Almost every August since 2002, Peace Action of Staten Island (PASI) and the Unitarian Church of Staten Island (UCSI) have collaborated to commemorate the anniversary of the 1945 atom bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The use of the atom bomb in August 1945 brought the world into the nuclear age. Eighty-one years later, the world faces a new nuclear arms race and the spread of new nuclear reactors world wide. Remembering Hiroshima and Nagasaki and passing on the stories and knowledge to the next generation is more important than ever.

On Sunday, August 9, 2026, PASI and UCSI will come together again for a multi-generational Day of Remembrance to tell the story of the atom bomb through the eyes of a young girl who survived the bombing and through the interpretative performances of the Young Musicians of Staten Island.

After the story and performances, younger participants will be invited to participate in creating an art for peace project. Their older siblings, parents and adults will be invited to a discussion about “What We Mean by Nuclear-Free” A panel of Staten Island environmentalists and activists, moderated by Jack Bolembach, will share their knowledge about the race to spread nuclear technology, both civilian and military, to more countries around the world.

Free and open to the public. Light refreshments.

Background:
The U.S. dropped the first atomic bomb used in war on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, and the second on Nagasaki on August 9, 1945. From that tragic beginning of the nuclear age, which resulted in the deaths of 240,000 people within days, the number of countries with nuclear weapons and their arsenals has grown. At the height of the Cold War, there were 68,000 nuclear weapons, 95% owned by the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. After several treaties and non-proliferation efforts, that number was brought down to about 12,341* warheads today, some 3,400 of which are actively deployed, meaning they target major cities and military installations around the world. The U.S. and Russia still hold 87% of the world’s arsenal. The other nuclear armed states are Great Britain, France, China, India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea. In February 2026, the New Start Treaty, the last treaty to restrict the number of nuclear weapons between the U.S. and Russia, expired.
Most countries of the world want a ban on nuclear weapons and have signed and/or ratified the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons since it went into force in 2021. This treaty bans nations from developing, testing, producing, manufacturing, transferring, possessing, stockpiling, using or threatening to use nuclear weapons, or allowing nuclear weapons to be stationed on their territory.
In the uncertain times we live in, it is more important than ever that we envision a Nuclear-Free World.
*Source: https://www.icanw.org/nuclear_arsenals

Peace Action of Staten Island and the Staten Island for the People Coalition will hold a No Nukes! Rally across from Rep. Nicole Malliotakis' office on Staten Island. Staten Islanders want to have a Representative who will work to take us back from the brink of nuclear war. 

 We want a Representative who:

  • Actively pursues a verifiable agreement among nuclear-armed states to eliminate their nuclear arsenals;

  • Renounces the option of using nuclear weapons first;

  • Supports the ending of the sole, unchecked authority of any U.S. President to launch a nuclear attack;

  • Calls for taking U.S. nuclear weapons off hair-trigger alert; and

  • Works to cancel the plan to replace the entire U.S. nuclear arsenal with enhanced weapons

Every Monday from 5 pm to 6 pm, Staten Islanders gather across from their Congressional Representative’s office at 1698 Victory Boulevard to give voice to their concerns. Several groups have combined to form the “Staten Island for the People” coalition to share organizing what are called “Malliotakis Mondays.” Among the issues that have been raised are: the U.S. backed Israeli war on Palestine and Iran, I.C.E. detentions, the loss of health care, the proposed $1.5 Trillion Pentagon budget, the affordability crisis for many Staten Island families and the importance of registering and getting out to vote. Please consider showing up. You can sign up for PASI alerts to stay in touch by pressing the SUBSCRIBE option in the menu.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 28, 2026

Contact: Kevin Martin, President, kmartin@peaceaction.org

Jon Rainwater, Executive Director,  jrainwater@peaceaction.org 

PEACE ACTION STATEMENT ON THE ILLEGAL US/ISRAELI ATTACK ON IRAN

Once again, the United States and Israel are illegally attacking Iran, as they did last June. It is already a regional war, which will take a horrible toll on ordinary people in many countries, with reports a girls’ school was bombed, killing at least fifty people. Unlike the limited strikes in last June’s 12 day war, this is aimed not just at Iran’s nuclear or military facilities, but at regime change in Iran, as President Trump declared, and government targets in Teheran have been hit. Predictably, Iran is firing back at Israel and at US military bases in the region. 

Just yesterday, the Foreign Minister of Oman, who has been mediating negotiations between the US and Iran, stated prospects were good for a possible agreement. However, according to an Israeli official, the talks were a treacherous ruse, as the US and Israel had planned coordinated attacks on Iran for months. 

This crisis lies at the feet of President Trump, who abrogated the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in his first term. That multilateral agreement had effectively capped Iran’s nuclear program well short of acquiring The Bomb. Now, once again, two nuclear weapons states are bombing a non-nuclear weapons state. Meanwhile, Trump has ludicrously called for Iranians to overthrow their government.

The timing of this attack, while perhaps planned for months, came as momentum was building in just the last few days for Congressional War Powers Resolution votes in both the House and the Senate. Democratic leadership in both Houses of Congress had coalesced behind the resolutions, Senate Joint Resolution 104, sponsored by US Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Rand Paul (R-KY), with twelve other co-sponsors, and House Concurrent Resolution 38, sponsored by US Representatives Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Ro Khanna (D-CA), with over 80 co-sponsors. That resolution may be voted on as soon as Monday, according to Khanna. Congress must assert its Constitutional authority over matters of war and peace, against an out of control, rogue president and executive branch, and vote in favor of the Iran War Powers Resolutions. Congress should also impeach, convict, and remove the president from office for this illegal act, as politically unlikely as that appears now. 

Protest demonstrations will be held this weekend in many cities, reflecting not only the illegality of this war, but also its unpopularity, as seventy percent of Americans oppose war with Iran, according to a recent poll. The world urgently needs more diplomacy, not more war.

Peace Action is the country’s largest grassroots peace and disarmament network, with over 200,000 supporters nationwide. https://www.peaceaction.org/

Peace Action of Staten Island, P. O. Box 201 St. George Station, Staten Island, NY 10301
 Email: pasi.contact@gmail.com

Website: peacesi.org