WNPJ + Weaving the Web with WNPJ + Wear Orange to End Gun Violence + other statewide events… *********************************************************** Weaving the Web - WNPJ monthly virtual drop-in Hour June 1st - Thursday 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm First Thursday of each month, All are welcome to drop in the first Thursday of each month - ....no agenda, just people who care about peace and justice showing up to connect. Vicki Berenson will be facilitating today! Contact office@wnpj.org with questions. Zoom Meeting Information: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89361313008?pwd=UmxCOUcxL3ZFb244aXp0SnBVTFRSZz09 Meeting ID: 893 6131 3008 Passcode: 797041 +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) ************************************************************* Friday, June 2nd ....from 12 - noon in Milwaukee (should be in 2023!) ********************************* Wear Orange weekend, June 2 – 4, 2023! This powerful weekend is a time when hundreds of thousands of supporters nationwide come together to honor those impacted by gun violence, and share our commitment to ending this public health crisis. Find an event in your community by texting ORANGE to 644-33! Together, we can end gun violence. Alert sent to WNPJ by member group, Mothers Demand Action – WI. Lindsey Buscher - lindsey.madisonwi@gmail.com Events throughout the state – in June! Milwaukee, Madison, Spring Green, Whitewater June 2, 5:00-7:00 pm, Madison, Dane County Wear Orange Rally at Meadowood Park, details and RSVP here June 3, 9:00 am, Spring Green, River Valley Wear Orange Rally, details and RSVP here June 3, 11:00 am, Milwaukee Metro Wear Orange Drive-Thru Memorial Day 1, details and RSVP here June 4, 11:00 am, Milwaukee Metro Wear Orange Drive-Thru Memorial Day 2, details and RSVP here June 7, 6:00 pm, Whitewater Wear Orange, details and RSVP here June 14, 7:00 pm, Statewide Virtual Welcome to Moms Demand Action, details and RSVP here July 19, 7:00 pm, Statewide Virtual Bi-Monthly Meeting, details and RSVP here ************************************* Upcoming Events this week for WNPJ groups: GREEN BAY Sat through Mon, May 27-28-29 Calling all Water Walkers and Water Protectors to the Creation Water Walk. Central meeting place, Wise Women Gathering Place at 641 Comanche Ave. #H. Learn more at: https://www.wisewomengp.org/ * WE DO THIS FOR THE WATER ❤ * Volunteers Welcomed! MADISON VFP'S MEMORIAL MILE. This year Madison Veterans for Peace "Memorial Mile" tombstone display will move to South Park Street, on the lawn of the South Central Labor Temple. If you are interested and able to help set up and/or take down the tombstones, please come help! Installation will be Saturday May 27 at 9 am and we should be done by 11 am. Take-down will be Saturday June 3 at 9 am. Thank you. John Fournelle 608-438-7480. https://madisonvfp.org/ MADISON Mon May 29th, 1 - 2 pm Veterans for Peace - Chapter #25 - Annual Memorial Day Event. Gates of Heaven, James Madison Park. Keynote Speaker is Matt Rothschild on "No to War! No to Fascism". Music by Old Cool. Additional Speakers: Father David Couper, Norm Stockwell and Will Williams. Free and open to the public. Contact: Brad Geyer geyerb@yahoo.com MADISON Tues May 30th, 7 pm Madison DSA virtual chapter meeting. Register here: Link We're going to have an educational meeting lead by Cameron Roberts - a post doctorate researcher at the University of Wisconsin Madison's Center for Sustainability and the Global Environment and Member of People's Green New Deal Madison. I'm told the presentation will address the role of technology in efforts to save our planet -. Don't miss it, RSVP now! Madison Area DSA VIRTUAL Wed May 31st, 3 - 4 pm Sinsinawa Mission Forward - 175 years and counting. Join the Dominican Sisters of Sinsinawa as we host interactive, virtual prayer and conversation events for you to reconnect with our Sisters and learn more about our capital campaign. Register our virtual gathering at https://forms.gle/mhkxvB8LCB1ZmanTA . Please share this link with other classmates, friends, or family members who might also want to join us. We look forward to seeing you soon! For more information, contact the Office of Philanthropy at (608) 748-4411. VIRTUAL Thurs June 1st, 12 noon - 1 pm Weaving the Web - WNPJ virtual drop-in Hour. First Thursday of each month. Facilitated by Vicki Berenson this month. All are welcome to drop in ....no agenda, just people who care about peace and justice showing up to connect. Contact office@wnpj.org with questions, Zoom Meeting Information: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89361313008?pwd=UmxCOUcxL3ZFb244aXp0SnBVTFRSZz09 Meeting ID: 893 6131 3008 - Passcode: 797041 VIRTUAL Thurs June 1st, 6:30 - 8 pm WILPF Monthly Book Club. We'll talk about... "How the Word is Passed" . To get the zoom link, reply to Women's International League for Peace and Freedom : wilpfmadison@gmail.com For questions or more information: 608-609-7961 www.wilpfmadison.org VIRTUAL Thurs June 1st, 7 - 8 pm Wisconsin Faith Voices for Justice Annual Celebration. The event will be virtual, via zoom and live streamed to WFVJ's Facebook page. Our keynote speakers are Representative Francesca Hong and Representative Kristina Shelton, who will be speaking about the Economic Bill of Rights. We will also be presenting our annual Voice for Justice Award to Rev. Jerry Hancock, honoring his many years of service in prison ministry, fighting for criminal justice reform and just, compassionate, and humane treatment for people in our jails and prisons. Please join us! wifaithvoices4justice@gmail.com. MILWAUKEE Fri June 2nd, 6 pm Free Screening, “When Claude Got Shot”. Epikos Church, 3737 N Sherman Blvd. Safe and Sound and Epikos Church will offer a free screening of “When Claude Got Shot.” This Milwaukee-based documentary reveals the personal impact of gun violence. Screening followed by a discussion panel with survivors and advocates working to curb gun violence. Contact: WAVE: Heidi Johnson SINSINAWA Sat June 3rd, 9:30 - 3:30 pm Labyrinth Retreat: Scattering Loving-Kindness; Here, There and Everywhere – Sinsinawa Mound Center, County Road Z, We remain in an on-going time when the peoples of our world struggle with uncertainty in meeting basic needs of food, water, air and shelter. In the face of escalating cruelty, violence, bigotry and the destruction of our natural world, we can feel inadequate to make a difference. With intention, we will plant seeds of compassion to nurture and grow in a posture of loving kindness as we walk the labyrinth using the Metta prayer as a focus and companion for the day. Sister Stella DeVenuta, OSF, will be leading this retreat. Please register by May 29 and the fee is $75 per person. Contact Arrangements at 608-748-4411 or visit our website at https://www.sinsinawa.org/moundcenter/ for more information. MADISON Sat June 3rd, 1 pm WI vs WW3 demonstration at the Capitol. Meet at the. State St steps. https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100090745057566. Sent to WNPJ by Madison for a World BEYOND War warabolition@gmail.com SINSINAWA Sat June 3rd, 10 - 11 am Forest Ecology Hike - Sinsinawa Mound Center, County Road Z. Join us to hike and learn all about forest ecology in our little slice of the Driftless at Sinsinawa Mound. Laurana Snyder, Sinsinawa Mound’s Horticulturist and Farm Coordinator, will be leading the hike. This is an outdoor activity, and we will be hiking on and off trail so be sure to bring sturdy hiking boots and weather appropriate clothing. Please register by June 1 and the fee is $10 per person. Contact Arrangements at 608-748-4411 or visit our website at https://www.sinsinawa.org/moundcenter/ for more information. Sinsinawa Mound, the motherhouse for the Dominican Sisters of Sinsinawa, is located in southwest Wisconsin on County Road Z, off Highway 11, about five miles northeast of Dubuque. APPLETON Sat June 2nd, 11 am - noon. Fox Valley Peace Coalition monthly vigil. Houdini Plaza, West Lawrence Street. Bring your signs! Organizer: Ronna Swift - ronnajean61@gmail.com MILWAUKEE Sat June 3rd, 12 noon - 1 pm Peace Action WI Weekly Stand for Peace. Meet at M.L.K. Jr. Dr & West Locust Street. Each week, a different vigil site in Milwaukee. Bring your signs for peace! Questions? Contact Peace Action WI - info@peaceactionwi.org or see https://www.peaceactionwi.org VERONA Sat June 3rd, 5 - 7 pm 'Too Sick Charlie' Concert - at the Farley Center, Spring Rose Road, under the Bur Oak Welcoming Area (BOWA ). Part of the outdoor concert series. https://toosickcharlie.com/ . Hosted by the Farley Center and the Southwest Wisconsin Area Progressives. $15 PAY AT THE DOOR. SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL MUSICIANS! All proceeds will go to the musicians. We are offering an informational tour with Farley Center Board Member Jeanne Meier at four- one hour before the concert. No charge for the tour. We are also offering a Food Forest Tour with Farley Center Staff Kalev Kristjuhan following the concert at 7:00-8:00. No charge for the tour. FOOD: Farley Center/Gani Moon Farmers Jen and Chandy Karnum will be selling pizza slices (1/6 of a 12 inch pizza) for $2 a slice or a full pizza (12 inch pizza) for $10. All homemade and herbs, tomatoes for the sauce and vegetable toppings are grown at the Farley Center! We encourage attendees to come early or stay late and take a walk through the Natural Path Sanctuary and Farley Center farms. Farley Center honey ($10) and organic vegetables may be available. Please bring cash. Please bring your own blankets & chairs, to the concert. For any questions, please contact 608-845-8724 or e-mail us at programs@farleycenter.org - https://www.facebook.com/farleyfarmers MADISON & VIRTUAL Mon June 5th, 7 – 8:10 pm * 350 Wisconsin Annual Meeting - virtual or in person at the Madison Friends Meetinghouse, 1704 Roberts Court. What has 350 Wisconsin been doing the past year? What are we planning for the future? Please join us! We will review where we are as an organization working together to combat the climate crisis and promote environmental justice. We also will hold our annual election for our Board of Directors and Coordinating Council. This will be a hybrid meeting. Join us in person , (and stay for a tour of the building’s award-winning renovations adding geothermal and solar systems) or join us on zoom from anywhere. For zoom link, register in advance for the meeting through our page: https://350wisconsin.org/monthly-meetings/. We will review our progress in implementing our strategic plan, including: Rebranding as 350 Wisconsin in recognition of the statewide reach of our work; Launching 350 Wisconsin Action, a separate 501(c)(4) organization to allow us to engage in political and electoral work; Assessing what we can do to make 350 Wisconsin a more just, equitable, diverse, and inclusive organization; and building our capacity at many levels, including our campaigns, communications, and development. Organizer: https://350wisconsin.org/ ************************************ If your group would like to get your events posted in the weekly e-bulletin – JOIN US! https://www.wnpj.org/membership ******************************* WNPJ member groups can sign up for a Saturday opportunity to TABLE at the Madison Farmers Market – this Spring and summer at the Capitol Square. The Farmers Market opening date is April 15th – 7 am to 1 pm …and runs through the Fall on Saturdays. Sign up for your spot today! Bring your own table and hand-outs to the King Street corner of the Square, next to the VFP #25 table! Questions? Contact info@wnpj.org Interested in a yard sign? WNPJ has yard signs available! yardsigns@wnpj.org ******************************************************************* See our new Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/WisNPJ "Like" us and follow us! Special thanks to volunteer Kathy Esposito for her volunteer work putting the WNPJ weekly e-bulletin together!

