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Included in this edition:
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Key to Our Global Survival: An Urgent Call for a Mideast Ceasefire and US Arms Embargo |
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Patrice Sutton, MPH and Robert Gould, MD |
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When the Peace Caucus was founded almost 40 years ago, our world was threatened by a nuclear arms race between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, with tens of thousands of warheads poised to annihilate civilization at a moment’s notice. Peace Caucus members, including the leadership of APHA, lent the voice of public health to a broad anti-militarism and anti-interventionist movement that helped defuse the tensions of the Cold War. |
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For example, in 1986, hundreds of APHA members attending the annual meeting in Las Vegas demonstrated against the testing of nuclear weapons at the Nevada Test Site, with approximately 140 of us also engaging in non-violent civil disobedience.
Since that time, APHA members have strongly supported numerous policies adopted by APHA calling for the elimination of nuclear weapons, most recently the 2020 resolution “Toward a World Free of Nuclear Weapons” which endorsed the multiple planks of the Back from the Brink Campaign, and called for the U.S. government to sign and ratify the 2017 UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Unfortunately, the world has embarked on a new nuclear arms race, including plans by the United States to spend an estimated $1.7 trillion over 30 years to modernize, and make our arsenal more deadly and destabilizing. This is especially dangerous given multiple areas of heightened geopolitical conflict including nuclear weapons states, including Ukraine/Russia, China/Taiwan, and the spreading war in the Mideast.
As the war in Gaza has expanded to the West Bank, Lebanon, and at the time of writing this article now threatens Iran, we are horrified with the enormity of the carnage that has already occurred, its long-term health consequences, and the real potential for nuclear escalation that threatens additional unfathomable regional and global destruction.
As such, we must heed the call by the Deans of the Faculty of Health Sciences at the American University of Beirut, Lebanon who have asked of us all, as public health professionals and citizens of the planet: |
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“You Are Our Voice – We urge you to be our voice for peace, dignity, and for safeguarding people’s lives and health, and to demand an end to this war and every war… The World needs to wake up. The deafening silence of the global community is not merely deepening injustices; it is becoming itself the war that we must confront. The international community’s inaction in the face of these war atrocities is eroding faith in the global order and undermining the very institutions entrusted in safeguarding human rights, protecting civilians, and preventing the weaponization of healthcare and civilian war injuries. We cannot remain disengaged; silence is complicity, inaction is consent.” (emphasis added) |
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Two new reports by the Cost of War Project at Brown University provide a partial accounting of the public health consequences of the war in Palestine and Israel: |
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(1) The Human Toll: Indirect Deaths from War in Gaza and the West Bank, October 7, 2023 Forward; and (2) United States Spending On Israel’s Military Operations And Related U.S. Operations In The Region, October 7, 2023-September 30, 2024 which together provide a stark reminder of costs in human life and squandered resources since October 7, 2023. The Human Toll report calculates 121,300 direct and indirect fatalities over the past year (Figures 1 & 2). The report does not include the recent deaths in Lebanon nor the long-term health consequences of war and mass displacement, including but not limited to, mental and physical trauma, and the destruction of health systems, the economy, infrastructure, and the environment. The United Nations reports that 1.9 million people – nine in 10 Gazans – have been displaced at least once by the war, including an estimated 43,580 who are pregnant women; As of October 18th Lebanese authorities report that 1.2 million people have been displaced or otherwise directly affected by the crisis. |
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The spending report finds, “U.S. spending on Israel’s military operations and related U.S operations in the region total at least $22.76 billion and counting” between October 7th 2023 and September 30th, 2024. |
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The authors note that this estimate is conservative; “while it includes approved security assistance funding since October 7, 2023, supplemental funding for regional operations, and an estimated additional cost of operations, it does not include any other economic costs.”
In 2023 APHA passed a policy which “calls upon President Biden and Congress to urgently demand an immediate cease-fire and call for de-escalation of the current conflict by securing the immediate release of the hostages and those detained; by restoring water, fuel, electricity and other basic services; and by passing adequate humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.” A movement to stop the war continuing into Iran and uniting behind multiple legislative initiatives introduced by Senator Bernie Sanders, and supported by other legislators, calling for blocking various offensive weapons sales to Israel totaling $20 billion is gearing up, and APHA’s leadership and members need to be vocal advocates in this burgeoning movement.
While voices of reason continue to be drowned out by the din of vengeance and unfolding genocide, they exist. Former Israeli and Palestinian ministers have stated explicitly “the war in Gaza must end” and have proposed a pathway to secure a lasting peace — for Israelis, Palestinians and the broader region. Civil society leaders including the Co-Directors of Combatants for Peace in a recent interview on CNN have eloquently articulated a way forward.
