Local Resident Joined 2024 Noble Peace Prize Delegation and Supports Citizen Petition to the Watertown City Council for a Nuclear Disarmament Resolution
Dr. Joseph Gerson, a resident of Watertown, joined the delegation of the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize given to Nihon Hidankyo in Oslo on December 10 of last year. Nihon Hidankyo, the Japanese Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations, was formed in 1956. In the words of Terumi Tanaka, one of the three representatives from the organization, “Having ourselves survived the inhumane impacts of atomic bombing, damage unprecedented in history, we launches this movement to ensure such suffering would never be repeated”. One of their guiding demands is “the immediate abolition of nuclear weapons, as extremely inhuman weapons of mass killing, which must not be allowed to coexist with Humanity”. Jorgen Watne Frydnes, Chair of the Norwegian Noble Committee, in explaining why Nihon Hidankyo received the Noble Peace Prize for 2024, reiterated the sentiment of Tanaka Terumi when he stated, “Nihon Hidankyo is receiving the Prize for its efforts to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons and for demonstrating through witness testimony that nuclear weapons must never be used again.”
Dr. Gerson, the author of numerous books on nuclear weapons and nuclear policy, including With Hiroshima Eyes: Atomic War, Nuclear Extortion and Moral Imagination published in 1995 on the eve of the 50 anniversary of the atomic bombings stated, “Among the last things I ever imagined was participating in the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony. This extraordinary privilege came as a surprise when I was invited to join Nihon Hidankyo’s delegation in Oslo to receive the world’s most esteemed recognition and award in December. It‘s been my great privilege to know, work and tour with many of Hidankyo’s leaders and members since I first attended the World Conference Against A- and H-Bomb in 1984. I have returned to Hiroshima and Nagasaki many times in support of Japan’s nuclear weapons abolition movement. I am humbled to have known and learned from three of Nihon Hidankyo’s founders, Watanabe Chieko, Yamaguchi Senji, and Taniguchi Sumiterru. Would have they had lived long enough to witness the Nobel Committee’s recognition of their sacrifices and to reinforce their existential message”.
Terumi Tanaka, in his Nobel Prize lecture given on December 10, reminded the audience that Nihon Hidankyo played a role in creating the “nuclear taboo”. A survivor of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Tanaka went on to say, “However, there still remain 12,000 nuclear warheads on the Earth today, 4,000 of which are operationally deployed, ready for immediate launch. The nuclear Superpower, Russia, threatens to use nuclear weapons in its war against Ukraine, and a cabinet member of Israel, in the midst of its unrelenting attacks on Gaza in Palestine, even spoke of the possible use of nuclear arms. I am infinitely saddened and angered that the “nuclear taboo” threatens to be broken”.
Referring to the challenge that humanity faces at a time when many believe we are “entering what appears to be the most dangerous period in human history”, Chairman Frydnes reminded us the “We all have a duty to fulfill the mission of the Hibakusha. Their moral compass is our inheritance. It is now our turn. Disarmament efforts require insistent public appeals and sustained pressure”.
In a recent letter to the New York Times, Dr. Gerson wrote about how we can take up this challenge when referring to the Back from the Brink Campaign as the “best vehicle today of popular mobilization”. Initiated by the Physicians for Social Responsibility, the Back from the Brink Campaign calls for 1) actively pursuing a verifiable agreement among nuclear-armed states to eliminate their nuclear arsenals, 2) renouncing the option of using nuclear weapons first, ending the sole, unchecked authority of any president to launch a nuclear attack, 4) taking U.S. nuclear weapons off hair-trigger alert; and 5) canceling the plane to replace its entire arsenal with enhanced nuclear weapons.
Locally, the Peace and Common Security Working Group of Watertown Citizens for Peace, Justice, and the Environment have heard the call of Nihon Hidankyo, the Nobel Committee and Dr. Gerson to build a movement to abolition nuclear weapons. One step in this effort is to have Watertown join 17 other communities in Massachusetts in passing a Back from the Brink Resolution. We have collected nearly 500 signatures, 150 of which need to be certified as registered voters to place a Citizen Petition in front of the Watertown City Council. We hope to bring the Citizen Petition to the Council in late spring of 2025. If you would like to learn how you can help please contact us at watertowncitizens@gmail.com.