Part #1: Here’s a terrible “syllogism” from a wonderful person, Ray McGovern, longtime CIA employee, then longtime peace activist, and now year-long contender that Russia had no choice but to attack Ukraine. “The Russians had other options to invading Ukraine. They attacked Ukraine in a ‘war of choice’; also threaten NATO. Ergo, the West must arm Ukraine to the teeth, risking wider war.” This is supposedly an explanation of the thinking of we believers that Russia had some choice other than to invade Ukraine. In reality, it illustrates a very sad and enormous distance between the thinking of people who once agreed that war was immoral, but who have now spent over a year utterly failing to persuade each other of anything. Of course the quote above is not a syllogism at all. This is a syllogism: A threat of war requires war. Russia is threatened with war. Russia requires war. (Or write the same thing substituting Ukraine for Russia.) But so is this: A threat of war does not require war. Russia is threatened with war. Russia does not require war. (Or write the same thing substituting Ukraine for Russia.) The disagreement is over the major premise. The syllogism is not actually a very useful tool for thinking; merely for a primitive sort of thinking about thinking. The world is actually complex, and someone could build a case for this one, too: “A threat of war sometimes requires war, depending.” (They’d be wrong.) That the threat or war, and even actual war, in many cases has not required war in response but been defeated by other means is a matter of record. So the question is whether this time was different from all of those times. Here’s another disagreement. Which of these is true? “Opposing one side of a war requires defending the other side.” or “Opposing one side of a war could conceivably be part and parcel of opposing all sides of all wars.” This is a factual question, too, a matter of record. Those of us who have spent all these many months denouncing every war act by both sides of the war in Ukraine can show each side all the accusations we’ve received of supporting both their side and the other side — and all the evidence that they are all mistaken. But maybe it doesn’t matter whether someone fantasizes that I’m cheering for NATO and secretly in the pay of Lockheed Martin. They simply want an answer to the staggeringly slam-dunk drop-the-mic win-the-whole-internet brilliant inquiry of “Well what the eff then could Russia have possibly, possibly done?” Before I describe what Russia could have done, both in the moment of maximum crisis and in the previous months and years and decades, it’s worth digging up some ancient Greeks one more time: Russia had to defend against NATO. Attacking Ukraine was guaranteed to provide the biggest boost NATO had seen in a lifetime. Therefore Russia had to attack Ukraine. Maybe the syllogism can be helpful after all? The two premises are perfectly true. Can anyone spot the illogic? It seems not, at least not in the first year and a quarter. The U.S. set the trap and Russia simply had no choice but to take the bait? Really? How insulting to Russia! Over a year ago I wrote an article called “30 Nonviolent Things Russia Could Have Done and 30 Nonviolent Things Ukraine Could Do.” Here’s the Russian list: Russia could have: Continued mocking the daily predictions of an invasion and created worldwide hilarity, rather than invading and making the predictions simply off by a matter of days. Continued evacuating people from Eastern Ukraine who felt threatened by the Ukrainian government, military, and Nazi thugs. Offered evacuees more than $29 to survive on; offered them in fact houses, jobs, and guaranteed income. (Remember, we’re talking about alternatives to militarism, so money is no object and no extravagant expense will ever be more than a drop in the bucket of war spending.) Made a motion for a vote in the UN Security Council to democratize the body and abolish the veto. Asked the UN to oversee a new vote in Crimea on whether to rejoin Russia. Joined the International Criminal Court. Asked the ICC to investigate crimes in Donbas. Sent into Donbas many thousands of unarmed civilian protectors. Sent into Donbas the world’s best trainers in nonviolent civil resistance. Funded educational programs across the world on the value of cultural diversity in friendships and communities, and the abysmal failures of racism, nationalism, and Nazism. Removed the most fascist members from the Russian military. Offered as gifts to Ukraine the world’s leading solar, wind, and water energy production facilities. Shut down the gas pipeline through Ukraine and committed to never building one north of there. Announced a commitment to leaving Russian fossil fuels in the ground for the sake of the Earth. Offered as a gift to Ukraine electric infrastructure. Offered as a gift of friendship to Ukraine railway infrastructure. Declared support for the public diplomacy that Woodrow Wilson pretended to support. Announced again the eight demands it began making in December, and requested public responses to each from the U.S. government. Asked Russian-Americans to celebrate Russian-American friendship at the teardrop monument given to the United States by Russia off New York Harbor. Joined the major human rights treaties it has yet to ratify, and asked that others do the same. Announced its commitment to unilaterally uphold disarmament treaties shredded by the United States, and encouraged reciprocation. Announced a no-first-use nuclear policy, and encouraged the same. Announced a policy of disarming nuclear missiles and keeping them off alert status to allow more than mere minutes before launching an apocalypse, and encouraged the same. Proposed a ban on international weapons sales. Proposed negotiations by all nuclear-armed governments, including those with U.S. nuclear weapons in their countries, to reduce and eliminate nuclear weapons. Committed to not maintaining weapons or troops within 100, 200, 300, 400 km of any borders, and requested the same of its neighbors. Organized a nonviolent unarmed army to walk to and protest any weapons or troops near borders. Put out a call to the world for volunteers to join the walk and protest. Celebrated the diversity of the global community of activists and organized cultural events as part of the protest. Asked the Baltic states that have planned nonviolent responses to Russian invasion to help train Russians and other Europeans in the same. I discussed this on this radio show. I’m sure it’s in vain, but please make a real effort to remember that this was in an article about what each side could do instead of the insanity of organized mass-murder, risking nuclear apocalypse, starving the globe, impeding climate collaboration, and ruining a country. Please make a real effort to remember that we all have always been painfully aware of all the U.S. aggression toward Russia. So, the answer to “How dare I suggest that Russia behave better than the horrible worst-government-on-Earth of the country where I myself live, the United States?” is the usual one: I spend most of my time demanding that the United States behave better, but if the rest of the world can find it within itself to behave so well that life on Earth is preserved despite every effort of Washington, I’m going to be grateful for that — and I’m certainly not going to discourage it. Maybe the Russian peace activists so bravely opposing their nation’s warmaking, as we all must oppose our own, are deeply misguided, but I don’t think they are. So, why is it so impossible to even make each other understand where we’re coming from, you Russia-Had-No-Choicers and I? You suspect that either Ray’s old outfit is slipping me cash or that I’m scared of getting called a “Putin Lover” — as if I haven’t had plenty of death threats for opposing a war on Iraq that I would have traded in a heartbeat to simply be called an “Iraq Lover.” My suspicions of you may be as wildly off as yours of me, but I don’t think they are, and I mean them with total respect. I suspect that you think if one side of a war is wrong, the other is probably right — and right in every detail. I suspect you opposed the U.S. side of the war on Iraq but not the Iraqi side. I suspect you oppose the U.S. side of the war in Ukraine, and that you think it simply follows that whatever the Russian side does is admirable. I imagine the two of us going back to an age of dueling. I’d be screaming “Stop this idiotic barbarism, you two!” and you’d be hurriedly asking around to determine which idiot was the good one and which the evil one. Or would you? I suspect that you don’t want to give any thought to the years that the two sides spent failing to prepare unarmed defenses, and that you think that no matter what Russia did to appeal to the morality and fairness of the world, the world would have spat at Russia and grabbed some popcorn to watch the U.S./NATO buildup. Yet, even with Russia committing hideous murderous acts, we’ve nonetheless seen much of the world — and many of the world’s governments! — refuse to side with NATO, despite enormous pressure, and despite the horrible embarrassment of having to seem to defend, or being accused of defending, Russia’s warmaking. We’ll never know how the world would have responded had Russia used massive and creative nonviolent action, had Russia joined international bodies of law, had Russia signed onto human rights treaties, had Russia sought to democratize world institutions, had Russia appealed to the world to reject U.S. imperialism in favor of a world run by the entire world. Maybe the Russian government doesn’t want to fall under the rule of law any more than the U.S. government does. Maybe it wants a balance of power, not a balance of justice. Or maybe it thinks like most people in Western society — even many who have acted as peace activists for years — that war is the only answer in the end. And maybe nonviolent action would have failed. But there are two weaknesses in that thought that I think are indisputable. One is that we are now closer than ever to nuclear apocalypse, and when we’re gone we won’t really get to argue who was more in the right than whom. The other is that the U.S./NATO build-up was over decades and years and months. Russia could have waited another day or 10 or 200, and in that time it could have begun to try something else. Nobody picked the timing of Russia’s escalation other than Russia. And when you pick the timing of something, you had a choice to give something else a try first. Even more importanly, unless both sides admit some wrong and agree to some compromise, the war will not end and life on Earth might. It would be a real shame if we couldn’t agree on that much. Essay by David Swanson, World BEYOND War, May 24, 2023 - Sent to WNPJ by the WNPJ member group Madison World BEYOND War: warabolition@gmail.com Part #2: See the essay above, 'Dear Russia-Had-No-Choice Friends', an attempt to correct what I see as the mistaken idea that the Russian government simply had no possible choice other than to invade Ukraine. (2nd essay by David Swanson, World BEYOND