International Peace Coalition

Nov. 29, 2024 (EIRNS)—The 78th consecutive weekly online meeting of the International Peace Coalition (IPC) today opened with the return of Schiller Institute founder Helga Zepp-LaRouche, who noted a “strange discrepancy in the perception of reality” between the Chinese, Russians and the Global Majority, on the one side, and leaders of the Anglosphere, on the other. Russia’s new Oreshnik missile flies at Mach 10, is solid fueled, on mobile launchers, and not vulnerable to preemptive “decapitation” strikes. It was nonetheless “pooh-poohed” by Western commentators. NATO’s war against Russia could so escalate that it would be nearly impossible for Trump to “tone it down” when he enters the White House. The new Schiller Institute report explains how Europe, the BRICS and the U.S. could launch a crash program to electrify Africa and industrialize the Global South, resolve the migrant crisis, and prevent world war. The December 7-8 Schiller Institute conference will be a deliberative platform to move that vision forward.

A New War in Syria

Col. Richard H. Black (ret.), a Marine combat veteran, former head of the U.S. Army’s Criminal Law Division at the Pentagon, and former Virginia state Senator, reported that on Nov. 27, a new front opened up in the Middle East conflict. Al-Qaeda (aka al-Nusra, etc.), with likely cooperation from Türkiye and the CIA, broke a ceasefire and attacked the Syrian government. “Türkiye is always on the lookout for opportunities to seize territory from Syria,” he said, and “Israel … has long had its eyes on Syrian territory.” Carl Osgood, military specialist for EIR, later added that in 2018, then-President Trump issued an order to withdraw U.S. troops. There was a revolt from military leaders and the U.S. Senate, which prevented that from happening. The Israelis have been waging a “low-grade war against Syria for many years,” said Osgood.

The Oreshnik Missile and Ukraine

Ray McGovern, former CIA analyst and co-founder of the Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS), reported that intelligence specialists believe that Russia has successfully developed a “new genre” of weapons: Oreshnik has the power of a nuclear bomb without the fallout, but “these tone-deaf NATO people” refuse to take it seriously. The Biden people, on their way out of office, might be tempted to use a nuclear weapon to avoid extreme humiliation in Ukraine. “Let’s get on our knees and pray that there is sangfroid enough” on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s part to prevent such reckless actions, he said.

Carl Osgood reported that on Nov. 25 the Russians, responding to the ATACMS strikes, struck NATO missile launchers in Ukraine, killing foreign specialists at the scene, including 40 American and 9 French technicians, who operated them. He added that the Nov. 21 Oreshnik strike carried no explosive warhead; its enormous destructive power was simply from the kinetic force of impact at Mach 10.

Zepp-LaRouche responded that the “denial by the officialdom of the West is really the scariest thing,” suggesting that it is a form of clinical insanity. “We have to get a breakout,” she insisted. “We’re in mortal danger.”

What Can We Expect from Trump?

IPC co-moderator Dennis Speed suggested that Americans who are still hung over from Thanksgiving may not know that on Thursday, Nov. 28 Putin commented: “You know, what struck me most, and I think you share my view, was not the fact that entirely uncivilized means were employed against Trump, absolutely uncivilized, including attempts on his life, more than once (incidentally, I believe he is still not entirely safe)….” Putin went on, “There have been various instances in the history of the United States. I believe he is a wise and hopefully judicious individual who comprehends all this.”

Former Guyanese President Donald Ramotar asked, are we putting “too much at stake on Trump?” Trump said we were in Syria to take the oil. He “had a domineering outlook on Syria as well.” A German participant said that he is unable to share optimism over Trump, because Trump withdrew from the INF Treaty, declared Jerusalem capital of Israel, and blocked the Nord Stream pipeline. Ray McGovern responded, “Maybe Trump’s people will wake up … or maybe not.”

War Prevention, and the Schiller Institute’s New Report

Former President Ramotar expressed his total agreement with Helga Zepp-LaRouche on linking development to peace, adding that the great danger is the collective West seeking hegemony over the world. Russia saw Western designs on Ukraine as an “extreme no-no” and a threat to their security. Regarding the recently announced ceasefire in Lebanon, he asked, are the Israelis simply buying time to rest their military and replenish supplies? The Israelis can restart the war whenever they are ready. This is not a genuine ceasefire.

Former U.S. Senate candidate Diane Sare, president of The LaRouche Organization, said the American people are equally oblivious to the threat of a new world war, and the promise offered by the New Paradigm of the BRICS and the Global South. “We have a really degraded view of Man in the West … our identity is that of the British Empire.” The cultural interventions, such as the new Schiller Institute pamphlet, are of critical importance to address this.

IPC co-moderator Dennis Small, who was part of the trans-Atlantic task force commissioned by Helga Zepp-LaRouche to produce the pamphlet, said the Western response to Oreshnik has been to escalate. A new talking point for Western figures, including Admiral Robert Bauer, Chair of the NATO Military Committee, is that “instead of shooting at arrows, we have to get rid of the archer,” effectively a statement of intent to go to war with Russia. U.S. Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) commented that “this is simply batshit crazy,” and called for the United States to pull out of NATO. Small added, “Now, that’s a reasonable comment.”

Small said the pamphlet offers a way to get beyond dividing the world into antagonistic blocs, by focusing on economic development to avoid war and resolve the migrant problem. The single largest number of migrant detentions in Europe are from Syria, followed by Guinea, then Afghanistan. These are war refugees. In the Americas, the largest cause of migration is economic destruction caused by policies of the IMF, Wall Street, and the City of London for purposes of depopulation and looting. With the construction of the new port in Chancay, Peru, a continental infrastructure grid has become possible, and if it is built, people will stay in their home countries.

Discussion

A Romanian participant reported that her nation, “a colony plus-plus-plus,” voted in the first-round of the presidential election for Călin Georgescu, a “dark horse” candidate who stands for national sovereignty and peace, which “you cannot discuss in the press.” The result was “almost like a miracle.” He will now go on to a runoff election against the pro-NATO candidate. The incumbent government is calling for a criminal investigation of the election results. Zepp-LaRouche said, “It is in line with what we have been seeing from many Eastern European countries,” mentioning Georgia’s decision to postpone any discussion of joining the EU. These are all neighbors of Ukraine, and are not blind to what has occurred there.

