support to fire missiles into Russia. Under Obama our CIA established 12 bases inside Ukraine to build up Ukraine’s capacity for covert operations\nand make Russia feel pain. But the war effort has failed\, and more weapons and money can’t change that reality. \nThe result is that Ukraine is suffering a demographic nightmare as entire generations of its men are being killed and disabled. Its animals are dying. Its rich soil is being poisoned. Millions of its people have left for Western Europe or for Russia. And its young men avoid the draft in droves. Its neo nazis hold an influence over the country far beyond their numbers as statues of the Nazi collaborator Stefan Bandera spring up in public places. All because peace agreements that would have kept the country together were rejected by Presidents Obama and Biden in their pursuit of weakening Russia. \nThe fact is that Russia was never going to allow the U.S. to establish a military bulwark right on its huge border with Ukraine any more than the U.S. would allow a Russian military base in Mexico. The war is a fool’s errand leading to this never-ending catastrophe. \nLet’s make sure we don’t have to commemorate a 5th anniversary of this war. Join us on February 24th in Boston\, Pittsfield\, Northampton\, Springfield\, or Worcester to oppose further escalation by all sides. URL:https://masspeaceaction.org/event/this-war-must-end-now/ LOCATION:Statewide CATEGORIES:Ukraine/Russia ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://masspeaceaction.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Ukraine-War-Anniversary-1.png ORGANIZER;CN="Massachusetts Peace Action Education Fund":MAILTO:info@masspeaceaction.org END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260215T123000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260215T133000 DTSTAMP:20260520T155611 CREATED:20260122T152517Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260201T230452Z UID:10003840-1771158600-1771162200@masspeaceaction.org SUMMARY:Violence\, Love and Hope in Israel-Palestine DESCRIPTION:Sari Bashi\, internationally renowned human rights lawyer and the executive director of the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel. Sari lives in a mixed Israeli-Palestinian family\, which is the subject of her new memoir\, Upside-Down Love. Sari will share her perspective on the ceasefire in Gaza\, the escalating violence in the West Bank\, and the opportunities emerging for transformative change. \nSari is the executive director of the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel and the co-founder and former executive director of Gisha-Legal Center for Freedom of Movement\, the Israeli human rights organization promoting freedom of movement for Palestinians in Gaza. She previously served as program director for Human Rights Watch\, leading the organization’s global research\, and as research director at Democracy for the Arab World Now\, where she’s currently a fellow. She’s an expert in international humanitarian law and writes a blog about raising her children in the West Bank. Her book\, a love story in two voices\, describes how she and her Palestinian spouse met\, fell in love and made it work\, against the odds and against Israeli law. \n \nRegister to attend: URL:https://masspeaceaction.org/event/violence-love-and-hope-in-israel-palestine/ LOCATION:Online Event CATEGORIES:Palestine/Israel ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://masspeaceaction.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/20260215-Sari-Bashi.png ORGANIZER;CN="Massachusetts Peace Action Education Fund":MAILTO:info@masspeaceaction.org END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260212T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260212T203000 DTSTAMP:20260520T155611 CREATED:20260116T044600Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260116T173607Z UID:10003833-1770922800-1770928200@masspeaceaction.org SUMMARY:4th Anniversary of Ukraine War: End it Now\, or It Could End Up in a Nuclear War! DESCRIPTION:Dr. Ivana Nikolic´ Hughes will discuss the urgent need for a negotiated end to the Ukraine War\, even with significant concessions to the Russians given the increasingly dire military situation facing the Ukrainians.  This would prevent the US or NATO from escalating with new long-range missiles\, troops\, or attacks on Russian shipping and other targets– such as the alleged Ukrainian 90-drone ‘decapitation’ attack in late December on one of Russian President Putin’s homes– to try to avoid a total Ukrainian defeat.   Such escalation could trigger WWIII\, and a catastrophic nuclear war. \nShe will also discuss the increasing danger of nuclear war between the US and Russia because both the Biden and Trump administrations failed to negotiate with Russia to renew the START treaty (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty).  It has been the most effective treaty over the past forty years to limit nuclear weapons.  It expires on Feb. 6th\, and she will discuss the importance of a groundswell of public support for Trump to agree to Putin’s offer to extend the treaty while beginning new negotiations to renew and even expand it. \nDr. Ivana Nikolic´ Hughes is President of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation and a Senior Lecturer in the Discipline of Chemistry at Columbia University. She holds a BS with Honors from Caltech\, and a PhD from Stanford University. She has been a faculty member at Columbia University since 2008 and currently serves as a member of the Scientific Advisory Group to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). Her writing has appeared in The Nation\, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists\, The Hill\, Scientific American\, Truthout\, Common Dreams\, Transcend Media Service\, The Diplomat\, and elsewhere. \nCosponsored by Ukraine: A Time for Peace Campaign and the Nuclear Disarmament Working Group of MAPA. \nRegister to attend: URL:https://masspeaceaction.org/event/4th-anniversary-of-ukraine-war-end-it-now-or-it-could-end-up-in-a-nuclear-war/ LOCATION:Online Event CATEGORIES:Nuclear Disarmament,Ukraine/Russia ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://masspeaceaction.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/20260212-ivana-hughes.png ORGANIZER;CN="Massachusetts Peace Action Education Fund":MAILTO:info@masspeaceaction.org END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260130T150000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260130T170000 DTSTAMP:20260520T155611 CREATED:20251230T194114Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260128T185034Z UID:10003825-1769785200-1769792400@masspeaceaction.org SUMMARY:Iran\, the US\, and Israel: How did we get here? DESCRIPTION:The threat of war continues to loom over Iran. After more than two weeks of nationwide unrest that rocked the country\, the protest movement appears temporarily contained following an intense and coordinated security crackdown. Meanwhile\, outside actors openly brag about exploiting the situation for their ends\, and reports suggest a military strike by the Trump Administration might be imminent.  \nOn Friday\, Jan. 30th at 3 pm\, NIAC President\, Jamal Abdi\, will join journalist and analyst Negar Mortazavi and award-winning foreign affairs correspondent and author of All the Shah’s Men\, Stephen Kinzer\, in conversation. The panel will unpack the current situation inside Iran and the geopolitical landscape\, including U.S. and Israeli calculations following the 12-day war last June that killed hundreds of Iranian civilians\, and where we go from here.  \nNegar Mortazavi is an award-winning journalist and commentator\, editor and host of the Iran Podcast\, Senior Fellow at the Center for International Policy (CIP)\, and Nonresident Scholar at the Middle East Policy Council in Washington DC. She has been covering Iranian and Middle Eastern affairs as well as US foreign policy towards the Middle East for over a decade. She is a regular commentator for US and global media including CNN\, NBC\, NPR\, BBC\, France24\, Aljazeera\, among others. She has written for Foreign Policy magazine\, Politico\, The Intercept\, and The Independent. She holds a Master’s degree from Brandeis University and a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Massachusetts Boston.  \nJamal Abdi is the President of the National Iranian American Council and the executive director of NIAC Action. He has served in this role since 2018. Prior to joining NIAC as Policy Director in 2009\, he was a Policy Advisor on foreign policy\, national security\, and immigration issues in Congress. Jamal holds a B.A. from the University of Washington in Seattle\, majoring in Political Science with a focus on International Relations. He has written for The New York Times\, CNN\, Foreign Policy\, The Hill\, and USA Today and blogs at The Huffington Post.  He is a frequent guest contributor in print\, radio\, and television\, including appearances on Al Jazeera\, NPR\, BBC Radio\, and VOA. \nStephen Kinzer is an award-winning foreign correspondent who has covered more than 50 countries on five continents.  He was a New York Times foreign correspondent for 20 years and is now Senior Fellow at the Watson School of International and Public Affairs of Brown University and a Boston Globe opinion columnist.  His books include All the Shan’s Men: An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror (2003). \nThe event will be online and presentations will be recorded.  Sponsored by NIAC and Massachusetts Peace Action Education Fund\, cosponsored by Veterans for Peace\, Just Foreign Policy\, About Face Northeast\, Center for International Policy\, Friends Committee on National Legislation\, and Military Families Speak Out. \n Register to attend. URL:https://masspeaceaction.org/event/iran-the-us-and-israel-how-did-we-get-here/ LOCATION:Online Event CATEGORIES:Middle East Wars ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://masspeaceaction.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/260130-Iran-Israel-and-US.rev8_.jpg ORGANIZER;CN="Massachusetts Peace Action Education Fund":MAILTO:info@masspeaceaction.org END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260126T180000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260126T193000 DTSTAMP:20260520T155611 CREATED:20260101T033914Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260102T174307Z UID:10003827-1769450400-1769455800@masspeaceaction.org SUMMARY:Militarism vs the Care Economy and Degrowth DESCRIPTION:At this critical time\, when climate change and war are devastating the planet and causing tremendous suffering\, the current political climate is taking everything in the wrong direction. The system of endless growth and accumulation of wealth in fewer and fewer hands at the expense of everyone else and the earth cannot be sustained. How can we do more than hold back the most extreme antidemocratic and environmentally destructive measures and work together to realize a common vision of a livable world? Speakers Harrris Gruman\, Juan Jose De Blas and Anna Prouty will address how we can transition from the current disaster/militarist economy to a peace\, climate\, and justice-oriented care and degrowth economy. They will lay out some of the principles and benefits of a care economy and degrowth and talk about practical steps we can take here in the US to bring about the world we want to see. \nSpeakers: \nHarris Gruman – Executive Director of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) State Council. He is co-founder and co-chair of Raise Up Massachusetts\, a coalition of 150 organizations which successfully campaigned to raise the minimum wage to $15\, enact paid family and medical leave\, and pass the Fair Share Amendment\, aka millionaire’s tax. A veteran of decades of successful issue and electoral work in community and labor organizing\, he is an astute political strategist. A former executive director of the Neighbor to Neighbor Education Fund\, he studied at Johns Hopkins University. At MAPA\, he  is a member of the Board of Directors\, the Ukraine Committee\, and of the Peace and the Working Class Working Group. \nJuan Jose Deblas is an active member of the International Degrowth Network as well as the Spanish member group Red Decrecer para Vivir. He sees degrowth as an opportunity to rethink the world’s economic and social systems\, address the imbalance between the Global North and South\, and protect humanity’s most vulnerable. He is Coordinator of the IDN practice circle\, Secretary of organizing and general circles\, and helping with European newsletter. He helped organize the September 2025 Beyond Growth conference in the Spanish parliament. \nAnna Prouty\, Media + Outreach Coordinator at the Degrowth Institute\, is a writer\, artist and community organizer living in Cascadia. She is the media and outreach coordinator for DGI\, and coordinates the Policy Working Group. She was also a co-founder of DegrowUS. When not at DGI\, she works for the Center for Rural Livelihoods in Oregon\, and organizes around economic democracy\, land restoration and bioregionalism. Her debut novel\, Genesis\, will be released in summer 2026 by Vine Leaves Press. \nRegister to attend: URL:https://masspeaceaction.org/event/militarism-vs-the-care-economy-and-degrowth/ LOCATION:Online Event CATEGORIES:Peace and Climate,Peace and Working Class ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://masspeaceaction.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/20260120-care-economy-copy.png ORGANIZER;CN="Massachusetts Peace Action Education Fund":MAILTO:info@masspeaceaction.org END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260123T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260123T203000 DTSTAMP:20260520T155611 CREATED:20251231T161847Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260118T000027Z UID:10003826-1769194800-1769200200@masspeaceaction.org SUMMARY:Wajib DESCRIPTION:To launch our Palestine film series\, we present Wajib (2017).  The film offers a rare\, intimate\, and authentic glimpse into the everyday lives of middle-class Palestinians in Nazareth. It is a humorous family drama about a father and his estranged son forced to spend a day together delivering wedding invitations by hand.  Wajib  artfully weaves the realities of living under occupation into the fabric of everyday interactions\, rather than presenting overt political statements. Snippets of news on the radio\, interactions with Israeli authorities\, and discussions about the choices Palestinians make to survive all serve as a subtle but constant reminder of the political context\, offering a deep\, thoughtful exploration of identity\, exile\, and compromise. \nReleased in 2017\, Wajib was directed by Annemarie Jacir\, and won 36 international film awards.   Jacir’s new film Palestine 36 is the Palestine submission for an international film Oscar.  The main actors are Mohammad and his son\, Saleh Bakri.  \nOur screening honors Mohammad Bakri\, a well known actor and producer  who passed away on December 25.  