War, May 25, 2023 - sent to WNPJ by the WNPJ member group, Madison World BEYOND War - warabolition@gmail.com) Of course, it is equally mistaken that Ukraine had no choice but to wage this war. I say “of course” only because I and many others have been repeating ourselves ad nauseum for over a year, not because you agree. And I publish this not primarily to see whether it produces more or fewer denunciations and withdrawals of email subscriptions and donations from people who sign their nasty notes “Ex-Friend” than yesterday’s did. Nor do I publish it under the delusion that it will cross the sufficient-repetition-barrier and persuade everyone. Rather, it is my hope that just possibly a small number of people will give the idea of opposing all war a bit more thought if they see a pair of articles opposing both sides of the current for-or-against, which-side-are-you-on, obey-or-the-enemy-wins madness. But what in the name of the holy flag of war could Ukraine possibly have done? As with the same question about Russia, this question is suppposed to be so powerful that no answer should even be attempted. As with every side of every war, the existence of all human history prior to some bombing is supposed to be eliminated from thought. We’re supposed to travel back in our magical time machines to consider what Ukraine could possibly — I mean, for godsake, possibly — have done when bombs were falling, but not aim our time machine for the day or week or decade before, as that would be silly. As I consider this narrowing of the question to be dangerously misguided, I will choose to answer what Ukraine could have done in the leadup to that moment as well as in that moment. To begin, we should remember that U.S. and other Western diplomats, spies, and theorists predicted for 30 years that breaking a promise and expanding NATO would lead to war with Russia, and that President Barack Obama refused to arm Ukraine, predicting that doing so would lead toward where we are now — as Obama still saw it in April 2022. Prior to the “Unprovoked War” there were public comments by U.S. officials arguing that the provocations would not provoke anything. (“I don’t buy this argument that, you know, us supplying the Ukrainians with defensive weapons is going to provoke Putin,” said Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) One can still read a RAND report advocating creating a war like this one through the sorts of provocations that senators claimed wouldn’t provoke anything. Ukraine could have simply committed to not joining NATO. This might not have been simple. Zelensky might have had to keep some campaign promises rather than kiss up to some Nazis. The point is that if we take Ukraine as a whole and ask whether it could have done anything, the answer is obviously yes. The U.S. facilitated a coup in Ukraine in 2014. The war began years prio to February 2022. The U.S. has torn up treaties with Russia. The U.S. has put missile bases into Eastern Europe. The U.S. keeps nuclear weapons in six European nations. Kennedy took missiles out of Turkey to resolve a similar crisis rather than escalate it. Arkhipov refused to use nukes or we might not be here. The U.S. could have behaved very differently in Eastern Europe in recent years. Ukraine could have taken no part in it, could have rejected the manipulation of its government and committed to neutrality. A reasonable agreement was reached at Minsk in 2015. Ukraine could have abided by it. The current president of Ukraine was elected in 2019 promising peace negotiations. He could have kept that promise, even though the U.S. (and rightwing groups in Ukraine) pushed back against it. Russia’s demands prior to its invasion of Ukraine were perfectly reasonable, and a better deal from Ukraine’s perspective than anything discussed since. Ukraine could have negotiated then. The U.S. and its NATO sidekicks have been preventing the ending of the war, not just by providing the weapons for one side of it, but by blocking negotiations. I don’t mean just cracking down on Congress Members who dare to utter the word “negotiate.” I don’t mean just producing a whirlwind of propaganda claiming the other side is monsters with whom one cannot speak, even while negotiating with them on prisoner exchanges and grain exports. And I don’t mean just hiding behind Ukraine, claiming that it’s Ukraine that does not want to negotiate and that therefore the U.S., as loyal servant to Ukraine, must go on escalating the risk of nuclear apocalypse. I mean also the blocking of possible ceasefires and negotiated settlements. Medea Benjamin & Nicolas J.S. Davies wrote in September: “For those who say negotiations are impossible, we have only to look at the talks that took place during the first month after the Russian invasion, when Russia and Ukraine tentatively agreed to a fifteen-point peace plan in talks mediated by Turkey. Details still had to be worked out, but the framework and the political will were there. Russia was ready to withdraw from all of Ukraine, except for Crimea and the self-declared republics in Donbas. Ukraine was ready to renounce future membership in NATO and adopt a position of neutrality between Russia and NATO. The agreed framework provided for political transitions in Crimea and Donbas that both sides would accept and recognize, based on self-determination for the people of those regions. The future security of Ukraine was to be guaranteed by a group of other countries, but Ukraine would not host foreign military bases on its territory. “On March 27, President Zelenskyy told a national TV audience, ‘Our goal is obvious—peace and the restoration of normal life in our native state as soon as possible.’ He laid out his ‘red lines’ for the negotiations on TV to reassure his people he would not concede too much, and he promised them a referendum on the neutrality agreement before it would take effect. . . . Ukrainian and Turkish sources have revealed that the U.K. and U.S. governments played decisive roles in torpedoing those early prospects for peace. During U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s ‘surprise visit’ to Kyiv on April 9th, he reportedly told Prime Minister Zelenskyy that the U.K. was ‘in it for the long run,’ that it would not be party to any agreement between Russia and Ukraine, and that the ‘collective West’ saw a chance to ‘press’ Russia and was determined to make the most of it. The same message was reiterated by U.S. Defense Secretary Austin, who followed Johnson to Kyiv on April 25th and made it clear that the U.S. and NATO were no longer just trying to help Ukraine defend itself but were now committed to using the war to ‘weaken’ Russia. Turkish diplomats told retired British diplomat Craig Murray that these messages from the U.S. and U.K. killed their otherwise promising efforts to mediate a ceasefire and a diplomatic resolution.” Russia has been proposing negotiations. Numerous nations have been proposing negotiations for months, and dozens of nations made that proposal at the United Nations. At any point, Ukraine could have negotiated. Since pretty much everybody’s peace proposal has a great deal in common with everybody else’s, we all know more or less what a negotiated agreement would look like. The question is whether to choose it over endless dying and destruction. The notion that negotiating peace would simply produce lies from the other side followed by more war which would somehow be worse than this war, is of course a notion playing in the minds of both sides. But there are reasons for both sides to reject it. If a negotiation is successful, it will include initial steps that can be publicly taken by each side and verified by the other. And it will lead toward ever-greater trust and cooperation. In other words, “negotiation” is not simply another word for “ceasefire.” But there would be absolutely no downside to an immediate first-step of a ceasefire. Ukraine could always have invested in developing plans for a massive unarmed resistance to invasion. It still could. Ukraine could always have joined and supported international treaties on human rights and disarmament. It still could. Ukraine could always have committed to neutraility and friendship with both sides, the U.S. and Russia. It still could. Over a year ago I noted some things Ukraine was doing and could be doing: Change the street signs. Block the roads with materials. Block the roads with people. Put up billboards. Talk to Russian troops. Celebrate Russian peace activists. Protest both Russian warmaking and Ukrainian warmaking. Demand serious and independent negotiating with Russia by the Ukrainian government — independent of U.S. and NATO dictates, and independent of Ukrainian right-wing threats. Publicly demonstrate for No Russia, No NATO, No War. Use a few of these 198 tactics. Document and show the world the impact of war. Document and show the world the power of nonviolent resistance. Invite brave foreigners to come and join an unarmed peace army. Announce a commitment never to align militarily with NATO, Russia, or anyone else. Invite the governments of Switzerland, Austria, Finland, and Ireland to a conference on neutrality in Kyiv. Announce a commitment to the Minsk 2 agreement including self-governance for the two eastern regions. Announce a commitment to celebrating ethnic and linguistic diversity. Announce an investigation of right-wing violence in Ukraine. Announce delegations of Ukrainians with touching media-covered stories to visit Yemen, Afghanistan, Ethiopia, and a dozen other countries to draw attention to all victims of war. Engage in serious and public negotiations with Russia. Commit to not maintaining weapons or troops within 100, 200, 300, 400 km of any borders, and request the same of neighbors. Organize with Russia a nonviolent unarmed army to walk to and protest any weapons or troops near borders. Put out a call to the world for volunteers to join the walk and protest. Celebrate the diversity of the global community of activists and organize cultural events as part of the protest. Ask the Baltic states that have planned nonviolent responses to Russian invasion to help train Ukrainians, Russians, and other Europeans in the same. Join and uphold major human rights treaties. Join and uphold the International Criminal Court. Join and uphold the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Offer to host disarmament negotiations by the world’s nuclear-armed governments. Ask both Russia and the West for non-military aid and cooperation. Ukraine could support those unarmed defenders eager to be allowed in to protect nuclear powerplants. Ukraine could declare success — as it’s been doing for over a year, and leave it at that, turning now to the negotiating table. But Ukraine and Russia both will have to admit wrongdoing and compromise if the war is to end. Even if they want to go on entertaining a delusion of blamelessness, they will have to do this. They will have to allow the people of Crimea and Donbas to decide their own fate. And then Ukraine and NATO and Raytheon could declare a victory for democracy with some actual basis for doing so.