Zepp-LaRouche concluded saying we need to mobilize millions of people in the streets, and put together networks of people who can make the New Paradigm a reality. She supported Scott Ritter’s call for mobilizations and rallies on Dec. 7, emphasizing the central importance of the upcoming Schiller Institute conference on Dec. 7 and 8. Everyone will be surprised at the caliber of the speakers at the upcoming conference, and the importance of the deliberation that will occur. [eir]

International Peace Coalition #77

Nov. 22, 2024 (EIRNS)—The 77th consecutive weekly meeting of the International Peace Coalition (IPC) began with comments from Schiller Institute leader and IPC co-moderator Dennis Speed, who characterized the period between the U.S. Presidential election and the inauguration of Donald Trump as the “most dangerous transition in U.S. history.” It is unclear who is in charge of the U.S. at this moment. The functions of government are “being jeopardized by a shadow structure.” Speed presented video footage of a hapless President Biden wandering cluelessly at the recent G20 conference, noting that Biden was mocked by the international press, dubbing Biden the “ostensible President of the United States.” The surprise Russian deployment of the intermediate range ballistic missile “Oreshnik” in response to the NATO launch of missiles into Russian territory is of utmost significance. We need to “focus on the future, not merely stopping a conflict.”

Former UN weapons inspector Scott Ritter followed Speed, warning we are closer than ever to the use of nuclear weapons. “If Russia assiduously adhered to its nuclear doctrine, they would be ready to use nuclear weapons today,” he said. Russia has responded to the foolish missile attacks by the U.S. and Ukraine by employing a new missile system, and World War III could be triggered by “one stupid error.” It is extremely dangerous to offer an adversary a choice between either total capitulation or nuclear war. We need to create a third option, and get the President-elect to become actively engaged in calling out the Biden administration. Ritter announced he was planning to initiate a process of large demonstrations in Washington, D.C. and internationally, to begin in December, to reverse this looming threat to all of humanity.

Ray McGovern, former CIA analyst and co-founder of the Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS), thanked Ritter for warning us of “imminent dangers…that are truly unique in the history of our nation.” He congratulated the Taoiseach (Prime Minister) of Ireland for pledging to honor the ICC arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, issued after the court had found ‘reasonable grounds’ to believe that the Israeli officials were responsible for starvation in Gaza. “The Irish know what forced starvation is,” McGovern said. He went on to ask whether Secretary of State Blinken and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan had authorized the missile strikes into Russia without the knowledge of the Defense Department. He recalled earlier brushes with nuclear disaster, such as the Russian downing of Korean Air Lines Flight 007 in 1983 after it strayed into their airspace and was mistaken for a spy plane, or the “Able Archer” NATO exercise later that same year which Russia thought was an actual preemptive nuclear attack. To prevent more flirtations with disaster, he said, “We need to get American citizens to act as if they lived in a democracy.”

Steve Starr, the former director of University of Missouri Clinical Laboratory Science, warned that following the NATO missile attacks, Russia regards itself now as being at war with the U.S. and U.K.. He shared a video of Col. (ret.) Douglas Macgregor saying Russia is at “the highest level of readiness they have ever achieved” in preparation for nuclear war. If Ukraine is foolish enough to attack the Kursk nuclear power plant, Starr said, it could start this war. He reviewed some of the new Russian weapon systems, such as unmanned, nuclear-armed drone submarines, and reminded participants of the fatal effects of nuclear winter. He noted with approval that international law expert Prof. Francis Boyle has written up articles of impeachment for Biden.

Ritter, in response, said he wants to applaud Starr for laying out the danger of “the imminent demise of mankind,” adding that “people should be changing their underwear in fear.” He discussed in great detail some of the technical aspects of the newly deployed Russian missile, warning that Putin just put us on notice that he has a weapon that can overcome any weapon system in the West.

Ray McGovern then intervened to remind the participants that it was Trump who ended the vitally important INF Treaty during his first term.

‘Some People with Nefarious Goals’

Larry Johnson, retired CIA analyst, referred to the recent indictment of Farhad Shakeri for a plot to assassinate Trump, saying that this was a setup by the FBI as part of an effort to try to create a pretext for war with Iran. There are people at DOD, CIA, FBI and DOJ who have been involved in “active subversion” for years. They recognize that when Trump comes in, there is a potential for an accountability that will put many of them at risk, and are therefore willing to engage in nefarious activities to stop that.

Johnson was asked by co-moderator Speed about a “shadow government” attempting to manipulate our government in this period. Johnson described the scheme launched in 2015 by former CIA Director John Brennan, who had set up a task force to gather intelligence on presidential candidates. It involved active collaboration between the FBI, CIA, NSA, and foreign intelligence services from the British-dominated “Five Eyes” grouping, to prevent dialogue between Trump and Russia. These people have no interest in freedom, democracy, or human rights; they are interested in money and power. “Putin represents an existential threat to the West, from the standpoint that he has destroyed their ability to control and manipulate other countries.” Barack Obama is “an important tool in that.”

Co-moderator Dennis Small returned to the topic of Scott Ritter’s “third option.” He cited a recent article in RT by Fyodor Lukyanov, editor-in chief of Russia in Global Affairs, and Research Director of the Valdai Discussion Club, saying that we are entering a dangerous phase: “The final days of Democrat rule in Washington promise to be risky.”

Small added that the Biden administration has launched unprecedented financial warfare against India and Russia, along with the issuance of implicit threats against the BRICS, should they devise a system of payments that circumvents the dominance of the dollar. In response to a question during the discussion period, he said that the Anglo-American attack upon India represents a dangerous tendency to divide the world into two blocs. The policies of London and Washington lead toward “the division of the world into an unreconcilable split.” The alternative is Helga Zepp-LaRouche’s “Ten Principles of a New International Security and Development Architecture.”

From IPC Participants

Several peace initiatives emerged, notably:

A broad social media campaign of international friendship, with #SayNoToNuclearWar, calling on people all over the world to speak out as the true voice for peace, and as the true voice of their nations.

Calling all members of the Armed Services Committee in the Congress to assert their war-making power, and demand an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine.

An important contribution came in from Father Harry Bury, who was ordained a priest in 1955, and had chained himself to the U.S. Embassy gate in Saigon in 1971. He reminded participants that Christmastime is approaching, and Jesus, Mary and Joseph fled to Gaza City, then Egypt, as refugees from Herod. People should approach their pastors with LaRouche’s Oasis Plan. Ray McGovern added, “I would say that the role of the church in these matters now has been negligible,” and compared it to the passivity of churches during the first Holocaust by the Nazi regime. We must act with great non-violent force to resist now.

