Monday, December 16, 2024, 5:00 PM. Grassroots Election Protection Coalition/ALLIANCE 4 GRASSROOTS DEMOCRACY. Weekly zoom meeting. Register here.
Monday, December 16, 2024, 6:00 – 7:30 PM. CRIS: Who do we Welcome? Staff from the Community Refugee and Immigration Service (CRIS) are holding an info session about their programming for any interested community members. Curious about refugees, asylum-seekers, and immigrants in our community? Interested in learning more about what CRIS does? Join our upcoming info session to find out more! This info session is geared towards those who are not already involved with CRIS but are interested in learning more about our work and mission. Register here.
Tuesday, December 17, 2024, 10:00 AM. Syria After Assad: Domestic and Regional Challenges. Arab Center Washington DC is convening a panel of experts to unpack the recent developments in Syria, explore the challenges facing the country, and discuss the implications for the region and US policy. Register here.
Tuesday, December 17, 2024, 6:30- 8:00 PM. Live from Palestine. We are honored to invite you to a special event featuring our guest from Palestine, Medical Missions Manager Suhail Flaifl, as he visits the U.S. for the first time to share firsthand accounts of Palestine Children’s Relief Fund’s impactful work in Gaza. Appetizers and drinks will be served. Location: Ohio Union, Senate Chamber, 1739 N. High St., Columbus 43210. This is a free event, but registration is required. Please RSVP here.
Tuesday, December 17, 2024, 6:00 – 7:30 PM. Shifting the Narrative to Restore UNWRA Funding. Join the Friends Committee on National Legislation for this workshop discussing the narratives about UNRWA and the need for the restoration of UNRWA aid. Register here.
Tuesday, December 17, 2024, 8:00 PM. ACLU's People Power Action Call! The Trump administration is gearing up for mass deportations starting on day one, threatening the safety of millions of families. Join the ACLU's December People Power Action Call to hear from ACLU experts about what's ahead and how you can help protect immigrant communities. We'll also discuss our new Community Defender Program and updates on critical campaigns to protect trans rights, commute federal death sentences, and fight dangerous legislation. Register here.
Tuesday, December 17, 2024, 6:00 – 8:00 PM. Take Action Happy Hour: Contact Your Legislators and Create Community! Been hearing about all of the bills going through the Ohio Statehouse and want to take action? Join Abortion Forward, PPAO, TransOhio, and Equality Ohio in Columbus for an action-filled happy hour, where we will tell you about some of the good and bad bills and answer any questions you have. We will be calling and writing letters/postcards to our legislators to urge them to act in a way that supports reproductive freedom and LGBTQ+ rights! Don't worry, we will walk you through every step, and have scripts available for you to reference if needed. We will also be hanging out and creating community, so come whenever you can and stay as long as you'd like! Location: Two Dollar Radio Headquarters, 1124 Parsons Ave, Columbus. Register here.
Tuesday, December 17, 2024, 1:00 PM. Another Way Forward: Co-Creating Amid Catastrophe. Join Combatants for Peace (CfP) co-founders Souli Khatib and Avner Wishnitzer, alongside Mehra Rimer, founder of B8 of Hope, for an urgent conversation about steadfastness, nonviolent resistance, and the struggle for a just peace. Moderated by Tiffany Goodwin-Van Camp, Executive Director of American Friends of CfP, this event will explore how solidarity and collective action connect the struggle for liberation in Israel and Palestine with movements for justice worldwide. Register here.
Tuesday, December 17, 2024, 11:00 AM. Kumi Now! Rise Up Together for Justice. Kumi Now is an online gathering every Tuesda7y with a guest activist on the ground exploring issues of critical relevance to the Palestinian people and how you can get involved. Register here.
Thursday,
December 19, 2024, 10:00 – 10:30 AM. Churches for Middle East Peace
Weekly Briefing. Please join us on Zoom for a
weekly briefing on current news regarding the Hamas and Israel War.
You will hear from CMEP Staff and other experts. Register
here.
Saturday, December 21, 2024, 12:00 – 1:00 PM. Weekly Rally for Peace. Location: East North Broadway and High St., Columbus.
Saturday, December 21, 2024, 1:00 – 3:00 PM. Then and Now. The Intersection of Palestine, Christianity and the Endurance of Palestinian Christians. Guest speakers: Dr. K. Christine Pae, Denison University, Hiba Shamma, Palestinian American Christian, Rev. John Wagner, United Methodist Pastor and Activist, and Pastor Jon Osmundson, Hilliard United Methodist Church. Location: Hilliard United Methodist Church, 5445 Scioto Darby Road, Hilliard Ohio.