WNPJ + Peace Education Program Registration + Emergency Gun Violence Summit in Milwaukee + other statewide events… *********************************************************** The Peace Education Program is now available to you and your groups! WNPJ member group Echo Valley Hope is teaming up with The Prem Rawat Foundation to offer the Peace Education Program to organizations and individuals throughout our state and region. The program will be offered virtually via zoom and it is free. The Peace Education Program is a unique ten-week course geared towards empowering individuals to discover their own inner strength and personal peace. The course themes are interactive and cover the following: peace, appreciation, inner strength, self-awareness, clarity, understanding, dignity, choice, hope and contentment. Dena Eakles of Echo Valley Hope has participated in this program and found it very useful. At this time when so much demands our outward attention the ability to cultivate and maintain a source of peace and inner strength within is critical. Someone from TPRF will facilitate a 90-minute zoom introduction to the course. This would be appropriate for people who want to understand more about the program or are considering showing it to their organization, school, community center, youth group, veterans group, rehabilitation or correctional facilities or anywhere people gather to learn. The following are the dates we are currently scheduling the 90-minute introduction. If these do not work for you or your organization, please let us know the day and time that will work and we will try to accommodate. You can register here for either 90-minute workshop: Wednesday June 14 or Tuesday June 20 (6:30-8:00 pm CST). The other option will be to participate in the full ten-week course. Dates for the 10-week Peace Education Program TBD and you can indicate your interest on the registration form. I hope you will consider learning about this free program that has helped people around the world. Thank you for your consideration and for all you do. Best wishes, Dena Eakles, WNPJ board member letkindnesswin.wordpress.com soundcloud / Dena echovalleyfarmwisconsin.com https://echovalleyhope.org 608-606-4450 **************************************************** SPOTLIGHT for the WNPJ member group WAVE: MILWAUKEE Thurs May 25th, 8 - 4 pm Jeri Bonavia, Founder and Executive Director of Wisconsin Anti-Violence Effort (WAVE) to speak at Emergency Gun Violence Summit at the Hyatt Regency. Register at emergencygunviolencesummit.com. Your group can be listed as a co-sponsor! Contact WAVE at : https://www.facebook.com/WaveEdFund And learn more about this event at https://mivoz.com/event/emergency-gun-violence-summit/ ************************************* Upcoming Events this week for WNPJ groups: (Read about more upcoming events here: https://www.wnpj.org/event-calendar) CAMP DOUGLAS Tues May 23rd, 3:45 - 4:45 pm VIGIL AGAINST THE DRONES OUTSIDE THE GATES OF VOLK FIELD. Volk Field Air National Guard Base, Independence Drive. DRONES KILL INNOCENT PEOPLE. We need YOU there. Arrive at the wayside around 3:30 so we have time for introductions and to process to the base together. With this new schedule, our message reaches almost 200 cars leaving Volk Field. We have a large banner that reads, “Stop Volk Field Complicity in Terrorism: End Drone Warfare”, among other signs being held. This is an important message to share with those leaving the base. WE MUST BRING THIS TERROR THAT THE US GOVERNMENT REIGNS DOWN ON OTHERS TO AN END! The vigil at Volk Field is a legal vigil where we will be on public property. As always, it will be a solemn vigil, remembering the victims of US government drone attacks. If you have any questions please call or email Joy at 608 239-4327 or joyfirst5@gmail.com or Bonnie at 608-256-5088 or blb24@earthlink.net , contacts for the WNPJ member group WI Coalition to Ground Drones SINSINAWA - Wed May 24th, 4 - 7 pm Sinsinawa Mound Market - 2551 County, County Road Z. This is our first market of the season. The vendors at the market will include Collaborative Farmers, Sandhill Farms, City Girl Farming, The Mound’s Farm, Sinsinawa Bakery and Sinsinawa Book & Gift Gallery. Contact 608-748-4411 or visit our website at www.sinsinawa.org/moundcenter for more information. MADISON Wed May 24th 3:30 pm - 31st War Abolition Walk. Meet at Rep Pocan’s office, 10 E Doty St #405 . Local groups around the country are visiting their legislators' offices on this day to highlight the latest developments in War Abolition work and to point out the need for their leadership and advocacy for diplomacy in Ukraine in their capacity as legislators. Here in Madison, we’ll be doing just that. Will you join us? Here’s the plan – 3:30 pm meet at Rep Pocan’s office; picket, banner, deliver letter; – 4:00 pm walk to Sen Baldwin’s office; picket, banner, deliver letter. Questions? Contact Stefania and Janet, Madison War Abolition Walks, Madison for a World BEYOND War - warabolition@gmail.com MILWAUKEE Wed May 24th 12 noon. Deliver the Peace in Ukraine appeal letter at Gwen Moore's Office at 250 East Wisconsin, Suite 950. Her staff will come down to meet us. We’ll follow with visits to deliver the letter to the offices of Tammy Baldwin and Ron Johnson. Organizer: Peace Action WI info@peaceactionwi.org SINSINAWA Thurs May 25th, 10 am to 12 noon or 2 - 4 pm Spring Forest Bathing - Sinsinawa Mound Center, County Road Z. Join us at Sinsinawa Mound for a spring Forest Bathing experience where we bathe in the good medicine of Mother Earth. Nature and Forest Therapy, also called Forest Bathing, is a slow, sensory focused walk with the land. You will be guided through a series of invitations that help you connect with your interior self as well as the world around you. Please register by May 24 and the fee is $25 per person. Contact Arrangements at 608-748-4411 or visit our website at www.sinsinawa.org/moundcenter for more information. MADISON Thurs May 25th 7 - 9 pm Book Talk and Signing "Glory to God in the Lowest" - at Leopold's Books Cafe, 1301 Regent St. The author, Rev. Don Wagner, will be present. Co-sponsored by MRSCP. More info and reservation link for this free event here. Click here for a review of the book. Sent to WNPJ by Madison-Rafah Sister-City Project (MRSCP) rafahsistercity@yahoo.com MILWAUKEE Thurs May 25th, 8 - 4 pm (see spotlight above) Jeri Bonavia, Founder and Executive Director of Wisconsin Anti-Violence Effort (WAVE) to speak at Emergency Gun Violence Summit at the Hyatt Regency. Register today at emergencygunviolencesummit.com.Your group can be listed as a co-sponsor! Contact WAVE at : https://www.facebook.com/WaveEdFund And learn more about this event at https://mivoz.com/event/emergency-gun-violence-summit/ MILWAUKEE Sat May 27th, 12 noon - 1 pm Peace Action WI Weekly Stand for Peace. Meet at North Lincoln Memorial Drive & East Lafayette Hill Road Each week, a different vigil site in Milwaukee. Bring your signs for peace! Questions? Contact Peace Action WI - info@peaceactionwi.org or see https://www.peaceactionwi.org GREEN BAY Sat through Mon, May 27-28-29 Calling all Water Walkers and Water Protectors to the Creation Water Walk. Central meeting place, Wise Women Gathering Place at 641 Comanche Ave. #H. Learn more at: www.wisewomengp.org. * WE DO THIS FOR THE WATER ❤ *. A prospective WNPJ member group… Volunteers Welcomed! MADISON VFP'S MEMORIAL MILE. This year Madison Veterans for Peace #25 "Memorial Mile" tombstone display will move to South Park Street, on the lawn of the South Central Labor Temple. If you are interested and able to help set up and/or take down the tombstones, please come help! Installation will be Saturday May 27 at 9 am and we should be done by 11 am. Take-down will be Saturday June 3 at 9 am. Thank you. John Fournelle 608-438-7480. https://madisonvfp.org/ MADISON Sun May 28th, 12:00 noon – 4:00 pm Really REALLY Free Market! Wil-Mar Neighborhood Center (504 S. Brearly at Jenifer St.) Do you have items, clothing, books, food, seeds, skills, gifts, talents, services, love, listening, etc. of value that you’re willing to give away freely? Could you use some support, community and/or aid right about now? Nothing at this market is bought or sold! Any and all forms of sharing and aid welcome. Hosted by the Madison Infoshop. jepeck@wisc.edu MILWAUKEE Sun May 28th, 6 pm into the evening "PEACE THRU MUSIC" - A JOHN LENNON TRIBUTE. Linneman's Riverwest Inn, 1001 East Locust. The music of John Lennon comes to life with upwards of 20 of Milwaukee’s finest musical acts taking part to help raise awareness for sensible gun laws. Benefit for Wisconsin’s Anti Violence Effort (WAVE) & The National Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence! Join us for this always fun night of great music by one of the masters! $10 donation. The event will include a fundraising raffle by Wisconsin Anti Violence Effort (WAVE) that will include some fantastic items! Learn more here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1411983409563818/?ref=newsfeed. Contact: wave@waveedfund.org MADISON Mon May 29th, 1 - 2 pm Veterans for Peace - Chapter #25 - Annual Memorial Day Event. Gates of Heaven, James Madison Park. Keynote Speaker is Matt Rothschild on "No to War! No to Fascism". Music by Old Cool. Additional Speakers: Father David Couper, Norm Stockwell and Will Williams. Free and open to the public. Contact: Brad Geyer geyerb@yahoo.com ************************************ If your group would like to get your events posted in the weekly e-bulletin – JOIN US! https://www.wnpj.org/membership ******************************************** WNPJ member groups can sign up for a Saturday opportunity to TABLE at the Madison Farmers Market – this Spring and summer at the Capitol Square. The Farmers Market opening date is April 15th – 7 am to 1 pm …and runs through the Fall on Saturdays. Sign up for your spot today! Bring your own table and hand-outs to the King Street corner of the Square, next to the VFP #25 table! Questions? Contact info@wnpj.org Interested in a yard sign? WNPJ has yard signs available! yardsigns@wnpj.org ******************************************************************* See our new Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/WisNPJ/ "Like" us and follow us! Special thanks to volunteer Kathy Esposito for her volunteer work putting the WNPJ weekly e-bulletin together!

