This week, President Trump once again resumed strikes on Iran, killing more civilians and causing more economic turmoil.
On Wednesday, a U.S. airstrike hit a wedding celebration in a small costal town, killing at least four people, including two children, and wounding dozens of others.
As Senator Chris Van Hollen (MD) pointed out, this horrific strike fits into a broader pattern of the Trump administration’s callous and reckless disregard for civilians.
“There must be a full investigation [and] accountability for this strike,” Sen. Van Hollen said. “And we must end this disastrous war now.”
Iran responded to the latest wave of U.S. strikes with attacks targeting U.S. bases across the region.
Amid the resumed fighting, U.S. fuel prices hit another record high on Friday. These cascading economic harms extend far beyond gas prices, worsening the affordability crisis for families here at home while driving hunger and suffering around the globe.
Enough is enough. As this war escalates once again, FCNL’s grassroots network across the country is mobilizing for peace.
Around the country, FCNL’s Advocacy Teams have brought together faith leaders in their states to share a strong, unified message for peace to their congressional delegations.
“I see my bills go up. I see people on the streets who can’t afford to live in our state. And it’s all because of the money that’s being spent on these wars,” said Rabbi Rebecca Alpert in Pennsylvania. “It’s just wrong.”
“I think of all the children in Iran who have been killed and all the children that have been orphaned,” said Rev. Edward Rogers, urging his members of Congress to put themselves in the shoes of these families and imagine how that would feel.
On the evening of Wed. Oct. 7, FCNL will be hosting a special national call to highlight the work of Advocacy Teams and share how you can get involved in our work for peace.
In this difficult moment, being a part of an advocacy community can be an inspiring antidote to despair. Join us!
Elsewhere
Legacies of War Partners with FCNL!
We are incredibly excited this week to welcome Legacies of War into FCNL’s fiscal sponsorship. Legacies of War is working to end the ongoing impact of the U.S. bombing of Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam – clearing the land of unexploded ordnance.
Building on our longstanding partnership with Legacies of War, this will allow FCNL to deepen our impact in supporting the vital work to address the harms of past wars. As FCNL’s Bridget Moix put it, “Given our shared roots in peace witness and our long-standing alliance on disarmament and human rights, this partnership is a powerful natural alignment.”
Violence against Haitians in the U.S. Continues
With the termination of Temporary Protected Status for Haitians, the Trump administration is continuing to attack this community. They are deporting people who have built their lives in the U.S. to face violence, which is only exacerbated by the U.S. aid cuts which are fostering instability.
Springfield, Ohio, with a large Haitian population, has been particularly hard hit by the administration’s cruel attacks. A young man there, Pierre Damas Bel, a student at a local university, died by suicide this past week following harassment from immigration enforcement. We are holding his family and this whole community in the Light.
As one pastor in Springfield put it, “I believe in a good God who will eventually make all things right, who will punish evil and restore justice, but living in the here and now is really hard.”
Pushback to U.S.-Israel Military Cooperation
This week, FCNL joined a letter with dozens of other advocacy organizations calling on Congress to reject a proposal to form deeper military ties with Israel.
A provision in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) would deeply integrate U.S. and Israel’s military industrial and technology sectors, and thus would deepen U.S. complicity in the war crimes and genocide being carried out by the Israeli government.