Nov. 15, 2024 (EIRNS)—The 76th consecutive Friday weekly meeting today of the International Peace Coalition (IPC) began with Schiller Institute founder Helga Zepp-LaRouche discussing the aftermath of the 2024 presidential election in the United States.

We are in “an extremely interesting moment in history” in which “the direction has not been decided.” Trump has announced diverse choices for members of his Cabinet, but, “You cannot read from the previous history of these people, what they will do in the future.” She suggested that with former Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard as Director of National Intelligence, “The truth about where the war in Ukraine stands will for sure come out,” as well as the truth about the actual authors of the Nord Stream pipeline sabotage.

However, “there is no point speculating or commenting on events”; our job is to propose solutions. We need to create a consensus on the economic development of the Global South as an alternative to geopolitical wars. Imagine a world in which the nations of the BRICS join hands with the U.S. and Europe to accomplish this in everyone’s self-interest. The migrant crisis besetting both the U.S. and Europe is a case in point: The only way to solve the crisis is by full-set development of the nations of the South, rather than subjecting them to looting and wars. The Schiller Institute is preparing an emergency report on this crisis and its solution, which will be published in ten days or so. Everyone should take part in the Dec. 7-8 Schiller Institute conference where these topics will be addressed in depth.

Col. Richard H. Black (ret.), a Marine combat veteran, former head of the U.S. Army’s Criminal Law Division at the Pentagon, and former Virginia State Senator, heartily endorsed the appointment of Tulsi Gabbard, recounting his first contact with her over the question of U.S. sponsorship of terror groupings in Syria. “She is not an indoctrinated individual,” he concluded.

On the BRICS, he said that the Oct. 22-24 summit in Russia demonstrates that U.S. attempts to isolate Russia have failed. The genocidal effects of U.S. sanctions against Syria, and the ludicrous sanctions against Russia, including banning crippled children from participating in the Paralympic Games, are horrendous. There has been “deep revulsion and fear engendered by the theft of the Russian treasury,” which he described as the greatest theft in world history. Biden’s participation in dropping 2,000 lb. bombs on Gaza “has badly stained America’s reputation in the world.”

Colonel Black’s presentation inspired an in-depth dialogue among the participants. Former Guyanese President Donald Ramotar intervened to voice his concern over Gabbard’s position on Gaza, which he compared to that of Netanyahu, and warned that she appears to have a strong anti-Islamic bias. In response, Colonel Black echoed Mrs. Zepp-LaRouche in saying that the cabinet appointees will be carrying out Trump’s policies, which remain to be seen. IPC co-moderator Dennis Speed added that the accusations by U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and others, that Gabbard is “in Putin’s pocket,” suggests that something is going on here that bears further scrutiny. Returning to the case of Syria, Colonel Black reported on the CIA’s willingness to deploy modern, mechanized armies of ISIS and al-Nusra to steal Syria’s oil and grain. Trump’s efforts to pull out of Syria were met with “an effective rebellion by the Deep State,” supported by the collective propaganda capabilities of the corporate media. Zepp-LaRouche called for the lifting of the Caesar Sanctions to alleviate the suffering of the Syrian people.

Professor and author Glenn Diesen spoke about the Nov. 3-7 Valdai Discussion Club annual meeting, addressed by Russian President Vladimir Putin, at which Diesen had a lengthy exchange with Putin in the open discussion session. The BRICS initiative has elevated the nations of the Global South to being autonomous nations, rather than “pawns in blocs.” Asked about Putin’s proposal of a “polyphonic world order,” Diesen described it as “an important part of multipolarity.” Unipolarity has “corrupted diplomacy,” he said.

Mike Robinson, co-editor of the UK Column, agreed with Colonel Black’s assessment of the role of the “Western media” in crafting a narrative to justify the destruction of Syria, highlighting the role of “BBC Media Action,” supported by the British Foreign Office. His colleague Vanessa Beeley, who resides in Syria, has actively broken with the enforced consensus among putative journalists. Robinson also noted Donald Trump’s promise to reverse the trend toward censorship. The shift toward reliance on social media is creating financial problems for the “mainstream media,” to the extent that the British government is now subsidizing it by purchasing ads, while using so-called “terrorism legislation” and the “Online Safety Act” to silence unapproved narratives.

Discussion

In response to a participant in Ibero-America, who warned of a “disguised continuity” between the Biden and Trump administrations, and another who charged that Tulsi Gabbard is complicit in the genocide in Gaza, Helga Zepp-LaRouche again urged listeners against speculating about what are open questions. Rather, organize to bring about the needed changes. There are enormous changes taking place in the world today, she reminded her listeners. “If we would orchestrate all the countries involved” in a “huge economic program” like China’s Belt and Road Initiative to develop the Global South, we could end the flood of refugees and have “a decent living standard for everyone on the planet.”

IPC co-moderator Dennis Small reported on studies underway for the upcoming Schiller Institute pamphlet which show that “what is driving people to the United States is that their own physical economies are being destroyed” by the looting policies of Wall Street and the City of London. If that is reversed, the migrant problem can be solved.

On the German economic collapse, Zepp-LaRouche cited a recent statement by Col. Douglas Macgregor (ret.) that the U.S. is implementing the post-World War II Morgenthau Plan to de-industrialize Germany, saying that his assessment is correct.

A participant in Colombia asked what the role could be for his nation in the New Paradigm. Dennis Small described the new super-port being built in Chancay, Peru in collaboration with China, emphasizing “the next stop in Xi Jinping’s travels is Brazil,” where there will be discussion of the Bi-Oceanic Rail Corridor, “which will open up the entirety of South America to the kind of development which is going on in China.” Small pointed out that ideological differences are not an obstacle: “Forget the geopolitics—build the damn rail lines!” A representative of the Schiller Institute Peru, Sara Madueño, described the excitement in her country around Xi Jinping’s visit, and the historic relationship between Peru and China.

To a questioner from Ecuador, Helga Zepp-LaRouche said that basic infrastructure has historically been the key to industrialization all over the world, and that she had just received reports that German Chancellor Olaf Scholz had held a one-hour phone discussion with Russian President Putin, and that Russia will resume uranium exports to the U.S.

The “torch of progress” has been passed from one country to another throughout history. Now we are in a new moment in history where we are “all sitting in one boat.” Either we will soon all be dead in a nuclear war, or we will reach a new era in civilization. Our ideas can influence which way history goes. [eir]

Nov. 8, 2024 (EIRNS)—Schiller Institute founder Helga Zepp-LaRouche opened today’s 75th consecutive weekly meeting of the International Peace Coalition (IPC) saying that Nov. 6 will be seen as “a milestone,” due to the election of Donald Trump as U.S. President, and the fall of the so-called “streetlight coalition” government in Germany. This is a major disruption of the war machine, a tectonic strategic shift, which the British and others are totally hysterical about; but whether Trump makes good on his promise to end wars has yet to be seen. The composition of his Cabinet will be one early indication, but the situation does not depend on the U.S. alone. The fall of the German government is a very positive development, because this was “the worst German government in the entire post-war period.” The only merit of Chancellor Olaf Scholz was that he prevented the sending of Taurus missiles to Ukraine, whereas Atlanticist warmongers want to “send every possible weapon before Trump comes into office.”

Whether or not Trump succeeds in ending today’s dangerous confrontations will depend entirely on his view of the emerging Global Majority, as reflected in the Oct. 22-24 BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia. In that regard, she urged all the participants to read the “remarkable speech” delivered by Russian President Vladimir Putin on Nov. 7 at the Valdai International Discussion Club meeting, in which he offered a provocative metaphor:

“The rise of nations and cultures that have previously remained on the periphery of global politics for one reason or another means that their own distinct ideas of law and justice are playing an increasingly important role. They are diverse. This may give the impression of discord and perhaps cacophony, but this is only the initial phase. It is my deep conviction that the only new international system possible is one embracing polyphony, where many tones and many musical themes are sounded together to form harmony. If you like, we are moving towards a world system that is going to be polyphonic rather than polycentric, one in which all voices are heard and, most importantly, absolutely must be heard. Those who are used to soloing and want to keep it that way will have to get used to the new ‘scores’ now.”

Donald Ramotar, former President of Guyana, offered an “outsider’s perspective” on the U.S. election, saying it will have a very important influence on the international situation, which offers us both hope and concerns. He is hopeful about the possibility of ending the unnecessary war in Ukraine, and agreed with Zepp-LaRouche that Trump’s Cabinet choices will tell us what to expect, including whether he will support Israeli genocide. On the other hand, Trump seems to have an ill-advised “mission to stop China’s rise.” However, the nations of the Global South have pivoted toward Russia and China for security and development.

Ramotar noted that Trump received more Black and Hispanic votes than any other Republican candidate in decades, largely because they are angry about the state of the U.S. economy. The Democratic Party has abandoned the working class, not the other way around. Ramotar said that he is concerned about Trump being a “climate change denier.” Diane Sare, a leader of the LaRouche movement, who had just completed her election campaign for United States Senate in New York, later responded to this, saying that we don’t have evidence that humans are causing climate change, but we do have evidence that humans are not building infrastructure to defend themselves against it.

Dr. Perlmutter’s Images of Genocide

Jose Vega, independent candidate for Congress from the 15th CD in the Bronx, and well known for his political interventions against Kamala Harris, Mike Pompeo, and others, reported on a very rapidly organized, successful event in Manhattan, featuring Dr. Mark Perlmutter. Dr. Perlmutter, president of the World Surgical Foundation, had been scheduled to speak about his three-week experience doing medical work in the Gaza war zone, at an event at Mount Sinai Hospital’s Icahn School of Medicine in New York City. The event, however, was cancelled due to pressure from pro-Israel activists. (See EIR, November 8, 2024, “What a Doctor Witnessed in Gaza.”) Another venue was found through the actions of Sare and Vega, who both ran as LaRouche independent candidates for U.S. Senate and Congress in the Nov. 5 general election. Vega said that he and Sare “operated our campaigns as if we were already elected,” which is why they could step in to find a place for Dr. Perlmutter to speak.

Next, the meeting heard from a second-year medical student, who is also an activist in the Medical Students for Justice in Palestine. That organization had sponsored a meeting for Dr. Feroze Sidhwa, a colleague of Dr. Perlmutter, who has also done medical surgery in Gaza. She reported that the Biden administration never acknowledged receipt of a letter on the genocide in Gaza signed by 99 medical professionals who served there. Isabel read to the IPC meeting a statement from Dr. Sidhwa warning, “The genocide in Gaza appears to be accelerating.”

Dr. Perlmutter has circulated shocking photos of the cases he encountered in Gaza, showing the deliberate targeting of children by Israeli Defense Forces snipers. There was an extended discussion of how these images should be used. Zepp-LaRouche commented, “If the world sees these pictures, there is no way it can deny what is going on.” But she also added that Plato warned that children of his time should not watch the plays of the Greek tragedians, because their minds are not prepared to deal with the evil and violence which are depicted. She proposed that, because doctors are professionally trained to deal with such horrors, we should confront them with the evidence, but shield children from it.

IPC co-moderator Dennis Small warned, “We don’t want to paralyze people with horror and fear,” but use the reality to mobilize them into action. The student responded by saying that the U.S. media are disregarding what is happening in Gaza; we have to share what we know with the public.

During the discussion period, a retired medical professional proposed that Dr. Perlmutter’s images should be used, but with the context he provides, and that we should emphasize the illegality of the weapons being used. Another participant proposed that we approach the 26 medical professionals presently serving in the U.S. Congress.

More Thoughts on the U.S. General Election

Diane Sare said that the number-one issue for the American electorate is war and genocide, followed closely by the economy. Americans do not want the blood of tens of thousands of children on their hands. She said we need a “robust campaign against AIPAC” and the “despicably cowardly congressmen” who are the recipients of AIPAC money.

A participant asked whether U.S. President Joe Biden might escalate the Ukraine war to emergency levels, in order to prevent a transition to President-elect Donald Trump. Zepp-LaRouche answered that because of the magnitude of Trump’s victory, it is unlikely that any such scenario could succeed, and therefore it is unlikely that one would be attempted. However, Trump should be on guard, after three assassination attempts.

President Ramotar was asked, as a senior politician, what he thought about increasing the involvement of young people. He said that we must not forget the old methods that we have always used, but we must also discover things we can learn from young people. He cited political comedian Jimmy Dore as an example of someone whose activity seems to have quite an impact on youth.