An Action Alert from WI Faith Voices for Justice Our public health system is vital to keeping all of us healthy and thriving. Public health officials work to prevent sickness, educate the public on healthy behaviors, advocate for public policies that promote health, and engage in scientific research to determine best practices in health care. In the wake of COVID, we all have experienced first-hand the vital role the public health system plays in prevention, mitigation, education, vaccination to keep us healthy or bring us back to health when we fall ill. Unfortunately, funding for public health has fallen precipitously over the years, nationally and here in Wisconsin. In 2021, Wisconsin ranked 42nd out of 50 states with the lowest state funding for public health , investing only $17 per person in state funds when compared to the median investment of $36/person in state funding nationwide. The Wisconsin Public Health Association (WPHA) and Wisconsin Association of Local Health Department and Boards (WALHDAB) are asking for our help to advocate with our elected officials to provide robust funding in the state budget. Specifically, they are asking for: $18 Million - New Dedicated and Sustained Funding for Local Health Departments $10 Million - Communicable Disease Grants for Local Health Departments $30 Million - Local Grants for Community-Based Organizations and Local/Tribal Health Departments to Address Community-Specific Health Gaps Importantly, WPHA and WALHDAB are asking the legislature to provide funding as direct grants that will allow each public health department the flexibility to decide for themselves what their local priorities and needs are and to spend the money accordingly, rather than trying a 'one size fits all' approach. Please call or write to your state Senator and Assembly member and urge them to include this funding in the 2023-25 state budget. Find your legislator here. For more information on the WPHA and WALHDAB priorities for Wisconsin, read their one page Budget Priorities 2023-25 and use the information to help craft your message to your legislator. Thank you for taking action to help make a healthier Wisconsin! Questions? Contact: wifaithvoices4justice@gmail.com

ALL Peoples Summit will be on July 22 (Details are TBD) Planning Mtgs Tuesdays at 7pm - Drop in anytime. More info below. BU - Update: 5/9/23 Greetings Friends of Justice, Sustainable Living, Democracy, and Peace, This is a very critical time to build momentum for the unity movement of our dreams. Please print and share our “Flier for All of Us!” (6/page to save paper and ink.) More below about the Campaign for Love, Unity, & Equity below. As you join the events in this flier or others, let people know about the “All People’s Justice Summit” on July 22. Also, you can help pick the location and the format of this historic event by joining our planning meetings on Tuesday eventings at 7pm via Zoom. Same link for all BU meetings - listed below. In the meantime, we will be supporting the Youth Building Unity Summit in Madison on 5/20, supporting the Creation Water Walk along Lake Michigan over Memorial Day Weekend, celebrating Juneteenth weekend wherever we can, and building unity at the MREA Energy Fair. We might even show up at some major state party conventions (more about that below). Please let us know if there is an event in the coming months that your groups would like us to list in the Campaign for Love, Unity, & Equity Timeline. Also, if you are on Facebook or other social media, please share the events below. Lastly, we need help! Building Unity is currently running on fumes and we need our faithful friends to come through a bit at this time. Please give what you can so that we can do even more to build the unity that Wisconsin needs now. Your tax-deductible contribution can be made by sending a check or by using PayPal to direct funds to our fiscal sponsor. More information here: https://buildingunitywisconsin.org/donate/ May 14, 2023 Happy Mothers Day! - May it be, as it was meant to be… a day calling for PEACE! Read more here: https://peacealliance.org/history-of-mothers-day-as-a-day-of-peace-julia-ward-howe/ *** One of the four foundational pillars of the Building Unity Movement is PEACE. To help promote peace in a consistent way in the coming months, we have added this link on our “Flier for All of Us:” tinyurl.com/UpcomingPeaceEvent. If you are ware of a peace event that you like to add to this document, please call Building Unity at 608-630-3633. For information about the Building Unity “Care-avan” that will be coming to the above event from Janesville and Madison, go here: https://tinyurl.com/BUwithNakbaTour Facebook Event: https://fb.me/e/ZQajPHHV RSVP to be a part of our “Care-avan” from Janesville or Madison. May 20, 2023 Attention Young Change-Makers: On May 20, Youth Building Unity will hold an all-day statewide summit! Facebook Event: https://fb.me/e/NXMTAsAz May 21, 2023 Join us at WORTstock at Werner Park in Madison, WI ! Learn More May 27-29, 2023: BU will support the Creation Water Walk! Facebook Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/907090487262581/ June 2 - 8, 2023 Building CommUNITY on Rock Island! Join us for any portion of a week on Rock Island - One of Wisconsin’s State Park situated off the tip of Door County. You must be a mostly self sufficient primitive camper. To learn more about this unique opportunity to build community on an island where there are no cars, go here: https://tinyurl.com/UnityonRockIsland. Save the Date: June 10 - 11 Wisconsin State Democratic Convention - At the Oneida Casino/Raddison Hotel in Green Bay, WI. While we are not entirely sure how Building Unity will participate in this gathering, we hope to be there to share our important call for peace, justice, sustainability, and Democracy. Save the Date: June 16 - 18 Wisconsin State Republican Convention - At the La Crosse Center in La Crosse, WI. While we are not entirely sure how Building Unity will participate in this gathering, we hope to be there to share our important call for peace, justice, sustainability, and Democracy What is the Question? When is the Time? Who will do the work? It is time for all of us to “Get a CLUE!” Learn more about Building Unity’s Campaign for Love, Unity, & Equity by going here: https://tinyurl.com/CLUEInfoPage Check it out: One simple “Flier for All of Us” - building momentum this spring and summer towards an All People’s Justice Summit July 22, 2023 - Location to be determined! Please view, print, and share this frequently updated six-to-a-page double-sided C.L.U.E Flier: tinyurl.com/CLUE6perPage - a “Flier for All of Us” wherever you can. If your group would like to be an official partner in this campaign or simply add your information to this flier, please call Building Unity at 608-630-3633. Current version of the C.L.U.E. flier: (front of flier) Campaign for Love, Unity, and Equity (CLUE) A Movement for All People – Now is the Time! Please share this frequently updated “flier for all of us” https://tinyurl.com/CLUE6perPage Help build one united statewide movement for: Nonviolence/World Peace/Demilitarization Climate/Ecological Sanity Democracy Not Run by Money Abortion Rights, Body Autonomy Equity and Justice for All People Compassionate, Restorative Justice Human Rights, Needs, & Safety – Not Corporate Greed Info: tinyurl.com/CLUEInfoPage 608-630-3633 or buildingunitywi@gmail.com www.BuildingUnityWisconsin.org (back of flier) Building Unity & Momentum for the Campaign for Love, Unity, and Equity (C.L.U.E.): Add your group’s info/link to this flier: 608-630-3633 5/13 tinyurl.com/UpcomingPeaceEvents 5/15 tinyurl.com/BUwithNakbaTour 5/20 tinyurl.com/YouthBuildingUnitySummit1 5/21 tinyurl.com/BUatWORTstock23 5/27-29 - tinyurl.com/CreationWaterWalk 6/2 - 6/8 tinyurl.com/UnityonRockIsland 6/10 -11 tinyurl.com/BUatWIDemConvention 6/17 -18 - tinyurl.com/BUatWIRepConvention 6/17 - 19 tinyurl.com/JuneteenthEvents 6/23 - 6/25 tinyurl.com/BUatEnergyFair23 July 22 tinyurl.com/AllPeoplesSummitInfo Aug 5 tinyurl.com/BUatWisVoicesPicnic Our next meetings: Same Zoom link for all of our meetings: https://zoom.us/j/99245031795 Meeting ID: 992 4503 1795 One tap mobile: +13126266799,,99245031795# US (Chicago) Any phone: +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) Special Meetings: Building Unity Youth weekly planning meetings for the 5/20 Youth Building Unity Summit in Madison, WI. RSVP here. Mondays at 7:00 pm. Building Unity weekly drop-in planning meeting for July “All People’s Summit” - Tuesdays at 7:00 pm. Monthly Building Unity Meetings: Core Team meeting (Steering Committee) - First Wed. of the Month 8:30 am (May 3) Monthly Evening “Drop-in” meeting - Second Tues of the Month - 7:00 pm (Tonight!)

