Amid mounting opposition to the Iran war, a coalition of peace, veterans, faith and community groups rallied outside the district office of U.S. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries in Downtown Brooklyn on Oct. 20, urging him to use his power as House Democratic leader to end the unauthorized U.S. war on Iran.
The rally was part of a nationwide Day of Action for Peace with Iran, held at 37 congressional offices across the country to build political power to end the war, escalation, sanctions and the broader “forever war” agenda. It was organized by a coalition of organizations, including the National Iranian American Council (NIAC), Action Corps, Bring Our Troops Home, Common Defense, The Libertarian Institute, Peace Action, the Presbyterian Church (USA) Office of Public Witness and World BEYOND War.
The coalition is calling for the enforcement of the Iran War Powers Resolutions. The U.S. House has voted three times to end the war in Iran, which would halt U.S. military action against the country. Activists are also calling on lawmakers to affirm that the resolutions are legally binding and support future war powers resolutions; investigate alleged war crimes and fully release the Department of Defense’s investigations into the U.S. bombings of a civilian wedding in Kuhestak on Sept. 1 and Minab Elementary School on Feb. 28, the first day of the war with Iran; and support a peace agreement that includes lifting sanctions. The Minab school bombing reportedly killed 120 children, along with teachers and staff.
Peace activists called for an investigation into the bombing of Minab Elementary School.Photo by Gabriele Holtermann 
Peace activists called on Congressman Hakeem Jeffries to use his power as House Democratic leader to end the unauthorized U.S. war on Iran. Photo by Gabriele Holtermann
Around 100 peace activists from Brooklyn for Peace, NIAC Action New York, Common Defense, Military Families Speak Out, Peace Action NYS, The Riverside Church in the City of New York, The People’s Forum, World BEYOND War, DSA Anti-War Working Group, Equality for Flatbush, NY8 Neighbors for Gaza Ceasefire, NYC War Resisters League and Fellowship of Reconciliation gathered on the sidewalk outside the Shirley A. Chisholm State Office Building, where Jeffries’ office is located.
The demonstrators held signs reading “Stop the War on Iran” and images of Iranians killed in the conflict while chanting, “Stop the funding, stop the war, we can’t take it anymore” and “Peace with Iran.”
After the rally, NY8 Neighbors for Gaza Ceasefire, a group of Brooklynites who live in Jeffries’ congressional district and formed in response to the war in Gaza, delivered 750 signed letters to his office calling on him to end his support for military assistance to Israel.
NY8 Neighbors for Gaza Ceasefire delivered 750 signed letters to Jeffries’ office calling on him to end his support for military assistance to Israel.Photo by Gabriele Holtermann
Alan Band, an activist with NIAC and Brooklyn for Peace, told Brooklyn Paper that the war was unnecessary and should never have started. He called on Jeffries to help end the conflict as soon as possible, protect the U.S. economy and prevent further killings of innocent people in Iran and the rest of the Middle East.
According to the U.S. Department of Defense, 21 U.S. service members have been killed and 865 wounded. Estimates indicate that between 3,375 and more than 7,600 civilians have been killed in the 2026 U.S.-Israel conflict.
Peace activists called on Congressman Hakeem Jeffries to use his power as House Democratic leader to end the unauthorized U.S. war on Iran.Photo by Gabriele Holtermann
The Congressional Budget Office reported that the armed conflict with Iran has cost the Department of Defense approximately $38 billion in the first five months of the war, while Americans are also facing significant economic burdens.
According to Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, the war has added nearly $2,000 to the costs faced by the average American household through higher gas prices, which have risen about 44% since the war began; increased transportation and shipping expenses due to elevated diesel prices; and higher borrowing costs. Meanwhile, the Trump administration has requested at least another $67 billion to finance the war.
“I’m here to support peace in the Middle East and help the U.S. economy by bringing down gas prices and preventing more illegal murder of innocent people,” Band said.