Bakri also worked as a director\, including directing the 2002 film Jenin\, Jenin in which he interviewed residents of the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank who claimed mass destruction and the killing of Palestinians by Israeli forces during Operation Defensive Shield. The film drew a lot of controversy in Israel and was quickly banned by the Israeli Film Board from being screened. \nSponsored by the MAPA Education Fund.  The screening will be followed by an appreciation of Bakri and a discussion led by a Palestinian who is from Nazareth.  Light refreshments. \nOrder your tickets here. \n  URL:https://masspeaceaction.org/event/wajib/ LOCATION:St James Episcopal Church – Parish Hall\, 1991 Massachusetts Ave\, Cambridge\, MA\, 02140 CATEGORIES:Arts and Culture,Palestine/Israel ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://masspeaceaction.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/260123-Wajib.rev2_.png ORGANIZER;CN="Massachusetts Peace Action Education Fund":MAILTO:info@masspeaceaction.org END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260120T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260120T203000 DTSTAMP:20260520T155611 CREATED:20251230T065044Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260215T210012Z UID:10003824-1768935600-1768941000@masspeaceaction.org SUMMARY:Matthew Hoh: Ukraine War\, End it Now or Lose Much More Later DESCRIPTION:Attendees of this webinar will hear Matthew Hoh discuss the military\, economic and political state of the Ukraine War as it nears its 4th anniversary.  He will discuss the ongoing negotiations to end the Ukraine War and why ending the war is an imperative for all sides. He will summarize the current military\, economic and political realities for Ukraine and Russia\, as well as Europe and the US\, and provide his thoughts on what a successful negotiated settlement may look like. He will also discuss the potential consequences if a political settlement to the war is not reached and it continues into its fifth year. Finally\, he will discuss the dangers that will continue even if there is a peace agreement and why demilitarization and a renewed effort to rebuild a wrecked United Nations system are urgently needed. \nMatthew Hoh is a disabled Marine Corps veteran of the Iraq War and former Afghan War State Department Officer. In 2009\, after being appointed to the Foreign Service\, Hoh resigned his post in Afghanistan over the Obama administration’s escalation of the Afghan War. He is now an analyst and commentator on foreign and military policy issues as a senior fellow with the Eisenhower Media Network. He serves on the advisory boards of many peace organizations\, including Veterans for Peace and World Beyond War\, and is an associate member of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity. \nRegister to attend: URL:https://masspeaceaction.org/event/ukraine-war-end-it-now-or-lose-much-more-later/ LOCATION:Online Event CATEGORIES:Ukraine/Russia ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://masspeaceaction.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/20260120-Ukraine-War-EndItNow.png ORGANIZER;CN="Massachusetts Peace Action Education Fund":MAILTO:info@masspeaceaction.org END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260113T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260113T200000 DTSTAMP:20260520T155611 CREATED:20260104T211029Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260107T174918Z UID:10003829-1768330800-1768334400@masspeaceaction.org SUMMARY:What’s going on in Palestine DESCRIPTION:Trump’s “Peace Proposal”\, the UN Security Council resolution and their significance for the future of Gaza \nPhyllis Bennis and Richard Falk will focus on the developments on the ground in Gaza\, the US role and Trump’s “peace” plan\, the consequences of the latest UN Security Council resolution\, and what the UN has done and failed to do regarding the genocide.  They will also talk about the current situation in the West Bank. \nPhyllis Bennis is Program Director at the Institute for Policy Studies; in 2001 helped found the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights\, served 6 Years on the board of Jewish Voice for Peace.  She is author of the 2025 Understanding Palestine and Israel (Interlink Books). \nRichard Falk is former UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Territories for the UN Human Rights Council 2008-2014. He is Professor Emeritus of International Law at Princeton University.   \nSponsored by Massachusetts Peace Action Education Fund; cosponsored by the International Peace Bureau and Campaign for Peace\, Disarmament\, and Common Security. \n \nRegister to attend. URL:https://masspeaceaction.org/event/calling-it-what-it-is-whats-going-on-in-palestine/ LOCATION:Online Event CATEGORIES:Palestine/Israel ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://masspeaceaction.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/250113-Palestine-Falk-Bennis.rev3_.png ORGANIZER;CN="Massachusetts Peace Action Education Fund":MAILTO:info@masspeaceaction.org END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260105T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260105T203000 DTSTAMP:20260520T155611 CREATED:20251214T055514Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260215T210200Z UID:10003819-1767639600-1767645000@masspeaceaction.org SUMMARY:What is Trump’s Golden Dome? Are We Paying for Ineffective Missile Defense and a Spiraling Nuclear Arms Race? DESCRIPTION:Missile Defense\, as the term implies\, is defending against enemy missiles carrying an explosive payload. The origin of these anti-missile systems dates back to the Cold War space race between the U.S. and the Soviet Union\, an era when intercontinental ballistic missiles could be deployed in space to launch satellites to orbit or travel thousands of miles carrying nuclear weapons. Missile defense systems were deployed by both superpowers in the 1960s\, but proved to be technically infeasible and prohibitively expensive. They were ultimately abandoned. \nFeasibility and cost notwithstanding\, the U.S. military and weapons contractors succeeded in pursuing these systems during the Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush administrations. Now\, Donald Trump has launched the ambitious Golden Dome project\, yet another missile defense program based on technologies and space-based interceptors proven to be unworkable. \nIn this webinar\, we will hear three experts discuss the technical and policy aspects of Golden Dome. \nTed Postol\, professor emeritus at MIT\, is an internationally known analyst and long-time critic of the missile defense program. He has held positions at the Argonne National Laboratory\, the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment\, and the Pentagon\, where he functioned as scientific advisor to the Chief of Naval Operations and technical and policy advisor to the Joint Chiefs of Staff. At Stanford\, he helped build a weapons technology training program for development and arms control policy. His awards include the 1995 Hilliard Roderick Prize in Science\, Arms Control\, and International Security from the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) which lauded him as “by-far the strongest\, technically-trained\, independent arms control analyst of his generation” and the mentor of “a whole generation of independent arms control policy analysts.” He has been awarded for whistle-blowing about governmental false claims about missile defenses like the Patriot system in the 1991 Gulf War. He is a member of the New York Council on Foreign Relations\, a board member of The Committee for the Republic\, and a former editor of the journal International Security. \nDaryl Kimball