AMY GOODMAN:
Here in New York, the longtime peace activist Cora Weiss has died at the age of 91, after decades of advocacy demanding civil rights, nuclear disarmament, gender equality and the abolition of war. In the 1960s, Cora Weiss was a national leader of Women Strike for Peace, which played a major role in bringing about the end of nuclear testing in the atmosphere. She organized protests against the Vietnam War and served as president of the Hague Appeal for Peace. She was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize multiple times. Cora Weiss also served for decades on the board of Downtown Community Television. She last appeared on Democracy Now! in 2022.

CORA WEISS: The Iraq War was built on a lie about weapons of mass destruction. It was unnecessary. It was avoidable. All of the wars since the end of the Second World War should never have happened. And it was possible that they didn’t have to happen, because we’re also — we’ve also become very experienced in diplomacy, and we’ve learned an enormous amount about prevention of violent conflict. And there are laws about preventing violent conflict.

AMY GOODMAN You began your work in 1961, your work for the abolition of nuclear weapons and fighting for the ending of the Cold War. How concerned are you about the prospect of a nuclear war or an accident that could lead to this?

CORA WEISS: As long as there are nuclear weapons and as long as people like President Biden and Putin say nothing is off the table, there is a possibility that they could be used, either used because of an accident or deliberately. And that is the most frightening, frightening thought, because we know that all it takes is one nuclear bomb, and it’s goodbye. Goodbye, everything. You know, we talk about climate change. Climate change and nuclear weapons are the apocalyptic twins. And we have to prevent one and get rid of the other. We have to abolish nuclear weapons immediately. There should be no question about it anymore. They’re too dangerous and unnecessary. And who wants to destroy the world and the lives of everybody in it?

AMY GOODMAN: Cora Weiss’s husband, Peter Weiss, the well-known human rights attorney, died several weeks ago just shy of his 100th birthday. Cora Weiss died on Peter Weiss’s 100th birthday.