Etan Mabourakh, executive director of Brooklyn for Peace and NIAC’s senior adviser for organizing, told Brooklyn Paper that Congress needed to do more than call the war illegal and hold symbolic votes.
“The longer this war continues, if it becomes another forever war, that’ll be a disaster for Iranian civilians. It risks destabilizing and turning the country into a bombed-out failed state, and so I oppose that. I want to avoid that. I don’t want my tax dollars going to that,” Mabourakh said.
Etan Mabourakh delivered a letter to Jeffries’ office calling for the enforcement of the Iran War Powers Resolutions, among other demands.Photo by Gabriele Holtermann 
Peace activists called on Congressman Hakeem Jeffries to use his power as House Democratic leader to end the unauthorized U.S. war on Iran.Photo by Gabriele Holtermann
Among the activists was Anne Ambia, the mother of an Iraq War veteran and a member of Military Families Speak Out, an organization of military family members and Gold Star families whose loved ones have served in the U.S. military since Sept. 11, 2001, or are currently serving.
Ambia told Brooklyn Paper that her son enlisted shortly after the Sept. 11 attacks, believing it was his patriotic duty, only to discover that he was being sent to countries that had nothing to do with the attacks.
“So I’m here because I want the war in Iran to end, and I want the troops to come home,” she said. “We’re not even being told how many are getting wounded. We’re not being told the truth about the numbers who are dying and the numbers who are getting wounded. None of us wants our children involved in killing other people’s children in other countries.”
Peace activists called on Congressman Hakeem Jeffries to use his power as House Democratic leader to end the unauthorized U.S. war on Iran. 
Peace activists called on Congressman Hakeem Jeffries to use his power as House Democratic leader to end the unauthorized U.S. war on Iran.
Speakers noted that although Jeffries has called the war illegal and unconstitutional because it lacks congressional authorization under Article I of the Constitution, he has not taken concrete steps to end the conflict.
Molly Nolan of Brooklyn for Peace called the war immoral, describing it as a conflict of choice and aggression that causes civilian and environmental harm, disrupts the global economy and disproportionately hurts vulnerable communities.
“It is a war that is harming Americans because the longer it goes on, the more money goes to the Pentagon, which has a trillion dollars this year and wants a trillion and a half next year. Meanwhile, funds for housing, schools, healthcare, jobs, and all the needs of our community are being cut,” Nolan said.
Joshua Kaitan Lucas, a U.S. Marine veteran, told the crowd that he enlisted in 2003, two months after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. He said that, like the war in Iran, the invasion was launched under false pretenses and benefited war profiteers while causing widespread suffering.
Joshua Kaitan Lucas, a U.S. Marine veteran, said the war was launched under false pretenses.Photo by Gabriele Holtermann
“Now, a war that shouldn’t even be happening is spreading. It’s on the ground in Lebanon, where Israel is using U.S. munitions to destroy apartment buildings; they are killing more civilians, displacing over a million people, and wreaking havoc to access to food and water. We veterans, see their crimes, their treason, their trampling of the Constitution. What we don’t see, not nearly enough, however, are our congressional representatives fighting for the will to be,” Lucas said, noting that Americans had had enough of Donald Trump, MAGA and the “corporate corruption of American virtue.”
“We are here to build the United States where access to jobs, access to health care, access to a dignified life is the celebrated norm of American life. The people are sending the message that from the axes of Trump’s undoing of our democratic norms, we will be the beacon of freedom once again, and we will live by the ideals of freedom, dignity, and things at home.”
When Brooklyn Paper reached out to Jeffries’ office for comment, representatives pointed to his previous public statements opposing the war, including remarks on the House floor and interviews with other news outlets. In an Oct. 14 interview with MSNOW, Jeffries named ending the war as a priority for the first 100 days of a Democratic-controlled Congress. He also told CNN in September that Democrats were committed to ending the conflict.
House Democrats have forced six votes on War Powers Resolutions to end the war. Three passed, including the most recent on Sept. 15, which passed 220-204 with seven Republicans voting in favor.
Jeffries’ office declined to comment further.