Vision: We envisage a future where international relations are based on cooperation instead of competition and conflict, and where mutual benefit and shared security lead to a more peaceful and just global community.
Mission: NH Peace Action educates, mobilizes, and organizes, to build a more peaceful and just future for all.
Sixty-five peace activists and friends gathered at the Derryfield Restaurant in Manchester on Sunday, October 13 for our 2024 Annual Event. Evaluations suggest that our move in day and time to a Sunday afternoon was well-received.
Participants clearly enjoyed being able to socialize before being served lunch and then listening to amazing speakers from Combatants for Peace who joined us via Zoom from Palestine & Israel. It was a powerful and impactful hour of hearing Elie Avidor, an Israeli engineer and former combatant who grew up in Haifa and Ahmed Helou, who was born in Jericho and at age 15 joined the local Hamas movement, tell their stories of the incredible losses they have suffered and how they came to lay down their arms and join Combatants for Peace. The audience asked tough, thought-provoking questions that they answered without hesitation.
Also new this year was the addition of awards to honor those who have gone above and beyond
Adeena Ahsan accepted the Macy Morse Award on behalf of the UNH students who protested the bombing and destruction of Gaza by Israel. Macy’s granddaughter Carissa was on hand to join Karolina Bodner in presenting the award. Photo by Jehann El-Bisi
Sandra Yarne of the Palestine Education Network presented Bob Sanders with the David Van Strien Award. Bob did two long-distance bicycle rides this summer – Ride Against War in Gaza – to raise awareness and funds. He also co-founded Not In My Name NH, a group of Jews calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. Photo by Arnie Alpert.
Bob & Eileen Ehlers accepted the Lois Booth Award for the NH Peacekeepers. Bob & Eileen have been Peacekeepers since the start of the program and are often found in Concord ensuring that patients can safely enter the Equality Health Center. David Booth, son of Don and Lois Booth, was on hand to say a few words about his mother. Photo by Arnie Alpert.
It was wonderful to take this time for connecting and recharging and NHPA is grateful for all who work for peace..
Photos below by Jehann El-Bisi and Billy Johnson
NH Peace Action Statement on Palestine and Israel
Since October 7, the horrors of war and violence have again taken center stage in the world. We at NH Peace Action see how the cycle of violence and retribution brings continuing terror and pain to all. Thus, we promote nonviolent solutions to problems, local and global, instead. We believe killing people is a problem, not a solution. We believe everyone, including Israelis and Palestinians, deserve better.
We condemn Hamas for its attacks on Israeli civilians on October 7. We condemn Israel’s military response against the Palestinians in the occupied territories, particularly in Gaza. We call for an end to the violence, and we call for the courage to look at the historical context in which it is happening. The only way to solve the problem is to understand it.
Many people have been speaking out for decades about the dangerous situation in Israel and Palestine. However, leaders around the world neglect the issue. The space for even talking about this conflict is narrow. NH Peace Action will continue to try to be a voice that advocates for valuing every person, listening to each other even when we disagree, and calling for nonviolent solutions. Until the root causes are addressed and a new system that honors the dignity of all people is in place, outbreaks of violence will never end.
We have heard over and over that the situation in The Holy Land is so complicated, it’s been going on thousands of years, it’s just hopeless, what can we do? However, we work with organizations that prove this wrong and show that the people of that region are perfectly able to get along. Combatants for Peace, The Parents Circle Families Forum, and Standing Together are a few organizations comprised of Israelis and Palestinians working together for justice and security for all. In the US, Jewish Voice for Peace advocates for an end to the oppression of the Palestinian people.
We’re also told that humans are simply inherently aggressive and war-like. However, decades of research proves this wrong. Humans are capable of good and bad behaviors. How we act depends on the context. Violence researchers have learned a lot about what promotes prosocial behaviors. If we are willing to try to understand everyone we are in a position to greatly decrease violence. Understanding is not condoning. Understanding is a key to prevention and empowers us to make the world safer for all.
Although this is happening far away, we know that Israel depends on U.S. money and weapons and diplomatic protection, making us complicit in everything they do and giving us the power to make change. We are further reminded that there are some winners in war – U.S. weapons sellers especially. Raytheon CEO Greg Hayes on a Q3 Earnings Call on October 24, 2023 said: “I think really across the entire Raytheon portfolio, you’re going to see a benefit.”
[Note that NH Peace Action is against arming both Israeli and Palestinian militant groups. We speak out most strongly against the Israeli government’s violence because the U.S. Government, thus American taxpayers, directly fund it.]