is the Executive Director of the Arms Control Association (ACA)\, Washington\, DC\, where since 2001 he has led the organization’s advocacy campaigns on major issues including cancellation of new nuclear weapons programs\, the 2010 New START agreement\, the 2015 P5+1 nuclear deal with Iran\, the entry into force of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty\, and strengthening the nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. He is publisher of the organization’s monthly journal\, Arms Control Today\, a frequent expert source for reporters and policymakers\, and has written and spoken extensively about all matters related to nuclear arms control. Previously\, he was the executive director of the Coalition to Reduce Nuclear Dangers\, and the Director of Security Programs for Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR). There\, he helped to expose and accelerate the cleanup of a toxic\, Cold War-era nuclear weapons production site in his hometown of Oxford\, Ohio\, led the advocacy for the 1992 nuclear test moratorium in Congress and for the U.N.’s endorsement of the 1996 Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. \nSubrata Ghoshroy\, a former Senior Defense Analyst for the Government Accountability Office (GAO)\, was the lead Technical Evaluator for its investigation into allegations of fraud in the missile defense program. When the GAO tried to cover up his discovery that contractors were lying about a $100-million test\, he blew the whistle and quit the GAO shortly afterwards. He then joined MIT as a Research Affiliate with the Program in Science\, Technology\, and Society. \nLinda Pentz Gunter\, moderator\, is the curator and editor of Beyond Nuclear International and the international specialist at Beyond Nuclear. Prior to her work in anti-nuclear advocacy\, she was a journalist for 20 years in print and broadcast\, working for USA Network\, Reuters\, The Times (UK) and other US and international outlets. \nRegister to attend: URL:https://masspeaceaction.org/event/trumps-golden-dome/ LOCATION:Online Event CATEGORIES:Nuclear Disarmament ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://masspeaceaction.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/What-is-the-Golden-Dome.png ORGANIZER;CN="Massachusetts Peace Action Education Fund":MAILTO:info@masspeaceaction.org END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20251211T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20251211T203000 DTSTAMP:20260520T155611 CREATED:20251126T045813Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251127T203158Z UID:10003809-1765479600-1765485000@masspeaceaction.org SUMMARY:Veterans Healthcare Choices: Privatization and Its Negative Impact on Women Veterans DESCRIPTION:Seeking Women’s Health Justice\, a subcommittee of MAPA’s Fund Healthcare Not Warfare campaign\, examines women’s health from the perspective of justice – with the awareness that peace is a fundamental issue of health. The cost of U.S. militarism drains economic resources at the expense of health and lives. Through awareness and understanding of the culture that promotes war\, we examine the intersection of peace and women’s health\, which is justice. Our work offers paths of action that can be taken to oppose militarism and to nurture health and enhance justice. \nIn this webinar\, veterans’ health care policy analyst Suzanne Gordon will delve into the Veterans Administration specialized efforts to treat female veterans\, and how this care and expertise is being lost due to this transition to private sector care. \nCase in point: one out of three women veterans has experienced some form of sexual harassment or assault during military service. Every VA mental health provider is required to take basic military sexual trauma (MST) training and some specialize in this area. However\, the VA MISSION Act of 2018 established a private sector network\, the Veterans Community Care Program\, that contracts private-sector therapists who typically have no MST training. \nFor over a decade\, opponents of the integrated healthcare system run by the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) have assured veterans that privatizing their care through widespread outsourcing to private sector providers will give them more healthcare choices\, forming a new network of timely\, high quality\, and ultra-convenient care. But if more VA care is outsourced to the private sector\, will veterans\, in fact\, enjoy “a vast array of healthcare choices\,” as one privatization advocate claimed? Will they drive shorter distances for their medical or mental health appointments? And will they see reduced wait-times? Finally\, are there really thousands of doctors\, therapists\, and other clinicians ready and able to care for the nine million American veterans currently enrolled in the VA? The Veterans Healthcare Policy Institute (VHPI) released a comprehensive\, 50-state report entitled: “Veterans’ Health Care Choice — Myth or Reality? A State- by- State Reality Check of the False Promise of VA Privatization.” It definitively answers these questions. \nSuzanne Gordon is a senior policy analyst at the VHPI\, an Assistant Adjunct Professor at the UCSF School of Nursing\, and an award-winning journalist. She has authored or coauthored 11 books\, the most recent being Wounds of War: How the VA Delivers Health\, Healing\, and Hope to the Nation’s Veterans. Together with Lisa Hayes\, she has written a play about patient safety and teamwork entitled Bedside Manners. \nRegister to attend: \n \nRead the report Veterans’ Health Care Choice — Myth or Reality? Click on Massachusetts in the graphic on this page to see the report for the Commonwealth. URL:https://masspeaceaction.org/event/veterans-healthcare-choices-privatization-and-its-negative-impact-on-women-veterans/ LOCATION:Online Event CATEGORIES:Fund Healthcare Not Warfare ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://masspeaceaction.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/20251211-women-veterans-Gordon.png ORGANIZER;CN="Massachusetts Peace Action Education Fund":MAILTO:info@masspeaceaction.org END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20251209T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20251209T203000 DTSTAMP:20260520T155611 CREATED:20251114T012000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251204T171806Z UID:10003802-1765306800-1765312200@masspeaceaction.org SUMMARY:The Trillion Dollar War Machine DESCRIPTION:How Runaway Military Spending Drives America into Foreign Wars and Bankrupts Us at Home \nAmerica spends a trillion dollars a year on its military. This extraordinary spending not only detracts from our ability to address pressing social problems but compels us into foreign wars to justify our vast arsenal. Sold to us in the name of “security\,” our military industrial complex actually makes us far less safe. \nTop policy experts William D. Hartung and Ben Freeman will discuss their new book The Trillion Dollar War Machine\, which follows the profits of militarism from traditional Pentagon contractors\, who receive more than half of the Pentagon’s budget\, to the upstart high-tech firms that shamelessly promote unproven and destabilizing technologies. They unmask the enablers of the war machine—politicians\, lobbyists\, the media\, Hollywood\, think tanks\, and so many more—whose work enriches a wealthy elite at the expense of everybody else\, spreading conflict around the world and embroiling America in endless wars. A damning tour de force\, The Trillion Dollar War Machine shows who is pulling the strings and pushing for