In her concluding remarks, Zepp-LaRouche said that the question of war and peace depends on whether we can move the populations of the U.S. and Europe to respond positively to the new emerging order, rather than seeing it as the enemy. “Open your heart and your mind to new cultures,” she said. “Make the upcoming Schiller Institute Dec. 7-8 conference a very powerful demonstration that we are entering a new era … a thundering breakthrough for the whole world.”

The 74th consecutive meeting of the International Peace Coalition (IPC) was opened by former UN weapons inspector Scott Ritter. Ritter said that the world was in transition from the colonial era—the British, the French, the Dutch and the American empires—which is over, despite the efforts by the current Western leaders to pretend they can hang on to their unipolar world. The Oct. 22-24 BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia demonstrates that the Spirit of Bandung in 1955, when the former colonies declared the end of colonialism only to see the Cold War wipe out their victory, is now finally being realized. The war in Ukraine is over, he said, although the U.S. and NATO will continue fighting and killing people until the Russians get their demands of de-nazification, de-militarization and “no-NATO.” Russia will not be bullied into a compromise which does not assure their own security, he said. The greatest danger is—what will the U.S. and NATO do in the face of a Russian victory? That’s where the danger of nuclear war must be confronted.

Helga Zepp-LaRouche, founder of the Schiller Institute and initiator of the IPC, then addressed the meeting, pointing to the continued genocide in Palestine, including the Israeli shut down of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). She quoted the UNRWA head Philippe Lazzarini that the UN was established to prevent any return of the genocide and horror of World War II, but now it had been revived. There are 350,000 children in Palestine facing murder by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), Zepp-LaRouche said. South Africa’s new report on the genocide, submitted Oct. 28 to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), points to the intensification of the slaughter, including the use of starvation as a weapon of war and ethnic cleansing, and the possible escalation of war with Iran. The alternative was seen in Kazan, while another event, the International Conference on Eurasian Security in Minsk, Belarus, is also addressing the solution. The killing and warfare will only end by ending geopolitics, which already gave us two world wars and the current threat of nuclear war. She added that there are also “hunger spots” around the world which must be ended through a new security and development architecture for all nations. She called on everyone to mobilize for the planned Dec. 7-8 Schiller Institute conference.

The next speaker was Jeremy Loffredo, a young independent journalist who was arrested in Israel by the IDF while covering the war, and threatened with 25 years to life or the death sentence for supposedly revealing secrets to the enemy. There was an international mobilization through social media to force his release, which eventually worked when a judge recognized that Israeli journalists were writing the same thing as he was, and the only difference was that he was a foreigner. He said the U.S. Embassy did essentially nothing to help him, and that Israel is the only country where Washington does nothing to help U.S. citizens who are arrested.

Jason Ross, one of three EIR reporters who attended the BRICS Summit in Kazan, gave a report on the summit, which invited 13 new “partner nations” to join, bringing the total to 22. A more detailed report can be read on EIR.news. Ross noted that the other Western journalists who were there told him that the summit clearly shows that “Putin is isolated,” to which he laughed and replied that the summit included participation from most of the world. Instead, he remarked, it seems that it is the West that is isolating itself from the rest of the world.

Dr. James Cobey, a surgeon who is part of several peace organizations (Voices of the Holy Land, Holy Land Foundation Five, Palestine House for Freedom, and Physicians Against Genocide) said he had been working in Gaza since 1964, where he started as a volunteer for UNRWA (which the Israeli Knesset recently voted to shut out of the Occupied Palestinian Territories). He addressed the urgency for citizens to join the campaign to end the genocide against Palestine.

The meeting showed a two-minute video produced by Türkiye’s Anadolu Agency, titled “Israel Will Eventually Pay the Pprice for Gaza Genocide Going on for a Year: Turkish President Erdogan,” fictionally set in the year 2040 and looking back at the 2024 genocide in Gaza, in which children from around the world were asking their parents why they had done nothing to stop the slaughter of Palestinian children like them.

Jose Vega, LaRouche independent candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives in the Bronx (CD15), said that U.S. surgeon Mark Perlmutter, who has done extensive medical work in Gaza, had been scheduled to address a forum at Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York City, but his address was cancelled supposedly due to threats of disturbances. Vega said he briefed a meeting of people who had come to hear a presentation by the UN Special Rapporteur to Palestine Francesca Albanese on what had happened to Dr. Perlmutter, and the people there rallied to help the situation. A new forum was set up for Dr. Perlmutter, and messages were sent out to inform the city.

Chandra Muzaffar, the Malaysian founder and leader of International Movement for a Just World (JUST), provided a video statement on the “root problem, the underlying cause” of the instability in the world, being the hegemonic power asserted by the U.S., which has driven all the wars of the past decades and the current danger of nuclear war from the wars in both Ukraine and in Southwest Asia. It is that imagined power over the world which causes the military disasters, the economic breakdown and the cultural disintegration, which comes from the population being obsessed with selfishness, over the greater good. He said there are “hopeful signs,” such as the growth of the BRICS, the rise of China and of China’s Belt and Road Initiative. Strengthen those, he said, and we can get out of this.

The discussion period raised a number of questions. Ben Wesley, an independent Congressional candidate in Connecticut, described a debate he was in with the Democratic incumbent Jim Himes of the district and the Republican opponent. He directly challenged Representative Himes on his support for the war in Ukraine and for his support for the Israeli genocide against Gaza. Himes did not deny nor change his position, but the result of the debate was the exposure of his warmongering character. IPC Moderator Dennis Small pointed out that that is exactly the kind of action individual citizens should take to tell truth to power.

An African from Kenya brought up the multiple wars on the continent. Moderators Dennis Small and Dennis Speed addressed this, with Speed declaring that there are 35 conflicts currently in Africa, but that none can be resolved without a change in the system, pointing to the 1978 conference report “The Industrial Development of Southern Africa” by the Fusion Energy Foundation, and the Oasis Plan for Southwest Asia, as the physical economic development policies required to end the wars, especially as Africa will have two and a half billion people by 2050.

Zepp-LaRouche closed the meeting by promoting the Schiller Institute’s conference on Dec. 7-8. She said no election in any single country, including the U.S., will stop the drive for nuclear war. In response to a question about the concept that the Jews are the “chosen people,” she said that no race or nation can be considered superior to others—which is what had produced Nazism in her country of Germany. A new paradigm is required that puts humanity as a whole first, above any nation or religion. She elaborated the concept of the great German “Poet of Freedom” Friedrich Schiller, of self-perfection coupled to the development of the nation, overcoming the dichotomy between self and state.

