By Anne Levin
With President Trump’s and Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu’s war on Iran underway, local residents are actively protesting what they say is an unconstitutional conflict that could lead to major regional unrest.
Some 500 attended a rally organized by the Coalition for Peace Action (CFPA) and Indivisible Cranbury in Hinds Plaza last Saturday — 200 in person; 300 via Zoom. On Friday, March 6 from 4-5 p.m., Indivisible Princeton is holding a “Honk & Wave” rally on the Stockton Street sidewalks by Monument Park to protest the war, ICE activities, and to protect democracy. The sidewalk events are being held the first Friday of each month.
“These smaller sidewalk rallies are a great opportunity for concerned residents to protest — and to meet one another and build community,” said Lynda Dodd, head of Indivisible Princeton, in an email.
Princeton, Hopewell, Trenton, and Bucks County, Pa., are among the locations of the No Kings rallies planned for March 28 in municipalities across the country. Indivisible Princeton, the lead organizer for last year’s Princeton Hands Off rally and two No Kings rallies, is working with the ACLU-NJ on planning the March 28 event for Monument Park, from 10-11:30 a.m.
Trump has said he decided to launch the military offensive against Iran because of frustration with the progress of talks about Iran’s nuclear program. Bombing over 1,000 targets in the opening days of the war was to destroy the country’s missile capabilities, annihilate its navy, prevent it from developing nuclear weapons, and ensure the regime can’t continue to fund “terrorist armies” outside its borders, he said.
Speakers at last Saturday’s gathering stressed that Trump launched the war without a vote by Congress, which is illegal. Those taking to the microphone included the CFPA Executive Director the Rev. Robert Moore, the organization’s Board Chair Jeffrey Laurenti, retired Iranian-American physician Ahmad Farzad, Northwestern University international law professor Annelise Riles, former fighter pilot-turned peace activist Richard Moody, and Laura Zurfluh of Indivisible Cranbury.
Moore cited the bombing of a girls’ school in Iran, leading to the deaths of 48 children. He called repeatedly for diplomacy, not war. “Unfortunately, this trigger-happy war criminal who is now our president decided to go forward with an attack,” he said. “Shameful. I was hoping against hope that we would have a diplomatic path forward.”
Farzad described the Iranian people as “in a state of shock, sorrow, and mourning for the loss of thousands of their loved ones who were killed at the hands of the government and anarchists. Iran’s freedom has been taken away. The economy is in shambles. And they are in a state of constant panic, pain, and suffering.”
Laurenti said many Americans have been against this war from the start. “Our president has come to see the world through the same lens as [Russian president] Vladimir Putin,” he said. Laurenti and others criticized Congress for what they perceived as weak responses to the war. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries’ statement was “a pathetic, straddling response,” he said, that came too late.
Among those in the crowd at Hinds Plaza were Princeton University Professor Sam Wang and physician Adam Hamawy, both of whom are pursuing the Democratic nomination for New Jersey’s 12th Congressional District.
To register for the March 6 “Honk & Wave,” visit mobilize.us/indivisible/event/913387. For the March 28 No Kings rally, visit mobilize.us/nokings/event/900741.