Peace House Calendar of Events

This Sunday: Witness Report from Ukraine:

Where is the conflict going? Will it lead to Nuclear War?

Southern Oregon Peace Vets and Peace House to cosponsor Peter Lumsdaine for Report Back from Ukraine 3:00 pm Sunday at Medford Public Library

A member of Physicians for Social Responsibility’s Committee for the Abolition of Nuclear Weapons, Peter Lumsdaine will lead us in an in-person briefing and discussion of his unique 2023 visit to Ukraine & Poland.

In Ukraine he and three other delegation members travelled to Kyiv, Dnipro, Zaporizhzhia, the countryside in between, and then through backroads army checkpoints to the mining town of Marhanets, near the Ukrainian military’s off-limits “red zone” and the Russian lines, across the river from the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

Rally Sunday in Ashland to Feature City Officials, Rabbis Marking Beginning of Antisemitism Awareness Week

Rally to be held at Ashland Plaza from 2-3 p.m. Sunday

Peace House congratulates both Medford and Ashland in their official stand against antisemitism with the declaration of Antisemitism Awareness Week. We decry the stories of aggression against Jews both in the Rogue Valley and across the country.

In the spiritual lineage of Mohandas K. Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Thich Nhat Hanh, we believe in equality and nonviolent resolution of conflict amongst all people. We uphold the Jewish community’s right to nondiscrimination and safety.

Peace House continues to ‘Express our Sorrow and Encourage Nonviolent Solutions,’ regarding the war in Israel and Gaza. Please read our statement from October here.

According to an Ashland.news report, “Representatives from the cities of Ashland and Medford are expected to join rabbis from local synagogues on the Ashland Plaza on Sunday afternoon to mark the beginning of Antisemitism Awareness Week.”

Ceasefire Now! Demonstration at Ashland Plaza Saturday

A coalition of Southern Oregon BDS Solidarity and Jewish Voice for Peace Rogue Valley is holding a demonstration this Saturday, November 18, from 3-6 PM on the Ashland Plaza.

The groups are demonstrating in solidarity with the people of Gaza as they face an onslaught of Israeli bombing and shelling backed by the United States.

“At least 39 journalists have been killed covering the story, among the 10,000+ civilians dead,” said Avram Sachs of Jewish Voice for Peace.  According to Committee to Protect Journalists, “42 journalists and media workers were confirmed dead: 37 Palestinian, 4 Israeli, and 1 Lebanese.”

“We will stand by North Main Street near the plaza with our signs from 3-5 PM.  We will have poster board and markers available for people who wish to make their own sign. From 5-6 we will circle up and sing together, and listen to a few speakers share about  our message and about the actions JVP is carrying out around the country,” he said.

Braver Angels workshop on how to talk politics at family gatherings without ruining the holidays

Braver Angels of Southern Oregon will host a pre-Thanksgiving workshop on “dealing with family political differences in a constructive way” Saturday, November 18 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the First United Methodist Church, 165 N. Main Street.

The goals of the workshop are to give participants a deeper understanding of why family differences over politics are uniquely challenging, and insight into the common roles that family members play when political conversations go badly. Equipped with this knowledge, they should be able to navigate the challenges of holiday gatherings.

To register for the workshop contact Bruce Borgerson at wave@mind.net.

Klamath River Salmon, the Yurok Tribe, and the Dams Coming Down

Interview highlights tribal culture during Native American Heritage Month

In the first weeks of the Covid pandemic in 2020, Tori McConnell took on an assignment for her environmental law class at the University of California, Davis. As she started sketching with colored pencils, an image “just came out of me,” she recalled. “I did not put a lot of thought into it. It came together in a magical way.”

The picture that took shape reflected the “undamming of the Klamath River.” At the time, a long-debated proposal to remove outdated dams from the river was beginning to move forward. The Klamath River had once provided her Yurok Tribe with an unending supply of wild West Coast salmon. “The piece is not 100 percent my work,” she recalled. “The truth is it’s more like a gift that I received. I just happened to be the one to draw it.”

New Oregon legislative and congressional maps didn’t adequately incorporate feedback from Oregon tribes, a report from a national coalition of advocacy groups found.

Overall, Oregon earned a C-minus on the Community Redistricting Report Card issued Wednesday by the Coalition Hub for Advancing Redistricting & Grassroots Engagement.

Ep. 8: Imprints of Potential | Beyond the News

Dr. Larry Ward of the Lotus Institute invites you to participate in a free, ten part series called Beyond the New.

In Close your eyes and picture your mind as a garden. There, planted deep in the soil are seeds or imprints. Imprints like anger, jealousy and hatred, or joy, generosity and compassion.

When we listen to or read the news, these seeds have the capacity to rise to the surface and affect how we think, speak and act. The practice before us, says. Dr Ward, is to grow our awareness of how to water the wholesome seeds that will lead us to a shared place of justice, wellness and harmony.

One Sunny Day: A Memoir by Hideko Tamura Second Edition

“It took nearly a lifetime before I could begin to share my story. It began as a chronicle for my children who never knew their grandparents or the home I once came from. It grew into an article published by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists in 1995, and from that into a book published in 1996.”

This new edition includes two expanded chapters and revisions throughout. A new epilogue brings the story up to date, continuing Hideko’s advocacy for collective healing, peacebuilding and a nuclear weapons-free world. This poignant story of courage and resilience remains deeply relevant today, offering a profoundly personal testimony against the ongoing threat of nuclear warfare.

Just published by Oregon State University Press, One Sunny Day can be ordered directly through them online or by phone at 1-800-621-2736.

“Dirty Hands & Clean Hearts: Addressing Soil Health” SOCAN Monthly Meeting

Troon Vineyard “farms like the world depends on it”, but the goal is to make a much broader impact. Garett is a farmer and soil scientist who believes healing the planet is in parallel with healing the human spirit.

SOCAN meets monthly either in person or via Zoom with speakers on topics related to climate change. These meetings are free and open to the public.

Volunteer with Winter Shelter

The Ashland Winter Shelter is looking for volunteer hosts and cooks. If interested please call Avram at 541-220-7307.