Peace Group Explores Alternatives to War

By HANNAN ADELY

A few days after the World Trade Center was attacked, Jack Marth, like most Americans, felt the need to be around friends and family. So Marth and his wife, Miriam Ford, longtime peace activists and former Norwood residents, invited about a dozen friends over for dinner at their home in Van Cortlandt Village. "We talked about our feelings post-Sept. 11 and what we might do in response to everything going on," said Marth, an attorney who runs a legal clinic at Part of the Solution, a soup kitchen in Bedford Park.

From that initial meeting, those at Marth's house that day and many others started meeting on a regular basis in the basement of Epiphany Lutheran Church in Norwood. Thirty people turned up at the first meeting, and a few sessions later, Bronx Action for Justice and Peace was born.

"It's a very local response to what happened on Sept. 11," said Lyn Pyle, a resident of the Knox-Gates section of Norwood and co-founder of The Cove, a teen center. "It's people who were concerned about what happened and concerned about the war on terrorism and just what that means."

Keith Fairey, another Norwood resident, said he joined because "he wanted a safe place to talk about alternatives to war and different strategies to resolve problems our country and world are facing other than a military response."

The members want to educate themselves and others about many different aspects of the war.

"Nothing justifies what happened on the 11th," said Marth. "But we are critical of the history of US policy in that part of the world. More militarism or bombs do not solve fundamental problems that exist."

Similarly, Jim O'Hanlon, pastor of Epiphany and a participant in the group, is critical of the United States "using [the] military as a first recourse, and not a last recourse."

As its first project, Bronx Action is sponsoring a community forum on the war on Sunday, Nov. 18 at the Mosholu Montefiore Community Center. Invited panelists will speak about the implications of the war at home and abroad, about the history of US involvement in the Middle East, about media coverage and alternatives to war. One of the panelists will also address the conflict's impact on civil liberties and immigrants' rights.

The discussions are relevant to Bronxites, members say, because there are so many local implications from the war. "There's legislation in Congress that will mean curtailment of civil liberties and immigrant rights," Pyle said.

The group has also been concerned about discrimination against Bronxites of Muslim and Arab descent. O'Hanlon says discussion of the war is particularly relevant to Bronx families who worry their sons may be called to military service. Also, a tightening of immigration laws could affect many families in the Bronx's large Latino and Asian communities, participants in the group said.

Two themes seem to top the list of member concerns. Many in the group believe that broad military action will further encourage terrorism and risk national security. Second, the members think it is critical to provide an outlet for some Q & A about the war on terrorism, since they say debate has been mostly muffled in the public arena.

Though anti-war efforts are often criticized as being un-American, Marth says being critical and raising questions is not inconsistent with patriotism. "Too often, patriotism is thought to be my country right or wrong," Marth said. "This is the antithesis of what our country is about. We have civil rights. This is about open debate and discussion of issues. We shouldn't be afraid of being critical, especially in a time of war. Being critical is a patriotic act if it's done thoughtfully and reasonably."

Ed. note: Norwood News editor Jordan Moss is a member of Bronx Action for Justice and Peace.