The 73rd consecutive weekly meeting of the International Peace Coalition opened today with the strategic briefing by Schiller Institute founder Helga Zepp-LaRouche. She announced that earlier this morning she had received an unconfirmed report that a huge fleet of U.S. aircraft had been transferred to U.S. bases in the Middle East, an ominous indication of a pending attack on Iran. She put this in the context of the just-concluded Oct. 22-24 BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia. The BRICS now has 22 affiliated nations—9 permanent members, plus 13 partner nations—representing 57% of world population. It is not inconceivable that an escalation in Southwest Asia could be a reaction to that growth in the Global Majority. Zepp-LaRouche warned that if the West does not change course, “the road to disaster could be a very short one.”

Jason Ross, executive director of The LaRouche Organization, provided a report from on the ground at the BRICS summit in Kazan. He stressed that it is extremely important that China and India have resolved territorial disputes. Their leaders, President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi met for the first time since 2019. He read excerpts from an EIR interview of Russian presidential advisor Anton Kobyakov, and quoted from the XVI BRICS Summit Kazan Declaration which endorses multipolarity and urges for changes in the UN Security Council, WTO, IMF, World Bank, and other institutions. It warns that unilateral sanctions pose a risk to international trade, and to the universal human right to development. Brazilian President Lula da Silva, who had to attend remotely, said that the creation of an alternative means for transactions between countries can no longer be postponed.

Nuclear weapons expert Steve Starr agreed with Mrs. Zepp-LaRouche that all the signs indicate that the U.S. is building up forces for an attack on Iran. He presented video evidence to debunk the U.S. media tales that Iran’s missile attack on Israel had failed. Iran destroyed Israeli radar systems, so the U.S. had to provide Israel with a THAAD anti-missile system. Russia has provided high-tech military gear to Iran, better than anything the U.S. has.

Starr continued by sharing a video interview with Col. Lawrence Wilkerson (ret.), who suggests that Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu hopes to provoke a major Iranian response that will draw the U.S. into the war. Echoing an earlier IPC presentation by Scott Ritter, Starr said that “Iran is a virtual nuclear weapons state,” which could have a bomb in a matter of days.

Next on the agenda were excerpts from a video interview with Norwegian political scientist Glenn Diesen. He said that the development of the BRICS is an effort to break out of the cycle of war. A unipolar or imperial system depends on “divide and rule”; an alliance or bloc system automatically divides the world into sides which can be manipulated. BRICS is not simply a rival bloc or alliance, like the Warsaw Pact versus NATO, and “it is not by definition anti-American…. The U.S. has the option to join it.” “Unipolarity is already gone,” he said, and efforts to bring it back will only bring economic war or in the worst case nuclear war. “We are presenting the Russians with a dilemma,” he warned: Do they embolden NATO by not retaliating, or do they retaliate? This is the dilemma the Russians are talking about. Either path leads to nuclear war and that is why the Russians are changing their nuclear doctrine, he said.

Olivia Zémor, president of France-based Coordination des Appels pour une Paix Juste au Proche-Orient (EuroPalestine), described the activities of her organization, which uses boycotts, demonstrations and legal action to defend Palestine and Palestinians. She emphasized that Europe, not the U.S., is the chief commercial partner of Israel, whose leaders have made no secret of their genocidal intentions.

Dr. Gershon Baskin, an Israeli columnist and social/political activist, described his efforts to coordinate meetings and agreements between Israeli and Palestinian leaders. He asserted that no one in power is actively pursuing peace negotiations, so he has sought out leaders who are not in power. He wants a guardianship of five countries over the religiously important section of Jerusalem. He also supports bringing in China for the reconstruction of Gaza, when the war ends.

Palestinian Ambassador to Nigeria the Hon. Abdullah M. Abu Shawesh responded to Dr. Baskin, by insisting that official Palestinian government figures are on the record calling for negotiations and a two-state solution, and the Israeli government remains the obstacle. Contrary to the narrative that the war against Palestine began after Oct. 7, he said that it was launched by the U.K. in November 1917 with the Balfour Declaration. “The most dangerous war we are facing is the media war,” he said. Fictitious stories of atrocities on Oct. 7 have gone unchallenged. “The current messianic government of Israel” poses a threat to the entire world.

In response, Zepp-LaRouche thanked the Ambassador, and reiterated her view that we need “everything at once”: a commission of inquiry for war crimes, but we also need to break the “eye-for-an-eye” cycle, and we need the Oasis Plan and a new international security and development architecture, in which the issue of Israel and Palestine is one feature. We must use the momentum that now exists with the expanded BRICS. “We should aim for an actual physical conference in Southwest Asia in the short term.” The Ambassador agreed with his “distinguished sister Helga” that “no one is safe until everyone is safe.”

Discussion

LaRouche independent U.S. Congressional candidate Jose Vega (Bronx, CD15) reminded the participants of his upcoming campaign rally, co-sponsored by LaRouche independent U.S. Senate candidate in New York Diane Sare, and agreed on the importance of the BRICS Summit.

Retired CIA analyst and Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS) co-founder Ray McGovern said, “I want to call attention to the ‘air of inevitability’” of the upcoming Israeli conflict with Iran. Battle plans of Israeli assault, which were “leaked by an American patriot,” may have delayed this attack. We have ten days before the Nov. 5 election, during which there may be a lull in which we have time to stop it. “Russia is reining in the Iranians,” urging them not to respond to Israel’s provocations. “Is that much to base some hope on? Well, I think it is.”

Peace activist Father Harry Bury, who began his activism during the Vietnam War, described how private citizens from Israel and Palestine worked out a peace plan and delivered it to the Pope.

A British activist asked Zepp-LaRouche whether the expanding BRICS could supplant the moribund United Nations. Mrs. Zepp-LaRouche replied that while she doesn’t exclude this possibility, the key issue for her is whether we can get the nations of the Anglosphere to respond favorably to the new paradigm represented by the BRICS.

A Spanish-speaking representative of “A World Without War or Violence” described how they conducted a march from Costa Rica to New York, holding events along the way.

A participant asked whether there are really North Korean soldiers coming to the aid of Russia in Ukraine. Ray McGovern answered, “Nonsense. Bollocks.” They aren’t needed. Perhaps these rumors are being circulated to justify the entry of South Korean planes and pilots in the Ukraine war.