While our NH Senators Shaheen and Hassan and our Representatives Kuster and Pappas have correctly condemned Hamas for its horrible attacks on civilians, they offer unqualified support and funding for Israel’s government while its military collectively punishes civilians, bombs schools and hospitals, forcefully relocates citizens and deprives the people of Gaza of food, water, shelter, health care, fuel, and more.
At this moment we are calling on our U.S. Representatives to:
-Demand an immediate and permanent ceasefire -End U.S. military support to the Israeli government -Call for an end to the blockade of Gaza -Allow extensive humanitarian aid into Gaza -Support meaningful peace talks based on human rights and international law -Do not support actions that widen this conflict and could lead to a world war
We are asking all our members and supporters to call your Senators and Congresspeople every day with these messages. We also encourage you to donate to the civil organizations who continue to work for peace, even amid the sorrow and the rubble. Join with others, through NH Peace Action or another group, to act and to advocate for a safer future for us all.
It is heartening that by now the rest of the nations of the world and most of the people of every nation are speaking up for this violence to end. We will continue to do our work to move U.S. legislators to do so as well.
Some people refer to October 7 as Israel’s 9/11. While that comparison is questionable, maybe there are lessons from 9/11 that would be useful. In the aftermath of that moment, the U.S. launched a war that encompassed much of the Middle East and led to a death toll of 4.5-4.7 million, to the displacement of 38 million people, to serious erosions in civil liberties and human rights at home and abroad, the destabilization of an entire region of the globe and cost us about $8 trillion. The choices we made then have made the world less safe. We are closer to nuclear war than ever in history, have a worldwide refugee crisis, and more fear and anger towards the U.S. The wars have contributed significantly to environmental problems, since the Defense Department is one of the world’s top greenhouse gas emitters. (https://watson.brown.edu/costsofwar/papers/summary)
Peace activists are often told that we’re naive to think that nonviolence will be effective. Many of us think the idea that violence will bring about peace is far less sensible. In a world with nuclear weapons and serious environmental problems, war is too dangerous and costly for us all at this point.
History is filled with examples of how wars have ended and how people have learned to live together even after horrors have been inflicted. There are many recent instances, such as in Northern Ireland, where U.S. support for diplomacy instead of weapons shipments helped end the bloodshed, and South Africa.
We are publishing this just before Martin Luther King, Jr. Day 2024, so end with this quote from him: “We must learn to live together as brothers or we will all perish together as fools.”
National Peace Action: A Briefing & Action Steps on the War in Ukraine
Our Mission and Vision:
Vision: We envisage a future where international relations are based on cooperation instead of competition and conflict, and where mutual benefit and shared security lead to a more peaceful and just global community.
Mission: NH Peace Action educates, mobilizes, and organizes, to build a more peaceful and just future for all.
For more information, read our “Peace Pillars” here
2024 Annual Event
Sixty-five peace activists and friends gathered at the Derryfield Restaurant in Manchester on Sunday, October 13 for our 2024 Annual Event. Evaluations suggest that our move in day and time to a Sunday afternoon was well-received.
Participants clearly enjoyed being able to socialize before being served lunch and then listening to amazing speakers from Combatants for Peace who joined us via Zoom from Palestine & Israel. It was a powerful and impactful hour of hearing Elie Avidor, an Israeli engineer and former combatant who grew up in Haifa and Ahmed Helou, who was born in Jericho and at age 15 joined the local Hamas movement, tell their stories of the incredible losses they have suffered and how they came to lay down their arms and join Combatants for Peace. The audience asked tough, thought-provoking questions that they answered without hesitation.
Also new this year was the addition of awards to honor those who have gone above and beyond
It was wonderful to take this time for connecting and recharging and NHPA is grateful for all who work for peace..
Photos below by Jehann El-Bisi and Billy Johnson
NH Peace Action Statement on Palestine and Israel
Since October 7, the horrors of war and violence have again taken center stage in the world. We at NH Peace Action see how the cycle of violence and retribution brings continuing terror and pain to all. Thus, we promote nonviolent solutions to problems, local and global, instead. We believe killing people is a problem, not a solution. We believe everyone, including Israelis and Palestinians, deserve better.
We condemn Hamas for its attacks on Israeli civilians on October 7. We condemn Israel’s military response against the Palestinians in the occupied territories, particularly in Gaza. We call for an end to the violence, and we call for the courage to look at the historical context in which it is happening. The only way to solve the problem is to understand it.
Many people have been speaking out for decades about the dangerous situation in Israel and Palestine. However, leaders around the world neglect the issue. The space for even talking about this conflict is narrow. NH Peace Action will continue to try to be a voice that advocates for valuing every person, listening to each other even when we disagree, and calling for nonviolent solutions. Until the root causes are addressed and a new system that honors the dignity of all people is in place, outbreaks of violence will never end.
We have heard over and over that the situation in The Holy Land is so complicated, it’s been going on thousands of years, it’s just hopeless, what can we do? However, we work with organizations that prove this wrong and show that the people of that region are perfectly able to get along. Combatants for Peace, The Parents Circle Families Forum, and Standing Together are a few organizations comprised of Israelis and Palestinians working together for justice and security for all. In the
US, Jewish Voice for Peace advocates for an end to the oppression of the Palestinian people.
We’re also told that humans are simply inherently aggressive and war-like. However, decades of research proves this wrong. Humans are capable of good and bad behaviors. How we act depends on the context. Violence researchers have learned a lot about what promotes prosocial behaviors. If we are willing to try to understand everyone we are in a position to greatly decrease violence. Understanding is not condoning. Understanding is a key to prevention and empowers us to make the world
safer for all.
Although this is happening far away, we know that Israel depends on U.S. money and weapons and diplomatic protection, making us complicit in everything they do and giving us the power to make change. We are further reminded that there are some winners in war – U.S. weapons sellers especially. Raytheon CEO Greg Hayes on a Q3 Earnings Call on October 24, 2023 said: “I think really across the entire Raytheon portfolio, you’re going to see a benefit.”
[Note that NH Peace Action is against arming both Israeli and Palestinian militant groups. We speak out most strongly against the Israeli government’s violence because the U.S. Government, thus American taxpayers, directly fund it.]
While our NH Senators Shaheen and Hassan and our Representatives Kuster and Pappas have correctly condemned Hamas for its horrible attacks on civilians, they offer unqualified support and funding for Israel’s government while its military collectively punishes civilians, bombs schools and hospitals, forcefully relocates citizens and deprives the people of Gaza of food, water, shelter, health care, fuel, and more.
At this moment we are calling on our U.S. Representatives to:
-Demand an immediate and permanent ceasefire
-End U.S. military support to the Israeli government
-Call for an end to the blockade of Gaza
-Allow extensive humanitarian aid into Gaza
-Support meaningful peace talks based on human rights and international law
-Do not support actions that widen this conflict and could lead to a world war
We are asking all our members and supporters to call your Senators and Congresspeople every day with these messages. We also encourage you to donate to the civil organizations who continue to work for peace, even amid the sorrow and the rubble. Join with others, through NH Peace Action or another group, to act and to advocate for a safer future for us all.
It is heartening that by now the rest of the nations of the world and most of the people of every nation are speaking up for this violence to end. We will continue to do our work to move U.S. legislators to do so as well.
Some people refer to October 7 as Israel’s 9/11. While that comparison is questionable, maybe there are lessons from 9/11 that would be useful. In the aftermath of that moment, the U.S. launched a war that encompassed much of the Middle East and led to a death toll of 4.5-4.7 million, to the displacement of 38 million people, to serious erosions in civil liberties and human rights at home and abroad, the destabilization of an entire region of the globe and cost us about $8 trillion. The choices we made then have made the world less safe. We are closer to nuclear war than ever in history, have a worldwide refugee crisis, and more fear and anger towards the U.S. The wars have contributed significantly to environmental problems, since the Defense
Department is one of the world’s top greenhouse gas emitters. (https://watson.brown.edu/cost
Peace activists are often told that we’re naive to think that nonviolence will be effective. Many of us think the idea that violence will bring about peace is far less sensible. In a world with nuclear weapons and serious environmental problems, war is too dangerous and costly for us all at this point.
History is filled with examples of how wars have ended and how people have learned to live together even after horrors have been inflicted. There are many recent instances, such as in Northern Ireland, where U.S. support for diplomacy instead of weapons shipments helped end the bloodshed, and South Africa.
We are publishing this just before Martin Luther King, Jr. Day 2024, so end with this quote from him: “We must learn to live together as brothers or we will all perish together as fools.”
National Peace Action: A Briefing & Action Steps on the War in Ukraine
click here to learn more.
Working for Peace in the Time of COVID
To read our statement on continuing our work for a more peaceful world during the corona virus pandemic click here.
Pushing Back Against the War Budget
To see our statement on our Representatives failure to support modest pentagon cuts
Click here
Sign our petition pushing our congressional team to speak out against Biden’s 813$ billion 2023 military budget recommendation.
Click here
Our Partners
National Peace Action Back From the Brink American Friends Service Committee
Upcoming Events
Film screening: The Movement and the Madman
Martin Luther King, Jr Community Celebration
Film Discussion: The Movement and the Madman
Update and Feedback Session
Peter Beinart: Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza