NJ was
able to pull together an emergency protest in response to the US launching of
cruise missile attacks against the nation of Syria less than 24 hours after the
US attack. On April 6, the US launched 59 cruise missiles at an air force base which is also where Russian soldiers are stationed.
Twenty
or so attended but there were at least a half dozen others that showed up as we
finished or were on their way at that point and missed the event.
While
ideally 100s would respond to such a serious war escalation – this is a positive
development that NJ was able to respond at all on such short notice. We are setting the tone for escalating street resistance in response to escalating US war making and the very real threat of nuclear confrontation between the US and Russia and / or China.
Given
the emergent nature of the protest it was not feasible for existing
organizations around the state to be able to formal enact resolutions to support
the protest.
We
organized the event through a Facebook group that we had set up around one of
the previous situations where all out war with Syria seemed possible. Up until Thursday night the group existed in
Facebook world only but since we were able to successfully organize and put NJ
on the map in opposition to war escalations against Syria we are proceeding
forward as a formal organization – with the current title – still being vetted
in our membership: NJ Against US War on Syria and in the Middle East.
We
invite all that agree with the objectives suggested by this organization name
to join us – first – if you are on Facebook by requesting to be added to our
Facebook group:
The measure of the success is not just who attended but the activity around promotion of the event. The night before the event I wrote a press
release and set up a blog for the purpose of moving the effort forward.
The
press release, which was viewed close to 1000 times was immediately reblogged by David Rutherford on his Plainfield View
site:
https://plainfieldview.wordpress.com/2017/04/07/emergency-nj-protest-today-against-the-us-war-on-syria
https://plainfieldview.wordpress.com/2017/04/07/emergency-nj-protest-today-against-the-us-war-on-syria
The
Facebook event was shared over 100 times.
And our Facebook group added about 50 new members.
THE RECORD COVERS EVENT
THE RECORD COVERS EVENT
We were
on the front page of the Record, a north NJ paper. They also had a nice on line write up with a
set of 6 pictures. The reporter quoted
Madeline Hoffman, Director of NJ Peace Action and me and the reporting was fair
and balanced.
Here is
the part about us:
In
Newark, activists converged on Martin Luther King Boulevard on Friday afternoon
to denounce the U.S. strike that launched 59 Tomahawk missiles at
a Syrian air base, which Syrian officials say killed nine people.
Bob Witanek,
a rally organizer, said the U.S. shouldn't get involved in more wars in
the Middle East. He said it was hypocritical given the civilian causalities the
U.S. has caused in recent strikes in Syrian and Iraq.
"We
are not in a place to say we are the arbiter of what is horrendous, when every
other day there is an article about civilians being killed by an air
strike or a drone strike," he said. "A poison attack sounds
particularly horrendous but a bombing attack kills you just as bad."
Witanek
was also concerned that the situation could lead to an even
worse confrontation with other nations, including Russia, which has
been a critical military and political ally to Assad.
Madelyn
Hoffman, executive director of New Jersey Peace Action, questioned the legality
of the airstrikes.
“The
airstrikes are an act of war, and a war has never been officially declared by
U.S. Congress,’’ said Hoffman, who planned to attend the rally in Newark on
Friday.
She
said that increasing violence and military action will not improve the
situation in Syria. “It’s up to the people of Syria to decide who their
leader should be,’’ she said.
She
also expressed concern that the airstrikes threaten direct confrontation with
Russia.
“We
don’t want to escalate tensions with Russia,’’ she said, noting that the missiles
were launched on the 100th anniversary of when the United States entered World
War I. “Is this going to trigger World War III and how do you pull the dogs of
war back once you have unleashed them?"
The rally was also covered by Newark Patch:
https://patch.com/new-jersey/newarknj/essex-county-anti-war-protesters-rally-against-syria-missile-strike-newark
The rally was also covered by Newark Patch:
https://patch.com/new-jersey/newarknj/essex-county-anti-war-protesters-rally-against-syria-missile-strike-newark
PEOPLES ORGANIZATION FOR PROGRESS CHAIR LAWRENCE HAMM AND NJ PEACE ACTION DIRECTOR MADELYN HOFFMAN CRITICAL TO SUCCESS
As
most of what happens in Newark as far as protests for justice, peace, economic
equality, the Peoples Organization for Progress played a key role. I had somehow arrived with my Megavox system’s
battery kicked. Lawrence Hamm came with
his two Megavox speakers and speaker poles and reliable microphones to save the
day – allowing us to broadcast the event up and down the blocks, across the
street and the the passers by.
Another
stroke of luck was when a passer by Jamaal live streamed the presentation by
Lawrence Hamm on Facebook – receiving 100s of hits. Jamaal later shared the video to our group
and granted permission to upload it to Youtube.
The rally was also addressed by Bob Witanek, Carol Gay of NJ Labor Against War, Madelyn Hoffman, Director of NJ Peace Action and Jay Arena, Newark resident and representative of Movement for Socialism and Manijeh Saba,
Afterward a half dozen of us held a dinner meeting where we decided to proceed with the formation of this organization and the continuation of organizing resistance to US escalation of its war on Syria - which is important because today the Trump administration wrote to congress indicating its intentions to continue with more military aggression against Syria and probably other attack targets.
For more
information about NJ Against US War on Syria and in the Middle East you can
join our group or call / text 908-881-5275.
For
more pictures from the event:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=oa.433852623627413&type=3
- we need to develop bigger, better, quicker war response mechanisms - we need 1000s in the streets for each escalation - else we can lose our lives and the planet possibly within weeks!
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=oa.433852623627413&type=3
- we need to develop bigger, better, quicker war response mechanisms - we need 1000s in the streets for each escalation - else we can lose our lives and the planet possibly within weeks!
UnivisiĆ³n Channel 41 interviews Travis Morales of Refuse Fascism at April 7 "NYC Emergency Protest – Condemn the U.S. Bombing of Syria"
ReplyDeletehttp://www.univision.com/nueva-york/wxtv/noticias/manifestaciones/ataque-contra-una-base-siria-provoco-reacciones-adversas-en-nueva-york-video#rel