We urge you to add your voice to the many calls for a Mideast ceasefire and arms embargo, as well as for the immediate release of all hostages and those illegally detained by all parties. At the upcoming annual meeting of APHA there will be many educational sessions on Gaza and the accelerating Mideast war, as well as a crucial organizing meeting convened by the International Health Section’s Palestinian Health Justice Work Group:
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2:30 PM 4262.0 - Issues and Controversies in Peace Work Today: The Sidel Levy Peace Award Laureates Speak
WEDNESDAY 10:30 AM 5088.0 - A Collaborative Session between the Peace and Socialist Caucuses: "Plausible” Genocide(s): Armenia’s History and Palestine’s Reality, then and Now |
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Please Join Us for an Exciting Peace Caucus Program at APHA
Naseem Parsa, MPH, MBA; Program Co-Chair Peace Caucus |
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The Peace Caucus is proud to present a diverse and exciting schedule of events at the 2024 APHA Conference! Our program at a glance is here. Read below to learn more.
SUNDAY Please join us at the Peace Caucus Business Meeting on Sunday, October 27 from 9:00 am-10:00 am CT in the Minneapolis Convention Center Room 102E.
If you’d like to attend the Health Activists Dinner, please register here. The dinner will take place on Sunday, October 27 from 6:00 pm-9:00 pm CT at Hell’s Kitchen Inc. at 80 South 9th Street, Minneapolis, MN 55402. Tickets are $100 or $75 for students. To find out more about the history of the Health Activist Dinner, please click here. |
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MONDAY On Monday, October 28 from 8:30 am-10:00 am CT in the Minneapolis Convention Center Room 213AB the Peace Caucus will be hosting a session called "Costs of war and preparing for war: Resisting militarism to protect public health.” The session will be moderated by Brian Campbell of Physicians for Social Responsibility and has been endorsed by the Human Rights Forum and One Health. Speakers include Bill Hartung of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft and Hanna Homestead of the Institute for Policy Studies. Bill Hartung will present “Reining in the war machine: Building popular resistance to the new military buildup.” For more of Bill’s work related to this topic, read more here. Hanna Homestead will present “The war at home: Understanding the ecological costs of militarism on public health and the federal budget,” describing how U.S. foreign policy can directly impact the health and well-being of communities within the United States. To read more of Hanna’s work, please click here. Graphic credit: Dismantle the Military Industrial Complex |
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TUESDAY On Tuesday, October 29 from 8:30 am-10:00 am CT in the Hilton Minneapolis Ballroom E, join us for a session called “Settler colonialism in the Twin Cities: The interconnection of Palestine, George Floyd, and environmental justice.” This session is endorsed by One Health. We’ll hear from Minneapolis local speakers, including Mateo Frumholtz of University of Minnesota, Minneapolis City Council member Robin Wonsley, and Joe Vital of the Minneapolis East Phillips Neighborhood Institute regarding organizing at a local and global scale and how they intersect. |
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Later in the day on Tuesday, October 29 from 2:30 pm-4:00 pm CT at the Minneapolis Convention Center Room 103E, we’ll have a special opportunity to hear from past awardees of the Victor Sidel and Barry Levy Award for Peace during the session “Issues and controversies in peace work today: The Sidel Levy Peace Award laureates speak.” Speakers include Barry Levy, past President of APHA, who will deliver remarks about the award, as well as the current state for activists and academics working in peace promotion. Robert Gould of the San Francisco Bay Physicians for Social Responsibility will speak to the history of the Peace Caucus and its role in anti-militarism and anti-war awareness moving forward, presenting “Anti-militarism and ‘just’ wars: Reconciling seemingly competing agendas for the peace caucus and the peace movement.” Mulugeta Gebregziabher of the Medical University of South Carolina will present “Forgotten conflicts: global peace and selective solidarity” emphasizing the need for organizations, universities and professional associations, such as APHA and the United Nations, to officially recognize armed conflict, peace, and human rights as determinants of health to foster support and funding for prevention. Read more about Mulugeta’s work in Tigray here. Shelley White of Boston College will speak about the future of the Peace Caucus and peace work and its role in anti-war work, presenting “Peace work is not the same as anti-war work: An agenda for the peace caucus and beyond.” To learn more about Shelley’s anti-war work, click here. Amy Hagopian of University of Washington will present “From resolutions to actions: How can we move APHA to lead on peace action?” describing how APHA priorities can and should be re-aligned to include war and peace and health issues. To read more about the need for public health workers and academics to engage in this work, click here. |
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Closing out our time at APHA, there will be a joint collaborative session with the Socialist Caucus on Wednesday, October 30 from 10:30 am-12:00 pm CT at the Minneapolis Convention Center Room L100FG, session 5088.0 - A Collaborative Session between the Peace and Socialist Caucuses: "Plausible” Genocide(s): Armenia’s History and Palestine’s Reality, then and Now. This session is endorsed by Human Rights Forum, One Health and One Health Late Breakers. |