Sunday, December 15, 2024, 11:00 AM. International Manifestation of Solidarity with Palestinian People. Global Solidarity for Peace in Palestine (GSPP) is a coalition of organizations from around the world committed to defending the rights of Palestinians and ending the occupation. Our movement is built on the principles of justice, human dignity, and respect for international law. More information and registration here.
Sunday, December 15, 2024, 12:30 PM. Growing Coresistance: A CJNV Community Event and Panel Discussion. Join us to learn from Ghassan Najjar of the Land & Farming Cooperative in Burin and hear stories of Jewish-Palestinian coresistance from CJNV activists. Register here for the zoom link.
Monday, December 16, 2024, 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM. Interrogating the Crimes in Gaza: An Honest Conversation. A special briefing and panel event on genocide in Gaza. We will be joined by Omar Baddar, political analyst and human rights advocate, Omer Bartov, Professor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Brown University, Budour Hassan, Amnesty International’s Researcher on Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Erika Guevara Rosas, Amnesty International’s Senior Director for Research, Advocacy, Policy and Campaigns, and Nadia Daar, Amnesty International USA’s Chief Impact Officer. Register here.
Tuesday, December 17, 2024, 6:00 – 7:30 PM. Veterans for Peace Central Ohio Meeting. Location: Columbus Metropolitan Library, Whetstone Branch, 3909 N. High St., Columbus.
Wednesday, December 18, 2024, 12:00 PM. The Israeli Society and the War: A Conversation with Orly Noy. The genocidal war waged by Israel against Gaza, in the wake of Hamas’ attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, seems to be backed by large sections within the Zionist margins in Israel. Even the political opposition to Netanyahu’s extreme right-wing government has been supportive of the war. Liberal citizens who, a couple of years ago, filled the streets in vocal demonstrations against a judicial reform, have rarely objected to the war and when they did criticize it, they focused mainly on the painful neglect of the Israeli hostages. Anat Matar, member of the Bisan Lecture Series Steering Committee and senior lecturer of philosophy at Tel Aviv University, will discuss the current mindset of the Israeli society with Orly Noy, an Israeli journalist, translator and activist. Register here.
Wednesday, December 18, 2024, 12:00 – 5:00 PM. Virtual Delegation Nazareth: All I want for Christmas is a Liberated Palestine. Visit the historical city of Nazareth and learn about what Christmas is like where Jesus grew up. Virtual delegation will be followed by a discussion with religious leaders from Palestine and the US. More information and registration here.
Friday, December 20, 2024, 12:00 PM. Action Hours Cease Fire Now. Join AFSC staff every Friday to hear updates from Gaza. Then, take action with us as we contact our elected officials and call for an us. For over a year, AFSC’s team in Gaza has provided food, water, and other life-saving aid to hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians. A new short film offers a window into their everyday lives. “Lifelines: Aid workers in Gaza” follows AFSC staff members Firas Ramlawi and Serena Awad as they bring critical assistance to others, even as they face extreme hardship. Please join us for a special screening and discussion of this 15-minute film as part of our weekly AFSC Action Hour. Register here.
Saturday, December 21, 2024, 7:00 PM. From the Darkness to the Light. Our Solstice Concert Shines a Light. On Our Hopes For a Brighter New Year. On the darkest day of the year when daylight will be at its lowest ebb, join Bill Cohen and my musical friends for an uplifting concert that looks ahead to the new year, its emerging sunlight, and its potential for joy and progress. Fellow musicians Joanne Blum and Joe Lambert will add beautiful vocal harmonies, and Ann Fisher will add soothing counterpoints with her flute. The reflective evening will also feature wise sayings about darkness and light. And the concert in the darkened sanctuary will be bathed in the glow of dozens of candles. Expect a couple fun surprises too. Admission is free. During the program, we’ll simply “pass the hat.” The musicians and crew will be splitting the proceeds with a worthy cause: Food Rescue of Columbus, a group that takes leftover food from restaurants and events, transporting it to organizations that feed the hungry. That way, the food doesn’t go to waste, and people are fed. Location: First Unitarian Church, 93 W. Weisheimer Road, Columbus 43214.
Sunday, January 5, 2025, 5:00 - 7:00 PM. Redbird Books to Prisoners. We collect, pack, and send books to Ohio prisoners every 1st and 3rd Sunday. Location: Thirdhand Bike Coop, 979 East 5th Ave, Columbus. Please don't park in front of the building.