WNPJ member group Echo Valley Hope is teaming up with The Prem Rawat Foundation to offer the Peace Education Program to organizations and individuals throughout our state and region. The program will be offered virtually via zoom and it is free. The Peace Education Program is a unique ten-week course geared towards empowering individuals to discover their own inner strength and personal peace. The course themes are interactive and cover the following: peace, appreciation, inner strength, self-awareness, clarity, understanding, dignity, choice, hope and contentment. Dena Eakles of Echo Valley Hope has participated in this program and found it very useful. At this time when so much demands our outward attention the ability to cultivate and maintain a source of peace and inner strength within is critical. Someone from TPRF will facilitate a 90-minute zoom introduction to the course. This would be appropriate for people who want to understand more about the program or are considering showing it to their organization, school, community center, youth group, veterans group, rehabilitation or correctional facilities or anywhere people gather to learn. The following are the dates we are currently scheduling the 90-minute introduction. If these do not work for you or your organization, please let us know the day and time that will work and we will try to accommodate. You can register here for either 90-minute workshop: Wednesday June 14 or Tuesday June 20 (6:30-8:00 pm CST). The other option will be to participate in the full ten-week course. Dates for the 10-week Peace Education Program TBD and you can indicate your interest on the registration form. I hope you will consider learning about this free program that has helped people around the world. Thank you for your consideration and for all you do. Best wishes, Dena -- letkindnesswin.wordpress.com soundcloud / Dena Eakles echovalleyfarmwisconsin.com https://echovalleyhope.org 608-606-4450

WNPJ + Friendshipment to Cuba Visits Milwaukee + Creation Water Walk in Green Bay + Action Alert on Suicide Prevention for MKE VFP + other statewide events… *********************************************************** May 19 Benefit to send medicines to the people of Cuba On Friday, May 19, at 6 PM, Milwaukeeans will gather to raise money to send medicines to the embargoed people of Cuba, at Zao MKE Church, 2319 East Kenwood Blvd., MKE 53211. The program will begin with a potluck dinner and Cuban music from 6 to 7 PM, with a program from 7 to 8 PM. This will welcome and send off this year’s Pastors For Peace Friendshipment to Cuba, continuing over 30 years of support for the people of Cuba, often as acts of civil disobedience. During the same 30 years, the United Nations General Assembly every year has almost unanimously condemned the continued US economic blockade of Cuba, which was tightened during the pandemic and continues today. Cuba is now experiencing severe shortages of food, medicine and fuel, and sharply increased emigration to the U.S. as a result. In addition to hearing from a representative of the Pastors' Friendshipment Caravan, the program will feature Dr. Alexandra Skeeter of Milwaukee, a recent graduate of Cuba’s international medical school in Havana, which offers tuition free education to qualified students from over 60 nations in the developing world, and to US students of color especially. Original Afro-Cuba art and other items will be available for a donation. This event is organized locally by the Wisconsin Coalition to Normalize Relations with Cuba, www.wicuba.org. The Coalition was founded in 1994, inspired by organizers’ first-hand witness of serious food and material shortages in Cuba, alongside the commitment of Cuban people to endure. The Coalition’s mission and points of unity include respect for Cuba’s sovereignty, and opposition to artificial obstacles between the peoples of the U.S. and Cuba and to all means of economic or other coercion. More information is available at the Coalition’s website: www.wicuba.org, facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/WisconsinCubaCoalition, or via email to wicubacoalition@gmail.com. To make tax deductible donations directly to IFCO/Pastors for Peace, see: https://ifconews.org/donate/ ********************************************************** ACTION ALERT from the Milwaukee Chapter of Veterans for Peace WE SUPPORT WI's SUICIDE PREVENTION BILL. Our Chapter of VFP asked a WI State Senate committee Wednesday 5/3/23 to support a bill to help prevent suicides in Wisconsin, which now claims a victim every 10 hours, one in five of whom is a veteran. Senate Bill 205 would provide grants to organizations and local governments aimed at preventing suicides by training people in firearms-related jobs to recognize signs of potential suicide victims, providing suicide prevention materials and – most importantly – encouraging temporary, voluntary storage of firearms for gun owners who may be at risk or considering suicide. We believe the program will save the lives of veterans and others who may be at risk. Seventy per cent of veteran suicides are by firearm. Our Veterans for Peace Chapter in Milwaukee is a member of the Veteran Suicide Prevention Task Force, which began in early 2020 with the urgent need to decrease veteran suicides in Wisconsin, chaired by Dr. Berger, Chief of the Mental Health Division of the Zablocki VA Medical Center and in collaboration with the War Memorial Center, Veterans Health Coalition, Medical College of Wisconsin, and many community partners passionate about helping Wisconsin veterans. One of the task force’s existing programs is a gun shop project and safe storage program, in which nearly 40 Wisconsin firearms dealers already participate, promoted by Wisconsin gun shops and the Captain John D. Mason Veteran Peer Outreach Program, on behalf of the Southeastern Wisconsin Suicide Prevention Taskforce and BeThereWis.com. Our chapter is also a member of the Southeastern Central Wisconsin Task Force On Veteran Suicide Prevention. Senate Bill 205 could build on that existing program and expand public awareness and the availability of safe storage facilities. And, as a result, it could save more lives. Please support this effort and ask your state legislators to support passage of Senate Bill 205. Questions? ******************************** GREEN BAY Sat through Mon, May 27-28-29 Calling all Water Walkers and Water Protectors to the Creation Water Walk. Central meeting place, Wise Women Gathering Place at 641 Comanche Ave. #H. Learn more at: www.wisewomengp.org. * WE DO THIS FOR THE WATER ❤ * ************************************* Upcoming Events this week for WNPJ groups: (Read about more upcoming events here: https://www.wnpj.org/event-calendar) RADIO Mon May 15th, 7 - 8 pm David Williams on the Access Hour - a presentation about the 75th anniversary of the Founding of the State of Israel, the 1948 War, and the Expulsion of the Palestinians. For more info, email dvdwilliams51@tds.net. WORT-fm radio does have a program archives, too, if you miss this live show. https://www.wortfm.org/ SINSINAWA Tues May 16th, 6 - 7 pm Legacy of Agriculture at Sinsinawa: 175 Years of Farming. Sinsinawa Mound Center, County Road Z. Laurana Snyder, Sinsinawa Mound’s Horticulturist and Farm Coordinator, will be presenting Legacy of Agriculture. Farming has been a way of life at the Mound since 1847, when Father Samuel Mazzuchelli founded the order of Dominican Sisters of Sinsinawa. This talk will walk you through the past legacy of farming at Sinsinawa and explore where the future of farming is taking us. Please register by May 15 and the fee is $10 per person. Contact Arrangements at 608-748-4411 or visit our website at www.sinsinawa.org/moundcenter for more information. MIDDLETON Wed May 17th, 10 am - 2 pm Spring Meeting for Church Women United. Holy Wisdom Monastery, County Highway M This will be an in-person event! Women in local units are invited to join the state board for a day of sharing news from our units ... looking ahead to state assembly ... making plans, setting goals for our state. There will also be time to enjoy the peaceful setting of the monastery, visit with CWU friends, and complete a simple “service activity.” Lunch will be served in the monastery dining room. The Spring Meeting will be funded by our CWU Recognition and Memorial Fund. It is offered at no charge to CWU members who wish to take part in the day. Those attending may choose to make a donation to the R&M to offset some of the cost. cwu.wisc@gmail.com MADISON Wed May 17th, 4pm Madison Mutual Aid Garden Party! Meet at the Social Justice Center and carpool to the locations, or bring your bike. Yes, it’s a fun party in a garden setting and yes it’s also a work party! We’ll start some work on a couple gardens by Wingra bike path and the Arboretum, and make plans for how we keep the fun and growing rolling. Contact:Stephanie Rearick

Mother’s Day began as a call to action to improve the lives of families through health and peace. Ann Jarvis of Appalachia founded Mother’s Day in 1858 to promote sanitation in response to high infant mortality. After the Civil War, abolitionist Julia Ward Howe made a Mother’s Day call to women to protest the carnage of war. Mother’s Day Proclamation, 1870 By Julia Ward Howe Arise, then, women of this day! Arise, all women who have hearts, Whether our baptism be of water or of tears! Say firmly: “We will not have great questions decided by irrelevant agencies, Our husbands will not come to us, reeking with carnage, for caresses and applause. Our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearn All that we have been able to teach them of charity, mercy and patience. We, the women of one country, will be too tender of those of another country To allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs.” From the bosom of the devastated Earth a voice goes up with our own. It says: “Disarm! Disarm! The sword of murder is not the balance of justice.” Blood does not wipe out dishonor, nor violence indicate possession. As men have often forsaken the plough and the anvil at the summons of war, Let women now leave all that may be left of home for a great and earnest day of counsel. Let them meet first, as women, to bewail and commemorate the dead. Let them solemnly take counsel with each other as to the means Whereby the great human family can live in peace, Each bearing after his own time the sacred impress, not of Caesar, But of God. In the name of womanhood and humanity, I earnestly ask That a general congress of women without limit of nationality May be appointed and held at someplace deemed most convenient And at the earliest period consistent with its objects, To promote the alliance of the different nationalities, The amicable settlement of international questions, The great and general interests of peace. Sent to WNPJ by Veterans for Peace #102 Milwaukee - vfpchapter102@gmail.com