war\, and offers a blueprint for how we can shut down the war machine and restore American security and prosperity. \nWilliam D. Hartung focuses on the arms industry and US military budget. He was previously the director of the Arms and Security Program at the Center for International Policy and the co-director of the Center’s Sustainable Defense Task Force. Bill is the co-author\, with Ben Freeman\, of the recently released The Trillion Dollar War Machine: How Runaway Military Spending Drives America into Foreign Wars and Bankrupts Us at Home. He is also the author of Prophets of War: Lockheed Martin and the Making of the Military-Industrial Complex (Nation Books\, 2011) and the co-editor\, with Miriam Pemberton\, of Lessons from Iraq: Avoiding the Next War (Paradigm Press\, 2008). And Weapons for All (HarperCollins\, 1995) is a critique of US arms sales policies from the Nixon through Clinton administrations. \nBill previously directed programs at the New America Foundation and the World Policy Institute. He also worked as a speechwriter and policy analyst for New York State Attorney General Robert Abrams. Hartung’s articles on security issues have appeared in the New York Times\, the Washington Post\, the Los Angeles Times\, The Nation\, and the World Policy Journal.\nHe has been a featured expert on national security issues on CBS 60 Minutes\, NBC Nightly News\, the PBS Newshour\, CNN\, Fox News\, and scores of local\, regional\, and international TV and radio outlets. \nBen Freeman is director of the Democratizing Foreign Policy program at the Quincy Institute. Ben is the co-author\, with William Hartung\, of the recently released The Trillion Dollar War Machine: How Runaway Military Spending Drives America into Foreign Wars and Bankrupts Us at Home. He investigates money in politics\, defense spending\, and foreign influence in America. He is the author of The Foreign Policy Auction\, which was the first book to systematically analyze the foreign influence industry in the United States. Before joining the Quincy Institute\, Ben founded the Foreign Influence Transparency Initiative at the Center for International Policy\, served as Deputy Director of the National Security program at Third Way\, and was a National Security Fellow at the Project On Government Oversight. At the latter\, he spear-headed creation of the “Foreign Influence Database\,” a repository of propaganda distributed by foreign agents that was previously unavailable online. \nBen earned a Ph.D. from Texas A&M University\, where he taught in the Political Science Department and the Bush School of Government and Public Service. He is currently a faculty member at the Institute for Defense and Business\, where he teaches seminars on the defense budget process and the foreign influence industry. \nHis work has appeared in numerous media outlets\, including the New York Times\, Washington Post\, Los Angeles Times\, Wall Street Journal\, and Politico. Ben has appeared on CNN\, BBC\, NPR\, Fresh Air with Terry Gross and numerous other media outlets. He has also testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee. \nCosponsored by War Industries Resistance Network and Massachusetts Peace Action Education Fund \n \n  \nRegister URL:https://masspeaceaction.org/event/the-trillion-dollar-war-machine/ LOCATION:Online Event CATEGORIES:Fund the People, Not the Pentagon ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://masspeaceaction.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/251209-Trillion-Dollar-War-Machine.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20251205T160000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20251205T170000 DTSTAMP:20260520T155611 CREATED:20251125T172857Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260219T144237Z UID:10003812-1764950400-1764954000@masspeaceaction.org SUMMARY:Protecting Campus Expression in the Greater Boston Area DESCRIPTION:Freedom to Speak\, To Teach\, To Learn\, To Research; \nWith Security and Affordability \nA Teach-in with the AAUP/AFT campaign leading up to a national Day of Action on May 1\, 2026. \n \nPlease REGISTER and forward to Campus Colleagues \nThe  AAUP and AFT have organized a national campaign resisting the Trump attacks on our campuses\, to engage faculty\, staffs\, students and alumni The call is for teach-ins on the first Fridays of the month leading up to a national event on Friday May 1\, 2026. The Greater Boston area is home to more than 50 colleges and universities\, but few have active AAUP chapters or AFT locals. To advance the Days of Action Campaign in Greater Boston the Books Not Bombs Committee is holding  a series of Zoom Teach-ins. The second in our Boston-area Zoom Teach-ins will be Friday Dec 5\, 4-5 pm. \nWelcome– Owen Madaus (Books Not Bombs Committee; Brandeis U) \nLegal Issues with the Trump Compact – Traci Griffith (ACLU MA) \nUpdate on the AAUP/AFT campaign – Lukas Moe (AAUP regional organizer) \nReport on Educational Freedom Project Rally– Jack Masliah (Northeastern students) \nState Colleges and allies including Students Rise Up – Rich Levy (MTA; Mass State College Association) \nHigh Tech Council Tax Cut Referenda and Sign-On letter – Harris Gruman (SEIU Massachusetts Political Director) \nLiving Wages for Campus Workers – Evan McKay (Harvard UAW local) \nProgram Committee:  Prof. Jonathan King\, Owen Madaus\, Prof. Gary Goldstein\, Prof. William Woodward\,  Hayat Imam \nSponsored by the Massachusetts Peace Action Education Fund URL:https://masspeaceaction.org/event/protecting-campus-expression-in-the-greater-boston-area-2/ LOCATION:Online Event CATEGORIES:Books Not Bombs ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://masspeaceaction.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/251205-Campus-Expression.png ORGANIZER;CN="Massachusetts Peace Action Education Fund":MAILTO:info@masspeaceaction.org END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20251202T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20251202T203000 DTSTAMP:20260520T155611 CREATED:20251119T022113Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251119T022113Z UID:10003806-1764702000-1764707400@masspeaceaction.org SUMMARY:UKRAINE WAR: Negotiate\, Don’t Escalate and Risk WWIII DESCRIPTION:Retired Lt. Col. Karen Kwiatowski of the Eisenhower Media Network will discuss the critical stage that the Ukraine War has reached\, and the urgent need to end it with painful but realistic concessions now before Ukraine loses far more soldiers and territory in the near future\, and before possible US/NATO escalation to help Ukraine avoid total defeat leads to the precipice of nuclear war with Russia. \nLt. Col. Karen U. Kwiatkowski is a retired U.S. Air Force officer whose assignments included duties as a Pentagon desk officer and various roles for the National Security Agency. After retiring\, she became a noted critic of the U.S. involvement in Iraq. Kwiatkowski is known for her insider essays denouncing a corrupting political influence on military intelligence\, especially leading up to the 2003 Iraq War. In 2012\, she challenged incumbent Bob Goodlatt in the Republican primary for Virginia’s 6th district in the U.S. House of Representatives. \nWhile in the Air Force\, she wrote the books Africa: African Crisis Response Initiative: Past Present and Future (2000) and Expeditionary Air Operations in Africa: Challenges and Solutions (2001). She contributed to Ron Paul: A Life of Ideas (2008) and Why Liberty: Personal Journeys Toward Peace and Freedom (2010). She has been featured in several documentaries\, including Why We Fight (2005). She has written for LewRockwell.com since 2003 and her work has appeared in Salon and The American Conservative. She has an MA in Government from Harvard\, an MS in Science Management from the University of Alaska\, and a PhD in World Politics from The Catholic University of America; her thesis was titled Angola\, A Case Study of the Implementation of the Reagan Doctrine. She is a founding member of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity. \nRegister to attend: URL:https://masspeaceaction.org/event/ukraine-war-negotiate-dont-escalate-and-risk-wwiii/ LOCATION:Online Event CATEGORIES:Ukraine/Russia ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://masspeaceaction.