History

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The Nuclear Resister History

  1. A Chronicle of Hope Begins

    The first issue of the Newsletter of the National No-Nukes Prison Support Collective is published in October. It reports on a single action by a group of Christian activists who came to be known as the Plowshares Eight. They entered a General Electric nuclear warhead plant in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania and used hammers and blood to enact the biblical call to "beat swords into plowshares." Their action inspired more than 100 such Plowshares actions in the U.S. and around the world.
    The Nuclear Resister Logo with link to homepage
  2. Documenting a Growing Movement

    As blockades proliferate at nuclear sites across the country - 1,953 arrested at Diablo Canyon - the newsletter becomes an essential clearinghouse, connecting resisters, supporters, and the imprisoned activists across a rapidly growing movement.
  3. A New Name: The Nuclear Resister

    Editors Jack and Felice Cohen-Joppa change the publication's name to The Nuclear Resister: A Chronicle of Hope, reflecting its networking role for the anti-nuclear resistance movement, with a focus on supporting the imprisoned activists.
  4. Tucson Becomes Home

    Jack and Felice relocate their family and the Nuclear Resister to Tucson, Arizona - arriving on the very same day the Chernobyl nuclear disaster occurred in the Soviet Union. Tucson will remain the home base of The Nuclear Resister for decades to come.
  5. Missile Silo Actions

    The Nuclear Resister documents the Missouri Peace Planters' bold occupation of multiple Minuteman nuclear missile silos during the summer, part of a growing wave of direct action across the heartland resulting in prison sentences for many of the activists.
  6. Expanding the Mission

    The Nuclear Resister broadens its scope to include reporting on anti-war arrests in North America, plus overseas anti-nuclear and anti-war resistance - all with the same unwavering emphasis on prisoner support.
  7. The U.S. Campaign to Free Vanunu

    Felice and Jack work with coordinator Sam Day, Jr. on the U.S. campaign to free Mordechai Vanunu, the Israeli nuclear technician turned whistleblower who gave the world its first concrete proof that Israel possessed nuclear weapons. Imprisoned since 1986, Vanunu becomes a global symbol of conscience.
  8. Vanunu Released

    After 18 years in an Israeli prison, Mordechai Vanunu is finally released. Felice (coordinator of the U.S. Campaign since Sam Day's death in 2001) is present at Ashkelon Prison for the historic moment, along with 200 supporters from ten different countries.
  9. 30 Years of the Nuclear Resister

    The Nuclear Resister, Nukewatch and the Plowshares movement celebrate their 30th anniversaries with a "Resistance for a Nuclear Free Future" gathering July 3-5 in Tennessee. The gathering concluded with nonviolent direct action at the Y-12 nuclear weapons complex, resulting in 36 arrests. That same year, the Nuclear Resister launches its first website, bringing its reporting into the digital age while continuing the print edition.
  10. Nuclear-Free Future Award

    The Germany-based Nuclear-Free Future Foundation honors Jack and Felice Cohen-Joppa with their 2020 Education prize, recognizing 40 years of chronicling more than 100,000 anti-nuclear and anti-war arrests worldwide while encouraging support for over 1,000 jailed activists.
  11. 42 Years and 200 Issues

    The Nuclear Resister celebrates a remarkable milestone - 200 issues over the last 42 years! A December online program marks four-plus decades of documenting a vibrant, persistent, creative, international, inspiring, courageous and hopeful resistance movement.
  12. Stories from the Archives

    Jack Cohen-Joppa becomes a monthly featured guest on the Nuclear Hotseat podcast, sharing archival stories of anti-nuclear activism history drawn from more than four decades of Nuclear Resister reporting.
  13. 45 Years of a Chronicle of Hope

    The Nuclear Resister enters its 45th year of newsletter publication, now also with an E-bulletin, website and social media to continue its mission as a vital clearinghouse for nonviolent resistance to war and the nuclear threat. Still coordinated by Jack and Felice Cohen-Joppa, still sustained by many subscribers, donors and volunteers, and still supporting anti-nuclear and anti-war prisoners of conscience.
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