WILPF NEWS
Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom
East Bay and San Francisco Branches
Work to Advance Peace, Justice and Human Rights
January 2025
People’s March in San Francisco
Saturday, January 18 24th Street and Bryant
Rally begins 11am
March to Dolores Park begins at noon
Some of us from the East Bay and San Francisco WILPF branches will be meeting at noon at Cafe La Boheme, 3318 24th St, just across from the 24th Street BART station. We will join the march from there and would love to have you join us. Click here for details.
Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Devastating Wildfires in Southern California
Excerpts of letter from Joel Reynolds, Western Director
Natural Resources Defense Council
Our thoughts and hearts are with the people whose lives have been upended by the catastrophic wildfires that have burned tens of thousands of acres in the Los Angeles area and across Southern California.
The LA fires have killed at least two dozen people, displaced thousands, and destroyed more than 12,000 structures. 100,000 people are still under evacuation orders. And with hundreds of billions in losses so far, the blaze is already the most expensive wildfire in U.S. history and will have economic repercussions for decades.
These are the real-life, painful, and rising costs of the climate crisis on full display. Here’s what you need to know:
- 2024 was the hottest year on record globally
- The wildfires were intensified by rising temperatures, powerful winds, and drought conditions exacerbated by climate change, all of which also make it harder for firefighters to put them out
- Inhaling wildfire smoke can have devastating impacts on human health, including cardiovascular disease, respiratory problems, and cancer, which can lead to death
- Wildfire smoke can travel hundreds to thousands of miles from the actual flames — and have dangerous consequences for air quality along the way
- Wildfires can pollute waterways and drinking water, releasing toxic chemicals into our water systems
- The LA region has long been plagued by a severe shortage of affordable housing — the crisis will only make it worse, especially for low-income resident
This is not the time for misinformation and scoring cheap political points at the expense of people whose lives are upended. And no one should be threatening to withhold urgently needed assistance as political payback.This is a moment for leaders at every level, and for all of us across the country, to stand with our neighbors in a great American city in their hour of need and let them know they’re not alone. A time to look in the mirror and make up our minds to rally around the people of Los Angeles.
Israel and Hamas Agree to Long Overdue Ceasefire Deal in Gaza
More Action is Needed
Excerpts of article by Hassan El-Tayyab
Friends Committee on National Legislation
read full article here
After more than 15 months of horrific violence in Gaza and across the Middle East, it’s welcome news that Israel and Hamas have agreed to exchange dozens of hostages and commit to a temporary pause in fighting. These exchanges acknowledge a fundamental truth: every life has inherent value, whether they are Israeli or Palestinian.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that details are still being finalized. The Israeli cabinet is expected to meet on Thursday to vote on ratifying the agreement, which faces opposition from far-right officials.
This deal is an important step, but it is not enough. While FCNL applauds this agreement, we lament that it comes far too late for the tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians who have lost their lives, limbs, or loved ones due to indiscriminate Israeli bombings and severe aid restrictions. It also comes far too late for the 1,200 Israeli civilians killed on October 7 and the nearly 100 Israeli hostages and their families who have been living in agony, separated from their loved ones for well over a year now.
As FCNL has long said, war is not the answer. There is no military solution to the Israeli-Palestine conflict, only a diplomatic one that addresses root causes of violence. This agreement demonstrates the enduring power of dialogue over violence.
While this is a critical step forward for peace, the work is far from over. We must secure a permanent ceasefire, ensure the return of all remaining Israeli hostages and Palestinian political prisoners, provide unfettered access to humanitarian aid, and work toward a just and lasting peace for all. U.S. lawmakers must press for continued diplomatic engagement across the region, including in Lebanon, Yemen, Syria, and Iran, to prevent more war and needless civilian suffering.