In conclusion, Zepp-LaRouche said, “It is the tendency of the universe to out-do evil with greater good … but I only believe in those miracles that we do ourselves.” Can we get the United States and Europe to take a positive attitude toward the Global Majority? It’s never the people that are the problem, but rather what Pope John Paul II called the “structures of sin,” like the military-industrial Complex and the global financial interests. We need to go back to a system where “the power of Wall Street was contained.” Read the speeches of the BRICS leaders, compare them to those of the leaders of the “West,” and make your own judgment.

eir

Schiller Institute founder Helga Zepp-LaRouche opened today’s 72nd consecutive weekly online meeting of the International Peace Coalition, emphasizing that with the Israeli assassination of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, the escalation of war is looming in Southwest Asia, contrary to the proclamations of some U.S. leaders. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu intends to attack Iran; Russia has warned Israel not to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities. Iran has received advanced missile systems from Russia which require Russian specialists to help operate them, while 100 American troops are in Israel to help operate the new THAAD missile system there. This could become a direct U.S./Russia confrontation. Meanwhile, the ethnic cleansing continues in Palestine, with Israel declaring 400,000 civilians in northern Gaza to be “combatants.”

In Ukraine, “there is no chance in the world that Ukraine could win against Russia.” Nonetheless, acting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who “has no concern for reality at all,” demands that Ukraine be immediately admitted to NATO, or be given nuclear weapons. Either scenario leads to World War III.

Zepp-LaRouche said she was encouraged that the Director-General of China’s Department of Arms Control of the Foreign Ministry Sun Xiaobo has made a call similar to Zepp-LaRouche’s call for a new Security and Development Architecture. Because the existing security structures are not adequate to prevent nuclear war, we have to catapult our proposal in the tradition of the Treaty of Westphalia onto the international agenda.

Mossi Raz, a former member of Israel’s Knesset, former director general of Peace Now, and a former IDF paratrooper, said: “It’s really clear that there is a conflict here that is not only between two partners…. This has become global war, which we must bring to an end.” Peace activists in both Palestine and Israel are saying the same thing: release hostages on both sides and end hostilities, and go toward a two-state solution. Raz reported positively on the Oct. 17 discussion at the Vatican between Pope Francis, former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, and former Palestinian Foreign Minister Nasser Al-Kidwa, on an Israel-Palestine peace proposal.

Graham Fuller, former U.S. CIA official, senior political scientist and Islamic scholar, warned that Israel’s actions in the broader Middle East are the key accelerator of the crisis throughout the region. He decried the “stunning Western inaction.” He said he was encouraged by student action in the U.S., and that foreign policy is now beginning to play a small role in the presidential race.

Israel, Fuller said, is no longer simply seeking revenge for Oct. 7; it’s an excuse for broader ethnic cleansing and Israeli expansionism. Other states in the region are putting their differences aside in a way that was unthinkable even one year ago. “The geopolitical center of gravity is shifting away from the West.”

Zepp-LaRouche responded, saying that we need to stop the drive for “Eretz Israel” (Greater Israel) and move to policies in the mutual interest of everyone in the region.

She also addressed the Vatican meeting as hopeful, but not enough. This led to a very fruitful exchange between her and Mossi Raz. She said, “These partial solutions are very, very important if they are embedded in an overall new security architecture as was accomplished with the Peace of Westphalia.” Today that includes Russia, China, the U.S. and the BRICS. Raz responded, “I fully agree.” The Nasser Al-Kidwa and Ehud Olmert proposal are important, and offer hope, especially from people of their experience and stature. That proposal, along with the Arab League proposal, can work in the context of the Schiller Institute’s broader Oasis Plan for the region.

LaRouche independent Congressional candidate in the Bronx Jose Vega (CD15) read from newly published letters of the late Leah Rabin, widow of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, who negotiated the Oslo Accords and was assassinated 29 years ago on Nov. 4, 1995. He asked for a response from Raz, who said that he agrees with Leah Rabin. However, the problem is not only Netanyahu, just as with Hamas, it’s not only Sinwar. The majority of Israelis support the war. If we have leaders who will mobilize us for a peace agreement, maybe we can win.

An excerpt was shown of a video interview of Prof. Jeffrey Sachs, American economist and public policy analyst and a professor at Columbia University, speaking with Mike Billington. Sachs described the arrest of students calling for peace in Palestine, with university administrators bullied by Congress. Universities forgot that they are universities. On the upcoming Oct. 26 Sare-Vega peace concert and rally, which will include Classical music, Sachs recalled that he attended a concert with leaders of G20 and saw how they were touched by a performance of the finale of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony. There is a deeper problem than the Israel-Palestine conflict. It was started soon after the close of World War II by the U.S. Deep State—the Security State—but went into “hyperdrive” during this century; the “extraordinary claim that it’s the sole superpower” has to be reexamined.

Diane Sare, LaRouche independent candidate for U.S. Senate in New York, said, “We have to somehow change the trajectory of the United States…. The adversaries of civilization truly have a misunderstanding of power,” because they think it emanates from the use of force. Martin Luther King had a different and better understanding. “Judging from the candidates other than myself and Jose [Vega], the election is not going to solve our problems.”

During the discussion period, video coverage of an antiwar demonstration in Germany was presented. Zepp-LaRouche emphasized that the Russians did not cause the conflict with Ukraine. In response to a question about a dialogue among cultures, Zepp-LaRouche said that when people from various cultures assemble informally and meet face to face, they get along amicably. That is because people are basically good. The conflict and misery are created by powerful interests that have their own motives. She went on to endorse a proposal from a participant who suggested an event be organized where children from around the world would present cultural contributions from their respective nations in the interests of peace.

When Zepp-LaRouche was asked to comment on the role of the British, she asked: Who is always egging the United States on? This comes from the old British Empire idea of divide and conquer, “always sowing mistrust to manipulate.” She reminded the participants of the 1955 Bandung Conference, in which leaders of the Global South reminded the U.S. that the American Revolution was the first anti-colonialist revolution. The British Empire still exists in a camouflaged form, and the U.S. has regrettably been persuaded to use it as a model for foreign policy. She described the international “Green” movement as an expression of the British Empire’s Malthusian doctrine.

In her concluding remarks, Zepp-LaRouche mentioned that there have been heavy-handed attempts to destabilize the BRICS nations, and in one case, Argentina, they were able to reverse that nation’s decision to join. She added, “Many of the leaders of the BRICS are incredibly wise and mature statesmen.” At one time we had statesmen in Europe like Konrad Adenauer and Charles de Gaulle, but today we have leaders who have a “stature like dwarves.” We must overcome geopolitics, because the present effort to divide the world into two blocs is the source of the war danger.