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/20251125-Karen-Kwiatkowski.png ORGANIZER;CN="Massachusetts Peace Action Education Fund":MAILTO:info@masspeaceaction.org END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20251120T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20251120T203000 DTSTAMP:20260520T155611 CREATED:20251105T021322Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251105T172843Z UID:10003792-1763665200-1763670600@masspeaceaction.org SUMMARY:Report from the West Bank DESCRIPTION:Benny Davidovitch recently returned from the West Bank as part of a Protective Presence for Palestinian shepherds and their families. This presentation is based on his personal experience in the 2 weeks he spent with families in the West Bank (northern Jordan valley). He has put together an excellent presentation on his time there\, including photos and videos taken by himself and other volunteers. It is approximately 25-30 mins\, and consists mainly of photos and short films of events that he and others with the group Jordan Valley Activists (JVA) witnessed during their stays in West Bank communities. \nDavidovitch is an American-Israeli who is a volunteer with JVA\, a group comprised of mostly Jewish Israelis who provide a “protective presence” between Palestinian shepherds and the settlers who target them. They document law violations and other abuses committed by the settlers and fund-raise to help shepherds access water when sources are restricted by the Israeli army. Since the Hamas attack of October 2023\, the settler movement has used Israel’s siege in Gaza as an opportunity to intensify their established campaign of violent harassment of Palestinian shepherds and their families– including arbitrary arrests\, home demolitions\, land grabs\, and murders. \n\nBenjamin Davidovitch\, an American-Israeli resident of Amherst MA since 2007\, works as a Physics Professor at UMass Amherst. In the summer of 2025\, he joined the Jordan Valley Activists – Israeli volunteers who stay 24/7 with Palestinian communities at risk\, and provide them with “protective presence” against their harassment and displacement by violent settler groups. \nRegister to attend: URL:https://masspeaceaction.org/event/report-from-the-west-bank/ LOCATION:Online Event CATEGORIES:Palestine/Israel ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://masspeaceaction.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/20251120-Davidovitch-1.png ORGANIZER;CN="Massachusetts Peace Action Education Fund":MAILTO:info@masspeaceaction.org END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20251118T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20251118T203000 DTSTAMP:20260520T155611 CREATED:20251031T171130Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251105T233155Z UID:10003789-1763492400-1763497800@masspeaceaction.org SUMMARY:Media Bias and the Gaza Genocide DESCRIPTION:Since October 2023\, historian Assal Rad and journalist Sana Saeed have closely tracked media coverage of the war in Gaza\, highlighting how much of it aligns with the Israeli narrative and distorts key facts — contributing to widespread misinformation and disinformation. \nOur speakers will present examples of headlines that obscure the facts\, and we will have some time to practice our media literacy skills! \n\nDr. Assal Rad is a historian of the modern Middle East. She works on research and writing related to U.S. foreign policy issues\, the Middle East\, contemporary Iran\, and Israel/Palestine. Her writing can be seen in Newsweek\, The National Interest\, The Independent\, Foreign Policy and more\, and she has appeared as a commentator on BBC World\, Al Jazeera\, CNN\, and NPR. Assal completed a PhD in History from the University of California\, Irvine in 2018 and is the author of The State of Resistance: Politics\, Culture\, and Identity in Modern Iran (Cambridge University Press\, 2022). \nSana Saeed is an award-winning journalist and media critic known for her sharp analysis of how media shapes public perception. She previously hosted the shows Backspace and The Occupation Style Guide at AJ+ that illuminated the ways mainstream news frames narratives around war\, colonialism\, and resistance. Since October 2023\, she has been at the forefront of critically exposing how U.S. media propaganda is used to justify war crimes and shape public discourse around the genocide in Gaza. \n  \nRegister to attend: URL:https://masspeaceaction.org/event/media-bias-and-the-gaza-genocide/ LOCATION:Online Event CATEGORIES:Palestine/Israel ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://masspeaceaction.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/20251118-Media-Bias.png ORGANIZER;CN="Massachusetts Peace Action Education Fund":MAILTO:info@masspeaceaction.org END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20251117T180000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20251117T200000 DTSTAMP:20260520T155611 CREATED:20251031T164207Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251031T165527Z UID:10003788-1763402400-1763409600@masspeaceaction.org SUMMARY:We are Not Numbers DESCRIPTION:presenting We Are Not Numbers: The Voices of Gaza’s Youth\, edited by Pam Bailey and Ahmed Alanouq.  Featuring readings by Daniel José Older\, Salma Shawa\, Khury Petersen-Smith\, Autumn Allen\, and George Abraham and a conversation lead by Hannah Moushabeck \nRegistration is required for the event\, but is free.  You have the option to order a “Book-Included” ticket to reserve a copy of We Are Not Numbers and pick it up at the event.  (Books bundled with tickets may only be picked up at the venue the night of the event\, and cannot be picked up in-store beforehand. Ticket holders who purchased a book-included ticket and are unable to attend the event will be able to pick up their book at Harvard Book Store up to 30 days following the event. This offer expires after 30 days. Please note we cannot guarantee signed copies will be available to ticket holders who do not attend the event.) \nProceeds of the book support We Are Not Numbers\, a project providing mentorship and a global platform for young Gazan writers. Pam Bailey will sign books after the presentation. \n \nSponsored by Harvard Bookstore\, Interlink Books\, and MAPA Education Fund \nAbout We Are Not Numbers\nA teenage girl stares at her roof\, hoping it won’t collapse over her head. A young student searches the Internet for photos of libraries around the world\, hoping he’ll be able to visit them one day. Another walks around the city\, taking notes of all the buildings she dreams of repairing. \nThese are the stories of young people from Gaza\, born under Israeli occupation and blockade. They are people who have endured unspeakable struggles and losses\, who keep fighting to be recognized not as numbers\, but as human beings with hopes\, dreams\, and lives worth living. \nWe Are Not Numbers was founded in 2014 to give voice to the youth of Gaza. In