Moreover, sustainable peace requires finally addressing the root causes of violence in the Israel-Palestine conflict such as ending the Israeli occupation, the blockade on Gaza, systemic oppression, Israeli settler violence, annexation, and systemic inequality faced by Palestinians. Congress and the administration must act by withholding further offensive weapons transfers to Israel, which have been used in violation of United States law and policy and International Humanitarian Law. U.S. lawmakers must use their leverage with all stakeholders in the region to keep the peace process on track.
While the challenges ahead are immense for the region, this initial ceasefire agreement is an essential first step. Now it’s up to lawmakers and advocates alike to look for willing partners in peace to advance shared goals of civilian protection and lasting political solutions that ensure equality for Palestinians and Israelis alike.
True peace is not merely the absence of tension; it is the presence of justice.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Peace Gathering in Berkeley
Saturday, January 25 7-9pm
Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists, 1924 Cedar Street, Berkeley
Networking Tables & Presentations by 15 Activist Groups, Awards, Chilean & Aymara Music, Live Texting Actions & CodePink Bake Sale Benefit for Prosthetics for Palestine
Participants include CodePink, Veterans for Peace, Mount Diablo Peace & Justice Center, Berkeley Banner Drop, Nor Cal Sabeel, Prosthetics For Palestine, Taxpayers Against Genocide, Berkeley Network For Palestine, RACCOON, Peoples Arms Embargo, Women in Black, Albany El Cerrito for Palestine, Divest Bay Area, and Hope For Haiti: Education.
Produced by Humanist Mutual Aid Network; Proceeds to help Myanmar refugees
Admission Free – $5 donation suggested – Tickets at the door or Eventbrite
Time to Reverse Course and Change the Conversation
from Doomsday to Peace Day
Excerpts of article by Alice Slater
Robin Lloyd, Editor
For complete article, go here
The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, with the advice of Albert Einstein and other scientists from the Manhattan Project who developed the atomic bomb, established a Doomsday Clock, in 1947, to illustrate the annihilating danger the earth is facing since the creation of the diabolical nuclear bomb. At that time, the clock was set at 7 minutes to midnight, their estimate of how much time we had left before nuclear war would wreak catastrophic devastation on our planet and all living things in existence.
Over the years, the hands of the clock have been reset, forward and backward, as scientists and policy makers estimated how immediate the nuclear danger loomed, based on the perils faced by other countries obtaining nuclear weapons as well as new arms control measures, weapons limitations, and agreements, particularly between the US and Russia for disarmament measures. At its most optimistic, the Doomsday hands were moved to 17 minutes to midnight in 1991when the US and USSR announced the complete cessation of nuclear testing.
Shockingly, despite years of nuclear arms control measures, resulting in arsenals down from a high of 70,000 bombs at the peak of the world’s nuclear insanity, to about 12,000 today, 11,000 of which are in the US and Russia with nearly 4,000 poised and ready to go, with another 1000 held by the six other nuclear weapons states—UK, France, China, India, Pakistan, Israel, and North Korea– the clock has never been set closer to Doomsday than it is today—At 90 seconds to midnight!
It’s time to transform the clock and change the conversation! Dire warnings about Doomsday have done little to increase our world’s safety these 77 years. It’s time to speak about the many possibilities and missed opportunities to create the new dawning of a Peace Day, changing the clock of doom to a clock that can tick off the many solutions that have been ignored and disregarded We must stop giving our blessing and consent to endless steps to “control” arms that lead to ever more danger as illustrated by the aging Doomsday clock.
We are at a turning point in history. It is time to change the conversation with bold new proposals. Here are a series of steps that are most likely to lead to peace on earth if the US is ready to mobilize and work for peace.
- Take up repeated Russian and Chinese proposals for treaties to ban weapons in space and cyberwar
- Reinstate the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty with Russia and removes US missiles from Romania and Poland
- Remove US nuclear weapons from five NATO states in a deal for Russia removing its recently placed nuclear weapons in Belarus
- Take all nuclear weapons off high alert and separate the warheads from their delivery systems as China does– the wisdom of the East
The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
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