Hear and Meet Gail Walker at May 19 Benefit to Help Send Medicine to the Cuban People Gail Walker, Executive Director of Pastors For Peace and a Milwaukee native, will headline an event on Friday, May 19, to raise money to send needed medicines to the embargoed people of Cuba, at Zao MKE Church, 2319 East Kenwood Blvd., MKE 53211. The event will begin at 6pm with a potluck dinner and Cuban music, followed by a program from 7 to 8 PM. There is no admission charge, but donations are welcome. Original Afro-Cuban art and other items will also be available for a donation. See https://www.facebook.com/events/753534012983710/ This will be a send off of Pastors for Peace's 33rd Friendshipment to Cuba, many of them acts of civil disobedience. During each of these same 30 years, the United Nations General Assembly has overwhelmingly condemned the continued US economic blockade of Cuba, which was tightened during the pandemic and continues today. Cuba is now experiencing severe shortages of food, medicine and fuel, and sharply increased emigration to the U.S. as a result. Dr. Alexandra Skeeter of Milwaukee will also speak; she is a recent graduate of Cuba’s international medical school in Havana, which offers tuition free education to qualified students from over 60 nations in the developing world, including Palestine, as well as mostly US students of color. Ms. Walker and IFCO [Interreligious Foundation for Community Organization] have facilitated the process of recruiting and selecting over 100 US students to study medicine in Cuba under full scholarship which was initiated by Cuba working with the U.S. Congressional Black Caucus. IFCO was the fiscal sponsor for a similar Viva Palestina ("Long live Palestine") caravan sending medical aid to Gaza in 2009. This triggered attacks by some members of Congress resulting in a prolonged in-office IRS investigation and politically based removal of IFCO's tax exempt status, which was reversed on appeal. See below for more information on Ms. Walker. This event is organized by the Wisconsin Coalition to Normalize Relations with Cuba. It was founded in 1994, inspired by organizers’ first-hand witness of serious food and material shortages in Cuba, alongside the commitment of Cuban people to persevere. The Coalition’s points of unity include respect for Cuba’s sovereignty, and opposition to artificial obstacles between the peoples of the U.S. and Cuba and to all means of economic or other coercion. For more info: visit www.wicuba.org, or email wicubacoalition@gmail.com. To make tax deductible donations directly to IFCO/Pastors for Peace, see: https://ifconews.org/donate/ == Some additional info on Gail and Rev. Lucius Walker: Gail Walker worked with IFCO from 1987 to 2002 as the Communications Director and co-led the 1988 IFCO delegation to Nicaragua that resulted in the formation of the Pastors for Peace project. Through Pastors for Peace, citizens are offered the opportunity to enact an alternative people-to-people foreign policy rooted in justice and mutual respect. During her early years at IFCO she led a number of delegations to Central America and Cuba and staffed a number of Cuba Friendshipment Caravans. After years of working as a journalist and communications professional in print, video and radio, Gail returned to IFCO as Director in 2011. Under her direction IFCO staff have organized several Cuba Friendshipment Caravans and educational delegations to Cuba. Gail was born and raised in Milwaukee, was a community organizer here, and attended MU. Her father, Rev. Lucius Walker, was a leading civil rights and Black community leader and speaker in Milwaukee, into the early 1960's. He was the founding Exec. Dir. of Northcott Neighborhood House, and the first African-American professional to work in Milwaukee's then segregated south side; he was arrested and tried for attempting to challenge MPD officers over their brutal treatment of a Black youth. He left Milwaukee for Harlem, founded IFCO and later Pastors for Peace after he was shot by contras in Nicaragua (see above). For more information, contact: Art Heitzer, artheitzer@gmail.com (he/him) Mobile 414-628-2547

Greetings from Pax Christi Madison.... Great Turning Catholic Worker, Inc., of Madison is raising funds to complete purchase of a house of hospitality at 1409 Lucy Lane, Madison. The house will be managed by Andrea and Justin Novotney, who live next door at a Catholic Worker Farm they opened in 2019. Great Turning has raised $165,000 to purchase the house and must raise an additional $30,000 by the June 2 closing date. For more information, please see the Fact Sheet, which has a Pledge-Now-Pay-Later button and information about ways you can volunteer, at: Great Turning Catholic Worker May 2023 - Google Docs Sent to WNPJ by Dennis Collier - dennis.collier@hotmail.com 608-516-1656

https://isthmus.com/news/community/saying-no-to-war/ Photo credit to Lisa Wells of the Isthmus I locked up the church doors, then tucked in to sleep on a small open spot on the floor of the sanctuary, between chairs and right next to a huge east-facing window. It was Friday night, March 24, the first day of a regional anti-war event I’d helped organize, the 20th Midwest Catholic Worker Faith and Resistance Gathering. I was there hoping to help prevent nuclear war. People had converged from eight states at a church on Old Sauk Road. Friends old and new greeted each other with smiles, hugs, and shrieks of joy. We ate dinner, then watched Theaters of War, a new documentary about how the Pentagon and the CIA use Hollywood to promote the U.S. military. I slept, cozy on a camping pad and under a comforter, with a shirt rolled up as a pillow. I woke up around midnight to open the door and greet Chrissy, Lindsey and Theo, young Catholic Worker activists who’d driven from St. Louis. They carried in sleeping bags and got settled. I woke up briefly again in the very early morning. Outside the big window snow had started to fall thickly. By morning a foot had accumulated, beautiful and heavy on the evergreens, roofs and roads. At 6:30 a.m., Barb and Mike from northern Wisconsin arrived to cook breakfast. We carried in boxes of banana bread and cartons of eggs, and a lively day of work began. We would spend the next three days together learning, reflecting, and preparing to act on Monday. Working against militarism in the U.S. can be daunting. People sometimes ask me, “Isn’t it depressing?” I think it’s depressing to not speak out against war. Speaking out gives me hope. We are in an unprecedentedly dangerous time, in a proxy war with Russia. Last year after Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine, friends and I started doing war abolition walks in Madison to call for a ceasefire and diplomacy in Ukraine, and an end to all war. We’ve done 28 walks since last April. We hold signs that say, “Defuse Nuclear War” and “Weapons Makers Are the Only Winners.” We’ve started a Madison chapter of the international war abolition group World BEYOND War. Doing the walks together interrupts my fear. People stop to talk with us, their faces lit up with hope. They say, “Thank you for doing this,” and “I agree,” and “Why don’t we hear this perspective in the media?” In the last year, the U.S. has sent and promised $55 billion of weapons to Ukraine to kill people. I fund war when I pay taxes. Much of that money goes to companies that profit from war, like Lockheed Martin which makes F-35 fighter jets. F-35s cost about $75 million per plane. They can carry nuclear bombs. They are flown by a single pilot. Design and performance problems have plagued the F-35. In 2022 alone, three F-35s crashed. Twenty of these jets are to arrive this spring in Madison at the Truax Air National Guard base; the first arrived April 25. The F-35 fighters will bring war home to Wisconsin. We gathered to say no to F-35s and war anywhere. Saying no to war gives me hope. Well over 100 people attended the weekend events. On Saturday, we listened to speakers, sang, shared meals and stories. Three saxophonists performed: Father Joe played soprano sax, Ann from Kansas played alto sax, and I played tenor. Sunday some of us went to St. Thomas Aquinas church for Catholic Mass where the priest spoke about our nonviolent witness in front of 500 parishioners. Many of us went to a Wild Church outdoor service at Owen Park, with snow on the ground and blue sky overhead. We who gathered are timid, brave, faithful and stubborn. Young and old and in-between. Non-religious, Catholics, Quakers, Muslims, Mennonites, and Wild Church practitioners. Veterans, parents of young children, priests, nuns, students, ministers, and Catholic Workers. The Catholic Worker movement was started in the Great Depression, 1933, by Dorothy Day and others in New York City. The movement has a long history of resisting war. Today there are 176 Catholic Worker communities around the world. Many run houses of hospitality, where volunteers and formerly-unhoused people live together. The Catholic Workers in the Midwest get together in a different city each year for the Faith and Resistance Gatherings. The first was in 2003, just before the U.S. invaded Iraq, a war that by low estimates killed 100,000 Iraqi civilians. Andrea and Justin, who helped lead the 2023 Madison gathering, are raising money now for a new Catholic Worker house of hospitality here. Monday morning was cold and damp. At 5:30 a.m., about 40 of us gathered at the gates of Truax to say no to F-35s and war. Later that morning, many more people joined us for a protest at the Capitol. What did we accomplish that long weekend? Our civil disobedience actions on Monday got lots of media attention. We took steps to build a mass movement to end war before it ends human life on this planet. No one was arrested. That afternoon, Catholic Workers headed out towards their homes, already planning their next gathering. The next day I was interrupted by a newly unfamiliar noise. Last fall the F-16 jets that had been at Truax were sent elsewhere, to make way for the F-35s. We’d had peace and quiet since then. But that morning, March 28, I once again heard a booming noise. Looking out the window, I saw two fighter jets swooping low and loud in the sky. These visitors felt like a warning. When the planes fly over, it reminds me to work to end the organized mass murder called war. It can be hard to speak up but I feel better when I try. Last year I heard about the concept of war abolition. My first reaction was, “That’s impossible.” But slavery abolitionists used to be told that. The antiwar movement is growing. That gives me hope. Janet Parker is a longtime Madison anti-war activist. She invites others to future war abolition walks and No F-35 events. Janet is part of the WNPJ member group, Madison for a World BEHYOND WAr. ************************************* Did you find this article useful? Please consider supporting us at the Isthmus today. We need support from readers like you to help us continue to deliver high-quality journalism that is independent and available to everybody. Thank you. https://isthmus.com/news/community/saying-no-to-war/

The Press Release below was sent to WNPJ by: Rabbi Bonnie Margulis Executive Director Wisconsin Faith Voices for Justice and member of the Dane Sanctuary Coalition 608-513-7121 rabbibonnie@charter.net On the Day Title 42 is Lifted, National Faith Organizations Tell Biden to Welcome Asylum Seekers May 11, 2023 Contact: media@interfaithimmigration.org Washington DC: National faith organizations from the Interfaith Immigration Coalition are celebrating the lifting of Title 42 after several years of it being misused under a false pretense of public health from both the Trump and Biden administrations; wherein the clear objective of this arcane health code was to expel asylum seekers in an unprecedented and unjust way. Now as this administration finally lifts Title 42, faith organizations across the country have grave concerns that the policies the Biden administration will implement in its place will have severe consequences, through the recent asylum ban, sending troops to the border, expedited removal, expansion of detention, and the apprehensions outside houses of worship. Representatives and leaders of the IIC member organizations are sending a strong message consistent with our faith traditions, calling on President Biden to welcome asylum seekers with dignity and reverse these policies that will only cause more harm to migrants seeking safety and make it more difficult for people to claim asylum. Giovana Oaxaca, Program Director for Migration Policy for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and co-chair of the Interfaith Immigration Coalition said: “Tensions are running high with Title 42 finally coming to an end. Yet today’s announcement on an asylum rule that will deny protection to families with children and individuals simply because they traveled through another country and did not first seek protection there, with very few exceptions, will add to the distress of beloved children of God. In addition to navigating their survival, asylum seekers will need to maneuver this complex array of exceptions or try their luck with the CBP One app. The finalization of the asylum rule simply overshadows some of the positive steps taken ahead of this moment, like the establishment of regional processing centers. Why welcome asylum seekers? Because: “the love of God is for all people”, without exception, regardless of their race, national origin, immigration status, or faith tradition. Lutheran teaching understands the role of government to be to serve the common good and to protect people. To honor the dignity God creates in every person, migrants must be treated with dignity, mercy, fairness, and justice. We recall that Jesus calls us to “love our neighbors as ourselves.” Sadly, these dangerous policies across federal and state legislative bodies speak for the increasing intolerance of our migrant siblings. Deterrence destroys our ability to relate to one another. An effective approach to irregular migration recognizes that our policies urgently need to address the reasons people flee their communities and focus on humane solutions.” “We welcome the end of Title 42, a policy that has forced asylum seekers and refugees — people seeking safety — into inhumane and unsafe conditions,” said Rabbi Jill Jacobs, CEO of T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights. “But it must not be replaced with an asylum ban and other dangerous policies or legislation. Seeking asylum is a fundamental, protected human right. We have a moral obligation to welcome asylum seekers with a dignified, just, transparent, and timely system to gain legal entry into the United States. The Torah teaches the obligation to extend love and care to people from outside our home society: ‘You shall love this person as yourself, for you were gerim [foreigners] in the land of Egypt.’ (Leviticus 19:34). As Jews, many of our own families fled danger to find refuge in the U.S., and we know from experience that immigration policy can be a matter of life and death.” “For more than three years, the U.S. government has cast out those desperate for peace and safety. The message to vulnerable communities was clear: your lives aren’t worth protecting.” said Anika Forrest, Legislative Director for Domestic Policy at the Friends Committee on National Legislation. “The end of Title 42 comes with jaded relief as the Biden Administration and Congress propose violent policies that would bar the right to asylum and forcibly expel families and children to potential death. Loving thy neighbor means ensuring refuge. We call on policymakers to seek measures that secure the right to asylum, support community-based migration management programs, provide basic services and respite to at-risk populations, and initiate systems and pathways for people to establish stable, prosperous lives.” “The rights of migrants to move with dignity must be upheld. As the conditions that force people to migrate worsen, the US must recognize its international obligations to provide protection for those who seek it. The Biden administration’s restrictions on accessing these protections impact our global credibility as a welcoming nation while creating impenetrable barriers for migrants who are unable to follow the mandated procedures. As a Quaker organization, the American Friends Service Committee urges the administration to rethink these divisive proposals and instead build compassionate systems that create stronger and more sustainable communities,” said Amy Gottlieb, US Migration Director, American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) “We at UUSJ have been unequivocal in our opposition to the use of Title 42 to limit access to asylum seekers. While we are pleased Title 42 is finally ending, we are deeply concerned that the policies announced to replace it are not an acceptable or humane alternative,” said Pablo DeJesús, Executive Director of Unitarian Universalists for Justice. “Our Unitarian Universalist faith calls us to ‘respect the inherent worth and dignity of every person’ and that includes the belief that ‘no human being is illegal.’ Coupling new pathways toward legal status for too few, while arbitrarily barring other migrants from similar opportunities and also increasing deportations, and also adding new militarization at the border, is not an acceptable trade-off. That is too close to systemic curtailment of legal pathways. We can, and must, do better. The United States can do better.” “Finally, we see the end of Title 42, but danger lurks. Since President Trump co-opted this section of law and President Biden continued it, the world has become more perilous and its citizens more threatened. Wars have erupted. Economies have cratered. Governments and private industries have plundered. The innocent have been taken hostage by these threats and are seeking refuge and safety in our country where freedom reigns and dreams can become reality,” said Fran Eskin-Royer, Executive Director of the National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd. “So what is next? What do we do? Mr. President, we welcome these migrants and asylum seekers. We also must streamline and update our asylum and immigration laws and expand the paltry numbers of asylees we welcome. We are relieved that Title 42 is coming to a close. We hope that as America turns this corner, we all remember our common dignity and we see the face of a friend in all we meet and welcome.” "At LIRS, we recognize that we are one human family and we are called by God to stretch our hands to support people in need. The sunset of Title 42 is long overdue and ends a shameful period in our country's history,” said Jill Marie Bussey, director for public policy at Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service. "We unequivocally affirm the legal right of individuals to seek protection at our borders and stand in solidarity with those who are most vulnerable, including children and families. We call on the Biden administration to rethink the expanded use of expedited removal and repeal their misguided Asylum Ban. Instead, the administration should provide a humanitarian response that dignifies human life and acknowledges people’s suffering — not one that turns away people fleeing persecution.” “As an organization rooted in Catholic values, we affirm the words of Pope Francis when he calls for the welcome, protection, promotion and integration of refugees and asylum seekers," said Joan Rosenhauer, Executive Director of JRS/USA. “While we agree with the termination of Title 42, we are concerned about the new measures being implemented by the Biden Administration that will have an impact on the safety and well-being of asylum seekers. We urge the U.S. government to renew our commitment to asylum seekers by providing pathways to protection that welcome and offer safety for the most vulnerable." “I am discouraged that after all the advocacy efforts calling for the end of Title 42, the administration has simply replaced it with worse policies that continue to ban the human right to seek asylum, detain more asylum seekers and militarize the U.S.-Mexico border. The harms and suffering migrants endured during the implementation Title 42 cannot be addressed with other restrictive policies like the asylum ban –which makes it almost impossible for any non-Mexican asylum seeker to seek protection from persecution in our nation,” said Elket Rodríguez, CBF Field Personnel and Team Leader of the Advocacy Team for Immigrants and Refugees. “I also do not see the same energy, commitment, and effort from the administration to address the root causes of migration and to roll out the new pathways for refugees to enter the United States, as I see with the implementation of these restrictive anti-immigrant policies. Jesus commands his followers to welcome the strangers. As Christians, we are called to do just that, regardless of the immigration policies of the times. Those who respond to a higher call than politics will continue to welcome and advocate for migrants today and tomorrow, just like yesterday. New policies, same commitment.” “We are grateful to see the end of Title 42 as we know it, a racist, harmful, and ineffective policy applied by the previous administration and continued in the current administration until now. However, we express our grave concern over the administration post-Title 42 plans to implement an asylum ban and new legal pathways for a select few”, said Rev. Kendal L. McBroom, Director of Civil and Human Rights of the United Methodist Church General Board of Church and Society. “Our Social Principles and Christian faith remind us to welcome the sojourner in our midst as if we were welcoming Christ Jesus into our homes. We call on this administration to develop more humane, inclusive, and just policies that do not pit asylum seekers against one another but rather provide a safe and fair option for those seeking safety and security.” “We rejoice that the unjust and immoral Title 42 broad expulsion policy is finally ending. After years of faith communities advocating for this moment we should be celebrating, however, we now mourn the introduction of harsh and punitive asylum policies that will prevent the people fleeing persecution from finding needed protections. Today's asylum ban was initiated by the Biden administration, but it follows in the footsteps of what the Trump administration attempted to do. Faith communities continue to lift a prophetic voice against any anti-asylum policy proposed by any administration or Congress,” added Rev. Noel Andersen, National Field Director for Church World Service. “We have a moral obligation to welcome migrants fleeing persecution and will continue to open our congregations to people seeking safety. We ask the Biden administration to rescind these harmful policies and expect the federal government to increase the support needed to create a humane reception infrastructure so that we can welcome people with dignity.” "Immigration policy has become a political flashpoint and not at all about the migrants and asylum seekers who desperately need humanitarian protection,” said Susan Gunn, Director, Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns. “The problem we face as a nation is not the number of migrants on our border. The problem is that we as a nation have forgotten the commitments we made after World War II, to protect people fleeing for their lives by offering asylum. This is our contribution to our shared humanity and peace in the world. We all are better for it. We are a nation that has always thrived on the creative contribution and the hard work of migrants." “While Franciscan Action Network (FAN) welcomes the expiration, finally, of harmful Title 42, we regret that the Biden administration has not done more to set a more compassionate, just, and orderly direction for U.S. migration policies,” said Sister Marie Lucey, OSF, Associate Director of FAN. “We appreciate ways to expand legal pathways, establish regional processing centers, and expand family unification efforts so people can migrate safely, but the asylum ban steers the country away from being a hospitable, safe haven for asylum seekers. Yes, the administration is under great pressure to secure the border, and yes, the overhaul of our broken immigration system is up to Congress. However, we ask if the administration has really listened to why migrants are desperate to seek safe asylum in the U.S., and to faith-based and other organizations committed to welcoming and assisting families and individuals who seek asylum? Overemphasis on deterrence and enforcement run counter to our belief that migrants are our sisters and brothers, and to this country’s moral value of welcoming people fleeing violence, persecution, oppression, or extreme poverty for which this country bears no little responsibility.” “Even though Title 42 is ending, Columbans still fear for the safety of migrants because under the Biden administration's new policy they will be subject to further violence and even death in Mexico," said Cynthia Gonzalez, US Advocacy Coordinator for the Missionary Society of St. Columban. "This new asylum rule is yet another policy in a long line that continues to put people in danger. We call on the Biden administration to take a new approach to immigration policy, one founded on welcome and compassion, that respects each migrant's rights to a thriving life." “Even though Title 42 is ending, the Biden administration is implementing new policies that continue to punish and deport and imprison migrants," said Cristina Coronado Flores, the Director of Migrant Ministries in Ciudad Juárez for the Missionary Society of St. Columban . "The US feels like it can criminalize whoever it wants, but this will not stop people from seeking to enter through other ways. US policies will continue to create conditions where smugglers, organized crime, gangs, and human trafficking grow. We are going to see people disappeared, kidnapped. That is already happening, but it will be to a greater extent.” The Interfaith Immigration Coalition is made up of over 55 national, faith-based organizations brought together across many theological traditions with a common call to seek just policies that lift up the God-given dignity of every individual. In partnership, we work to protect the rights, dignity, and safety of all refugees and migrants. Follow us on Twitter @interfaithimm ### -- Ellie Hutchison Cervantes, MDiv (she/her) Digital Communications Manager | Interfaith Immigration Coalition