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With >39,000 persons dead, >189,000 wounded and Lancet-published predictions of >187,000 plausible excess deaths even with an immediate Ceasefire, the International Court of Justice has declared Gaza’s reality “plausible genocide,” (ICJ photo, above) a real-time happening recalling the Armenian genocide (1915-1923) where >1 million Armenians were killed by the Ottoman Empire (population reduced from 2 million to 388,000). Presentations will address: What is the situation in Gaza today? What are the repercussions of the Armenian genocide? What is happening with students, health professionals and faculty in the USA who protest the current “plausible genocide” in Gaza? What can we learn from Palestine and Armenia to make genocide happen never again? We hope you can be there to be part of the conversation on these critical issues. |
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CONGRATULATIONS TO YARA ASI, PhD, MA WINNER OF THE 2024 SIDEL-LEVY AWARD FOR PEACE |
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Yara M. Asi, PhD, MA an assistant professor at the University of Central Florida’s School of Global Health Management and Informatics, will receive the 2024 Victor Sidel and Barry Levy Award for Peace for raising awareness about human rights violations during conflict. Asi is widely published in outlets such as The Washington Post and The New York Times for her research and insight on global health and human rights. Her recently released book “How War Kills: The Overlooked Threats to Our Health” looks at the public health risks of war such as the collapse of infrastructure and disease outbreaks. |
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Asi also mentors scholars advocating for peace, presents regularly at APHA’s Annual Meeting, and chairs the APHA International Health Section’s Palestine Health Justice Working Group. Yara has also worked in collaboration with the Peace Caucus to increase recognition of the relationship between war, conflict, and public health among APHA members and beyond. As a Palestinian - American, Yara has direct knowledge of the public health consequences of conflict and war in this region. She has demonstrated the capacity to unite her local knowledge with excellence in scholarship and public health practice to educate and inspire APHA members and to promote advocacy on behalf of vulnerable populations whose health is harmed by on-going conflict and war. These sessions have been well-attended and have in turn fostered collaboration among APHA members and engaged early career public health professionals on the specific focus of the Sidel-Levy award, war and public health.
This year’s APHA awards will be presented at an event on Monday, October 28, 12:30-2:00pm. A ticket must be purchased to attend this event. Purchase your ticket when you register or log back into your registration and add this event. |
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ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE & NUCLEAR WEAPONS: WHAT COULD GO WRONG? |
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Jack Kelly, Research Fellow, Physicians for Social Responsibility
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AI at Any Cost: How Tech Giants Exploit China Fears to Block Regulation
Originally published by Responsible Statecraft and is available here. |
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PEACE AND CONFLICT RESOURCES |
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AUGUST 26, 2024 Israel: Palestinian Healthcare Workers Tortured ICC Prosecutor Should Investigate Attacks on Health Care, Detainee Abuses
SEPTEMBER 26, 2024 On the persistence of U.S. nuclear deterrence policy.
OCTOBER 1, 2024 “Escalation Dominance” . . . and the Prospect of More Than 1,000 Holocausts
OCTOBER 2024 Nuclear Weapons Kill People Even When Not Used American Journal of Public Health
NOVEMBER 14TH, 2024 7AM Pacific Time (US and Canada) Webinar The Health of the People in Nagorno Karabakh after the Azerbaijan Invasion.
Speakers will address the severe humanitarian and public health crisis resulting from the recent conflict in Nagorno Karabakh and its profound impact on the region. The discussion will encompass geopolitical dynamics and the roles of global powers in shaping peace efforts, the urgent challenges of refugee health, particularly maternal and child care, and the critical need for developing resilient health systems in conflict zones. Personal accounts of displaced communities struggling to access healthcare and essential services will also be shared, as well as recommendations on how to get involved in relief efforts. |
SESSIONS ENDORSED BY THE PEACE CAUCUS |
VISIT THE PEACE CAUCUS at the APHA EXPO BOOTH #1324 |
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We welcome you to visit the Peace Caucus at Booth # 1324 at the Exposition Hall. Stop by to meet us and to learn more about the Peace Caucus. The Exhibition Hall is open Sunday 12:30 PM – 6:00 PM; Monday 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM; and Tuesday 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM.
Visit us at Booth #1324 to learn more about the many opportunities for action within and beyond APHA. |
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Peace Caucus member David Spence at the Peace Caucus Booth at the 2023 APHA annual meeting in Atlanta. |
What is the Peace Caucus? |
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The Peace Caucus in affiliation with the American Public Health Association (APHA) was founded in 1985 to educate and engage the influential voice of public health professionals in efforts to promote peace. Through outreach and educational activities, we strive to illuminate that peace and social justice are key determinants of the health of individuals and communities across the globe. Learn more about the Peace Caucus, become a member, and donate at our website found here.
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PEACE CAUCUS Co-Chairs: Samer Jabbour, MD, MPH and Robert M. Gould, MD Co-Program Planners: Naseem Parsa, MPH, MBA and Patrice Sutton, MPH Newsletter: Patrice Sutton, Naseem Parsa, and Robert Gould. Thank you to Giselle Bergmeier of San Francisco Bay Physicians for Social Responsibility for newsletter layout and website posting! Steering Committee: Samer Jabbour, Robert M. Gould, Naseem Parsa, Patrice Sutton, Townson Cocke, Mateo Frumholtz, Amy Hagopian, Anlan Cheney Sheer. |
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