this collection—vital\, urgent and full of heart\, spanning over ten years to the present moment—we gain an unparalleled insight into the past\, as well as the current and next generation of Palestinian leaders\, artists\, scientists and scholars and imagine where we might go from here. \nPraise for We Are Not Numbers\n“Essential . . . A project that insists on liberation.” — Ta-Nehisi Coates \n“A rebellion against the singular story. An insightful\, multifaceted glimpse into the besieged Gaza Strip\, where millions of people continue to confront a genocide waged by an Israeli regime.” — Mohammed el-Kurd \n“With lovingly crafted words and stories\, the authors in We Are Not Numbers open portals in Israel’s apartheid wall\, inviting readers into the impossible realities of life under siege in Gaza. The collective commitment to doing whatever it takes to produce this extraordinary symphony of testimony is evident on every page. This book is a jailbreak—and a miracle.” — Naomi Klein \n“We Are Not Numbers is not just a book—it’s my life\, their life\, and our shared story. I know some of these brave writers; I’ve walked the same streets\, felt the same fear\, and shared the same dreams under Gaza’s skies. These pages carry the truth of our struggle and the beauty of our humanity. This is Gaza as it truly is\, written by those who live it every day.” — Motaz Azaiza\, award-winning Palestinian photojournalist \n“Picking up this book may seem hard because of the subject matter; putting it down is even harder. The voices of Gaza’s young writers are so moving and varied and astonishing. You’ll carry We Are Not Numbers in your heart for a very long time.” — Kamila Shamsie \nBios\nPam Bailey is a freelance journalist and social-justice activist. She lived and worked in the Gaza Strip immediately following the 2008/9 Israeli assault. Today\, she is a communications consultant and writer/editor for nonprofits such as ImpACT International for Human Rights Policies. She has also founded More Than Our Crimes\, a nonprofit initiative focused on assuring second chances for individuals convicted of violent crimes in the United States. She is based in Washington DC. \nAhmed Alnaouq grew up in Gaza where he earned a bachelor’s degree in English Literature from al-Azher University. Ahmed was the inspiration for\, and original project manager of\, We Are Not Numbers. He later won the UK’s prestigious Chevening scholarship and earned a master’s degree in international journalism from Leeds University. He also serves as advocacy and outreach officer for the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor. Ahmed’s writings have been published by the Gulf News\, New Arab\, and other websites. He is currently based in London. \nDaniel José Older\, a lead story architect for Star Wars: The High Republic\, is the internationally best-selling author of many comics and twenty books\, including the Young Adult series the Shadowshaper Cypher\, which was named one of the best fantasy books of all time by TIME magazine and one of Esquire’s 80 Books Every Person Should Read. He won the International Latino Book Award and has been nominated for numerous others. Find his books and online writing classes here: http://danieljoseolder.net/ \nSalma Shawa is a Palestinian content creator and publishing professional who is originally from Gaza. She uses her social media platforms to advocate and educate people about Palestine. You can find her online @salma.shawa_. \nKhury Petersen-Smith is the Michael Ratner Middle East Fellow and the Co-Director of the New Internationalism Project at IPS. He researches U.S. empire\, borders\, and migration and strategizes with activists to work against the violence that the U.S. carries out and supports around the world. Khury focuses especially on U.S. militarism in the Middle East and in the Pacific\, and movements that resist it. He graduated from the Clark University Graduate School of Geography in Massachusetts\, after completing a dissertation on U.S. military bases in the Pacific. He is one of the co-authors and organizers of the 2023 Black Voices for Ceasefire statement\, which was signed by over 6\,000 Black activists\, artists\, and scholars. \nAutumn Allen is an educator\, an editor\, an award-winning author\, and a children’s literature specialist. Her debut young adult novel\, All You Have To Do (Kokila/Penguin\, 2023)\, was a People Magazine must-read for fall 2023\, a Kirkus Reviews Best Young Adult Book of 2023\, a Black Caucus of the ALA debut honor award winner\, and is long listed for the Massachusetts Book Award. Her picture books\, Step On Board: Sculpting a Memorial to Harriet Tubman\, illustrated by Ekua Holmes\, and Answered Prayers\, illustrated by Charly Palmer\, are forthcoming from Knopf. Autumn is a senior editor at Barefoot Books and she teaches literature\, writing and publishing to students of all ages. Autumn grew up in Boston and lives in Massachusetts with her family. \nGeorge Abraham (they/??) is a Palestinian American poet\, essayist\, critic\, and performance artist. They are the author of When the Arab Apocalypse Comes to America (Haymarket\, 2026) and Birthright (Button Poetry\, 2020)\, which won the Arab American Book Award and was a Lambda Literary Award finalist. They are the Editor-at-Large of Mizna\, and co-editor of Heave Looks Like Us: Palestinian Poetry (Haymarket\, 2025) which was long-listed for the Palestine Book Award. They are a graduate of Northwestern’s Litowitz MFA+MA program\, and teach at Amherst College as a Writer-in-Residence. \nHannah Moushabeck is a second-generation Palestinian American author and book worker who was raised in a family of publishers and booksellers and learned the power of literature at a young age. Hannah has worked in publishing for over a decade at companies such as Chronicle Books\, The Quarto Group\, and Simon & Schuster. She now runs Interlink Publishing\, the only Palestinian-owned publisher in the United States\, alongside her family. Her debut picture book Homeland: My Father Dreams of Palestine (Chronicle Books) won The New England Book Award and The Arab American Book Award. She lives in Amherst\, Massachusetts on the homelands of the Pocumtuc and Nipmuc Nations. URL:https://masspeaceaction.org/event/we-are-not-numbers/ LOCATION:Cambridge Public Library\, 449 Broadway\, Cambridge\, MA\, 02138\, United States CATEGORIES:Palestine/Israel ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://masspeaceaction.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/1000005086.jpg GEO:42.3741209;-71.1107166 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=Cambridge Public Library 449 Broadway Cambridge MA 02138 United States;X-APPLE-RADIUS=500;X-TITLE=449 Broadway:geo:-71.1107166,42.3741209 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20251107T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20251107T203000 DTSTAMP:20260520T155611 CREATED:20251105T174028Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260219T144206Z UID:10003793-1762542000-1762547400@masspeaceaction.org SUMMARY:Protecting Campus Expression in the Greater Boston Area DESCRIPTION:Freedom to Speak\, To Teach\, To Learn\, To Research; \nWith Security and Affordability \nA Teach-in with the AAUP/AFT campaign leading up to a national Day of Action on May 1\, 2026. \n \nPlease REGISTER and forward to Campus Colleagues \nMany campuses in Mass and across the country will be holding teaching and demonstrations this Friday\, with faculty\, staffs\, students and alumni\, to resist the Trump attack on teaching\, research and political expression.  