Crowd gathers in Princeton to protest U.S.-Israeli military strike against Iran
Coalition for Peace Action, a grassroots group that describes their goals as "global abolition of nuclear weapons, a peace economy and a halt to weapons trafficking at home and abroad," hosted the rally.
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Almost 200 people gathered in downtown Princeton Saturday to protest the United States- Israeli military action against the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Coalition for Peace Action, a grassroots group that describes their goals as "global abolition of nuclear weapons, a peace economy and a halt to weapons trafficking at home and abroad," hosted the rally.
"The trend was for Iran to be under threat of a military attack. Unfortunately, that was actualized. So when we were first organizing the rally, we were hoping to prevent a war by focusing on diplomacy," said Rev. Robert Moore, with the Coalition for Peace Action. "We wanted to have diplomacy be the resolution of this and not to have innocent people being killed as they are already. So this is just appalling, and we had to be here and stand together."
Several faith leaders and community activists organized the rally that had already been scheduled before the attacks.
Members of Coalition for Peace Action were originally organizing to call for a diplomatic solution amidst ongoing tensions between the U.S and Iran.
Instead, protesters called for the attacks to stop immediately.
"They all are afraid. They are panicked. The economy situation has been disaster for them," said an Iranian-American man from Princeton about his family and friends in Iran. "What is the reason? Most of us, especially Iranian-Americans and Iranians. Were very shocked to see that."
Faith leaders told News 12 people in their communities are also worried about security in houses of worship.
"I know that especially in synagogues, there is a lot of concern, and legitimately so. I feel for that community because no one should be attacked for their faith," Moore said. "We certainly don't want to see any violence going either way toward people who may feel differently than we do. They're still welcome into a house of worship. They're still welcome to be with us as long as they behave civilly."