Report on International Peace Coalition Meeting #68

Dennis Small, a leading spokesman of the Schiller Institute, opened today’s 68th weekly meeting of the International Peace Coalition (IPC), emphasizing the imminent danger of global nuclear war. The decision to give the go-ahead for Ukraine to use long-range precision guided missiles to target cities in Russia was barely avoided this past week. But Biden is meeting acting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the United Nations General Assembly this coming week, which is a likely occasion for an announcement of such an agreement. The “precision guidance” aspect proves that NATO and the U.S. will be running such an assault on Russia. The Russians know this, as has been stated clearly by Putin and other leaders.

The events of the week: the bombing of the Russian arms depot; the launching of war on Lebanon; and the European Parliament voting that long-range missiles must be provided to Ukraine, make the danger clear. The drive to silence all opposition voices—by assassination, by new sanctions against Russian media such as RT and anyone who works with them—is part of the same nuclear war drive, and can be traced directly to London and the Ukrainian Center for Countering Disinformation (CCD).

The threat of nuclear war has now been introduced into the U.S. election, a sign of sanity. Former President Donald Trump three times warned of a nuclear war in a single week; so have former Congressmembers Tulsi Gabbard and Dennis Kucinich, as well as Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. The vote in the UN General Assembly to end the genocide in Gaza demonstrates that the Global Majority is opposed to these wars. The mounting financial breakdown is the driving force behind the wars, and will not be resolved by the Federal Reserve’s decision to cut interest rates and print more money to inflate the financial bubble. Nothing short of a new security and development architecture will provide a solution.

Scott Ritter, a former Marine intelligence officer and UN weapons inspector, followed, adding: “If you are not scared to death, you are the problem.” We nearly had a nuclear war last week, when the British Empire’s current front man, Prime Minister Keir Starmer, met with President Biden on Sept. 13 with a list of proposed targets to destroy in Russia, expecting Biden to sign off on it. “If Biden had signed, the war would have started that night,” and nuclear weapons could have been launched on Saturday, Sept. 14. The Russians know that long-range missiles can only be used with NATO guidance and control, and that would constitute a NATO declaration of war. “We all almost died on Saturday,” Ritter said.

“I have studied the U.S.S.R. and Russia most of my life; Russia is not bluffing. They know what war is, and they won’t allow the U.S. and NATO to put the existence of Russia at risk.” The former head of the U.S. Strategic Command has stated: “I prefer a pre-emptive nuclear strike.” Nuclear war is now an issue in the U.S. presidential election, with Trump warning of a nuclear war. “Whether or not you support Trump, you must make sure your candidate responds to the demand that he or she oppose a war. Jill Stein must be pressured; Kamala Haris must be pressured. Every candidate must respond.”

Asked about opposition to war in the Pentagon, Ritter said: “The professionals in the Pentagon understand war. There are some professionals there.” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, at Ramstein Air Base in Germany on Sept. 6 with Zelenskyy, was pressured to agree to Zelenskyy’s demand for a go-ahead to use missiles to hit Russian targets, but Austin said that no weapon will solve this conflict. The British don’t have that problem, as 15 military leaders issued a statement that Russian President Vladimir Putin was bluffing, and that Ukraine should be unleashed. Starmer was told that Biden would sign, that the State Department could override the Pentagon. Putin’s clear warning helped stop them.

Ritter addressed the crackdown on free speech: The FBI raided his house; he is accused of being an “information terrorist” by the FBI-run Ukrainian CCD; U.S. courts now declare that free speech and the free press are crimes. We have a “two-front war”; we need to educate citizens on the danger of nuclear war. Yet, the government is claiming that doing so is a criminal act. The U.S. Constitution considers that “fear and intimidation” to prevent free speech is itself a crime. We are in a “legal war,” and must confront these “domestic enemies” with the law—not violence—to rally the people against the Biden Administration’s tyranny.

Jonathan Kuttab, an international lawyer and co-founder of Non-Violence International, addressed the meeting with a stark description of the destruction of international law in Palestine, as Israel has abandoned all restraint in their open effort to kill or drive out all the Palestinians from their land. We must restore the idea that there are limits to the power of a state. Those nations which believe themselves to be “exceptional” think that international law does not apply to them, be it in the U.S. or Israel. International law is being broken in clear sight of the world in Gaza. The UN Security Council does nothing, due to the vetoes of the United States. There is no distinction between “combatants” and “civilians.” The horrors of the genocide and apartheid must be stopped.

Asked about his role in trying to win over followers of “Christian Zionism,” Kuttab called it a “nefarious doctrine,” religion being used to promote violence, in organizations which profess Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. We don’t need to kill our enemies, but “understand people in their own terms. Violence and war will solve nothing.”

Mossi Raz, a former member of the Israeli Knesset and the former head of Peace Now, challenged Professor Kuttab for not also condemning the Hamas raid of Oct. 7, listing the crimes for which they are accused by Israel. Nonetheless, we must put an end to this war, and to the occupation of Palestine by Israel since the 1967 war, and create a Palestinian state either in the pre-1967 borders or some other borders agreed to by both sides, which secure the rights of the people.

Professor Kuttab later responded to Raz, arguing that Raz was “ignoring everything which happened before and after Oct. 7,” and that regardless, every side must follow international law.

Fernando Garzón, head of the Ecuadorian-Palestinian Union, drew out the comparison between Hiroshima and Gaza, in terms of deaths and physical destruction, and argued that the “normalization” of scenes of genocide is designed to prepare people for even greater horrors to come: for nuclear war. He concluded saying the peace movement must present solutions, linking peace to development and technological progress, like the Schiller Institute’s Oasis Plan does.

Independent LaRouche Congressional candidate Jose Vega (Bronx CD15) reported on a team that organized at the UN this week with a leaflet about Dr. Mark Perlmutter’s report on the horror of the medical situation in Gaza. Vega showed a video documenting how UN security personnel were confiscating the leaflets from delegates and others entering the UN building.

Dennis Small closed the meeting, noting that a “pause” in the drive to nuclear war is useful, but that there must be a change of thinking—that identifying crimes alone will not solve the problem, but that, like in the Peace of Westphalia, crimes must be forgiven and cooperation must replace conflict.