The Greater Boston area is home to more than 50 colleges and universities\, but few have active AAUP chapters or AFT locals. To help launch the Days of Action Campaign in Greater Boston the Books Not Bombs Committee will hold an  evening  Zoom Teach-in. This will be after most campus-based events\, and will permit engagement of individuals whose campus organizations aren’t able to organize an event for this coming Friday. \nWelcome & Rejection of the Trump Compact – Owen Madeus (Books  Not Bombs Committee; Brandeis U); \nThe AAUP/AFT campaign – Lukas Moe (AAUP regional organizer); \nProtecting Campus Speech – SEIU509 Rep. \nProtecting political expression – Marcus Breen (Boston College); Cole Harrison (Mass Peace Action). \nLiving Wages for Campus Workers – Evan McKay (Harvard UAW local); \nCritical Value of Campus-based Research – Jonathan King (MIT AAUP\, Books Not Bombs Committee); \nRoles for the State Legislature – Rep. Mike Connolly; \nOpposing genocide – Dr. Karameh Kuemmerle (Harvard Med\, Doctors Against Genocide); \nEducational Freedom Project Nov 15 Rally– Jack Masliah (Northeastern students); \nOrganizing for Friday Dec 5 Teach-in; \nSign on Letter. \nPlease REGISTER and forward to Campus Colleagues \nProgram Committee:  Prof. Jonathan King\, Owen Madaus\, Prof. Gary Goldstein\, Prof. William Woodward\, Hayat Iman. \nSponsored by the Mass Peace Action Education Fund URL:https://masspeaceaction.org/event/protecting-campus-expression-in-the-greater-boston-area/ LOCATION:Online\, MA\, United States CATEGORIES:Books Not Bombs ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://masspeaceaction.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/251107-Campus-Expression.rev2_.png ORGANIZER;CN="Massachusetts Peace Action Education Fund":MAILTO:info@masspeaceaction.org END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20251101T160000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20251101T190000 DTSTAMP:20260520T155611 CREATED:20251003T153716Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251101T180807Z UID:10003441-1762012800-1762023600@masspeaceaction.org SUMMARY:Annual Dinner 2025: Protecting Our Neighbors **SOLD OUT DESCRIPTION:Join us on November 1st to celebrate a year of steadfast organizing and resistance! With authoritarianism on the rise\, the U.S. terrorizing civilians at home and across the globe\, and the continuation of the genocide in Gaza\, “protecting our neighbors” has never been more important. As we know\, the terror and militarization abroad inflicted by the U.S. will always come home\, and this year we honor those on the front lines fighting Trump’s agenda and protecting the most vulnerable – from Massachusetts to Gaza. \nThis year’s Peacebuilder Award recipients include the union responsible for the release of Rümeysa Öztürk – SEIU 509 and the founders of “Bearing Witness\,” Jared D. Berezin and Laurie Lynn Berezin\, who organize hundreds of Masssachusetts residents outside ICE headquarters in Burlington in ongoing weekly stand-outs. We also will also honor Susan McLucas and Paula Iasella for their longstanding work to free Julian Assange\, a man who worked to reveal the breath of U.S. war crimes. \nWe will present our 2025 Peace Leadership Award to Dr. Karameh Kuemmerle\, a Palestinan-American pediatric neurologist and co-founder of Doctors Against Genocide – an organization dedicated to mobilizing the medical community to respond to and prevent genocide and severe human rights abuses worldwide. She is affiliated with Harvard Medical School with research focusing on improving healthcare outcomes for refugee communities and addressing the impact of social determinents like racism. \nJoin us for and evening filled with great Caribbean food from Eunice’s Cuisine and a live performance of Palestinian and Arabic music by local band\, the Hawa Collective to celebrate another year of resistance! URL:https://masspeaceaction.org/event/annual-dinner-2025-protecting-our-neighbors/ LOCATION:Dante Alighieri Society\, 41 Hampshire Street\, Cambridge\, MA\, 02139\, United States CATEGORIES:Democracy ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://masspeaceaction.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Annual-Dinner-2025.rev2_.png ORGANIZER;CN="Massachusetts Peace Action Education Fund":MAILTO:info@masspeaceaction.org END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20251027T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20251027T200000 DTSTAMP:20260520T155611 CREATED:20251010T204602Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251010T204920Z UID:10003778-1761591600-1761595200@masspeaceaction.org SUMMARY:Anti-Semitism as a Smokescreen: Effects of Pseudo Anti-semitism on Women DESCRIPTION:Under the guise of condemning anti-semitism\, the current U.S. presidential administration has weaponized and distorted the true meaning of antisemitic philosophy and actions. Countering anti-semitism has become a bullying tactic on U.S. college campuses and is being used as a means to discredit or demonize supporters of Palestinian rights. \nThis brand of anti-semitism has become a smokescreen for punishing institutions and activists and can be seen as “pseudo anti-semitism”\, a false interpretation and deliberate twisting of the concept used to confuse and further polarize the U.S. electorate.\n \nSpeakers will address how “pseudo anti-semitism” affects women in the U.S. and in Palestine\, contributing to the dangerous rhetoric of the ongoing war taking place there. \nAlice Rothchild\, MD is a retired obstetrician-gynecologist who worked in the health care reform and women’s movements for many years. She directed a documentary film Voices Across the Divide\, an oral history project sharing the stories of Palestinians\, which premiered at the Boston Palestine Film Festival\, 2013. \nSince 1997\, she has focused much of her energy on understanding the Israeli/Palestinian conflict from a progressive perspective. Her books on this topic include Condition Critical: Life and Death in Israel/Palestine\, Extraordinary Rendition: (American) Writers on Palestine\, On the Brink: Israel and Palestine on the Eve of the 2014 Gaza Invasion\, Shifting Sands: Jewish Women Confront the Israeli Occupation\, and Broken Promises\, Broken Dreams: Stories of Jewish and Palestinian Trauma and Resilience. \nLubna Alzaroo\, PhD grew up in Hebron\, Palestine before moving to the U.S. for graduate school on a Fulbright Scholarship. Her upbringing in Palestine shaped her interest in Environmental Justice issues. She has master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Washington with a focus on the Environmental Humanities. Her research is on the representation of settler-colonial infrastructure\, and the environment in both U.S and Palestinian Literature. She is a lecturer in the Program on the Environment and the Comparative History of Ideas department at The University of Washington and also teaches Environmental Science at South Seattle College. Her courses focus on environmental justice and Settler Colonial Infrastructures. \nSponsored by the Women’s Health Subteam of Fund Healthcare Not Warfare\, MAPA Education Fund.  Register to attend. URL:https://masspeaceaction.org/event/anti-semitism-as-a-smokescreen-effects-of-pseudo-anti-semitism-on-women/ LOCATION:Online Event CATEGORIES:Palestine/Israel ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://masspeaceaction.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/251027-Smokescreen-Antisemitism-and-Women.png ORGANIZER;CN="Massachusetts Peace Action Education Fund":MAILTO:info@masspeaceaction.org END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR