Anti-Nuke, Anti-War Sailboat Will Visit Newark And Jersey City

NEW JERSEY — The “Golden Rule” is coming to Newark and Jersey City.

Veterans For Peace will be bringing its famed anti-nuke, anti-war sailboat to the Garden State for a series of public appearances in May (see below). It’s billed as “the first boat to engage in environmental direct action in the world.”

You can learn more about the vessel in this video.

Here’s some background information about the historic 34-foot wooden ketch:

“In 1958 four Quaker peace activists sailed the Golden Rule toward the Marshall Islands in an attempt to halt atmospheric nuclear weapons testing. The US Coast Guard boarded her in Honolulu and arrested her crew, causing an international outcry. Rising public awareness of the dangers of radiation led to worldwide demands to stop nuclear testing. In 1963 USA, the U.S.S.R. and the U.K. signed the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. In 2010 the Golden Rule sank in a gale in Humboldt Bay in Northern California. For the next five years, dozens of Veterans For Peace, Quakers and other volunteers restored her. Since 2015 the Golden Rule has been ‘Sailing for a Nuclear-Free World and a Peaceful, Sustainable Future.’ It is currently making the Great Loop- down the Mississippi, through the Gulf of Mexico, up the Atlantic Coast and then up the Hudson and through the Great Lakes. More information on the Golden Rule Project and its schedule can be found here.”

The sailboat will be arriving in North Jersey in late May. According to a news release from organizers, it will be bearing a message that is relevant to anyone who lives near the Passaic and Hudson Rivers:

“The Golden Rule crew and ship are coming to our New Jersey ports to share their message of disarmament and demilitarization victories and to highlight the ongoing environmental injustice struggles of Newark, Jersey City and other Passaic and Hudson River communities that have wrestled for too many years with the toxic polluting legacy of the industrial and military complex, as well as current pollutions that still persist in overburdened, diverse communities. Veterans for Peace, owners of the sailboat, will celebrate environmental milestones but also remind all how much more must be accomplished for sustainable environments for all communities.”

The ship’s crew will be on hand for two public events:

• Riverfront Park in Newark (by the orange sticks), Friday, May 19 from 6 to 8 pm
• Liberty State Park in Jersey City – (near Liberation Monument), Saturday, May 20 from 11 am to 1 pm. (Crew and Sailboat anchored here) The Liberty State Park event will include a potluck picnic.

There will also be a screening of documentary, “Making Waves: Rebirth of the Golden Rule” and a panel discussion on “U.S. military war games in the Indo-Pacific and the nonviolent popular resistance past and present.” It will take place at the Assumption All Saints Parish Hall, 344 Pacific Avenue in Jersey City on Sunday, May 21 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. RSVP at bit.ly/NJ4PHNo2War.

An environmental, peace and social justice consortium of co-sponsors for these two events includes Assumption All/Saints Church Jersey City; Catholic Worker NYC; FCNL- Northwest NJ Chapter; Friends of Riverfront Park; Friends of Liberty State Park; Hackensack Riverkeeper; Ironbound Community Corp.; NJ Coalition for the Philippine Human Rights Act; NJ Peace Action; Northern NJ Veterans for Peace; Northern NJ Jewish Voice for Peace; Office of Peace Justice and Integrity of Creation- Sisters of Charity of St. Elizabeth; Passaic River Coalition; Pax Christi NJ; St. Stephan's Grace Community, ELCA; Teaneck Peace & Justice Coalition; Wind of the Spirit Immigrant Resource Center.

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