History
More than 200 issues filled with stories of anti-nuclear and anti-war resistance around the world. Sharing the news on the Nuclear Resister website, E-bulletin, and through social media. Keeping track of who’s been arrested, who is in court and who is “Inside & Out” of jails and prisons. Telling the history of this movement through the acts and voices of the resistance. Chronicling hope.
The Story of the Nuclear Resister
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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. -
Documenting a Growing Movement
As blockades proliferate at nuclear sites across the country - for example, 1,953 arrested at Diablo Canyon - the newsletter becomes an essential clearinghouse, connecting resisters, supporters, and the imprisoned activists across a rapidly growing movement. -
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. -
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. -
Missile Silo Peace School
To mark their 10th anniversaries, Nukewatch and the Nuclear Resister host a four day gathering next to an active nuclear missile silo in Missouri. One hundred and seventy-five people from 13 states and six countries attended. -
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. -
The U.S. Campaign to Free Vanunu
Felice and Jack work with Art Laffin and 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. -
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. -
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. -
Nuclear Free Future Award (opens in a new tab)
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.Read more about Nuclear Free Future Award, opens in a new tab
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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. -
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. -
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.