Sundays, January 5, 12, 26 and Feb 2, 2025, 3:00 - 4:30 PM. Gaza in Context. The Colonial History that Shaped the Modern Middle East presented by Jeff Klein. The Israeli war on Gaza – widely considered genocide – did not begin on October 7, 2023. This series will look at the background of Zionism and colonialism that laid the foundation for ongoing wars and today's violence in the Middle East. Palestinian dispossession, we will see, began more than a century ago. Jan 5: CONQUEST AND COLONIALISM IN THE MIDDLE EAST DURING THE 20TH CENTURY: The roots of the contemporary Middle East go back to the First World War and its aftermath; the birth of Zionism as a political movement. Jan 12: MANDATES AND REPRESSION IN PALESTINE AND BEYOND: The failure of the British colonial attempt to shape Palestine in conformance with the Balfour Declaration; Palestinian resistance and the first proposals for partition; Zionist terror; British, French colonialism in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon. Jan 26: ISRAELI INDEPENDENCE AND “NAKBA”: The UN proposed partition of Palestine, Israeli declaration of independence and the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from 1947 to the present; Arab and Palestinian resistance. Feb 2: LOOKING IN THE MIRROR: How the U.S. has shaped the contemporary Middle East from before the Cold War to the present. Indigenous nationalism and its opponents. Addressing the domestic colonial and imperial background to US support for Israel and its destabilizing interference in the region. Massachusetts Peace Action. Register here.
Tuesday, January 7, 2025, 2:00 PM. Our Path Forward: Practical ways to protect people from harm despite threats from the new Administration and Congress. You know much is at risk as the new Congress gets started, even before Inauguration Day. People across the nation are concerned about high costs, but there are serious threats that Congress and the new Administration will make things worse for many millions of people, while enriching multi-millionaires and corporations with more tax breaks. But this is not a done deal. The congressional majority is slim and divided. We can protect people and the programs they need – if we work together. Find out how you can make a difference. You’ll hear about strategies that have worked in the past and can work again. You’ll learn about resources and tools to make it easier for you to join in. You’ll hear from national experts on how to protect children, families, immigrants, people who need health care, food aid, and more. Coalition on Human Needs. Register here.
Thursday, January 16, 2025, 7:00 – 8:00 PM. The Tragedy of the Ukraine War: Compromise or Collapse? Nicolai N. Petro, Professor of Political Science at University of Rhode Island. Author of “The Tragedy of Ukraine: What Classical Greek Tragedy Can Teach Us About Conflict Resolution” (2023). He served as special assistant for policy in the US State Department (1989-1990), as Fulbright Professor in Russia (1996-1997) and in Ukraine (2013-2014), visiting the latter yearly until 2021. Massachusetts Peace Action. Register here.
Friday, January 17, 2025, 7:00 PM. Prof. Norman Finkelstein on Gaza and Israel. Professor Norman Finkelstein will deliver a talk to the Community Church of Boston about the genocide in Gaza. Following his talk, there will be a Q&A discussion. Norman G. Finkelstein received his PhD from the Princeton University Politics Department in 1987. He is the author of many books that have been translated into 60 foreign editions, including The Holocaust Industry: Reflections on the Exploitation of Jewish suffering, Gaza: An Inquest into its Martyrdom, and most recently, I'll Burn That Bridge When I Get To It: Politically Incorrect Thoughts on Cancel Culture and Academic Freedom. In the year 2020, Norman Finkelstein was named the fifth most influential political scientist in the world. Register here.
Wednesday, January 22, 2025, 6:00 PM. OHCRN Community Conversation #6: What is the Nature of Community? What is the Community of Nature? Ohio Community Rights Network invites you for a conversation with Susan VonderHaar and Jim Shenk of Cincinnati about creating intentional community. Susan is the Director of the Cincinnati Permaculture Institute and will introduce the practice of Permaculture and present how the ethics and principles of the natural world should inform us how we create human-built systems. Jim is author of "Creating an Urban Ecovillage; a Model for Revitalizing our Cities". He will discuss the interconnectedness of Ecology and Community in their EcoVillage experience. To prepare for a rich discussion, we ask you to view the following video segments: Introduction to Social Permaculture and Interviews from Los Angeles Ecovillage. Register here.
Saturday, January 25, 2025,2:00 – 5:30 PM. Reducing Congressional Spending for Nuclear Weapons. The threat of nuclear war is increasing, rather than abating. Biden's recent actions in the Russia/Ukraine conflict has sharply increased the danger. The tragic Israel/Gaza conflict continues to expand. Cold Warriors in high places are beating the drums of war toward Russia and China. Enormous public expenditures are being made on upgrading all three legs of the nuclear weapons triad. Responding to these costs and dangers, we will meet to call for Reducing Congressional Spending for Nuclear Weapons and discuss how to organize to meet the challenge. Massachusetts Peace Action Webinar. Register here.