Arthur G. Gish (August 15, 1939 – July 28, 2010) was an American

peace activist A peace movement is a social movement which seeks to achieve ideals such as the ending of a particular war (or wars) or minimizing inter-human violence in a particular place or situation. They are often linked to the goal of achieving world p ...

, preacher, writer and public speaker. He was known for his opposition to a number of conflicts, ranging from the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

to the

Iraq War The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...

Biography

Activism

Gish was born on August 15, 1939, and raised in

Lancaster County, Pennsylvania Lancaster County (; ), sometimes nicknamed the Garden Spot of America or Pennsylvania Dutch Country, is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 United States ...

. He left his family's farm as a teenager and declared himself a

conscientious objector A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of conscience or religion. The term has also been extended to objecting to working for the military–indu ...

. Gish joined the

Brethren Volunteer Service The Church of the Brethren is an Anabaptist Christian denomination in the Schwarzenau Brethren tradition ( "Schwarzenau New Baptists") that was organized in 1708 by Alexander Mack in Schwarzenau, Germany during the Radical Pietist revival. T ...

, which is part of the

Church of the Brethren The Church of the Brethren is an Anabaptist Christian denomination in the Schwarzenau Brethren tradition ( "Schwarzenau New Baptists") that was organized in 1708 by Alexander Mack in Schwarzenau, Germany during the Radical Pietist revival. ...

, and worked in Europe from 1958 until 1960. During the 1960s, Gish protested the

and supported the Civil Rights Movement. After the publication of his book ''The New Left and Christian Radicalism'' in 1970, Gish was interviewed by the editor of the Athens Messenger. In this interview he described his relationship to early Protestant cultures of worship and dissent: "Working in the protest movement," Gish said, "I have come to see that the early Brethren and the Anabaptists were not conservatives. They were the radicals of their day.... The early Brethren understood that a Christian is different from the world, that a Christian stands over against the world and is in conflict with the world. To be at peace with God means that one is in conflict with the world." Much of Gish's activism since 1995 focused in the Middle East, and was channelled through the Church of the Brethren's Christian Peacemaker Team program . A ruddy and distinctive presence, Gish spent much of his time overseas working in

Hebron Hebron (; , or ; , ) is a Palestinian city in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Hebron is capital of the Hebron Governorate, the largest Governorates of Palestine, governorate in the West Bank. With a population of 201,063 in ...

At-tuwani Tawani or at-Tuwani () is a small Palestinian Territories, Palestinian village in the south Hebron Hills of the Hebron Governorate. Many of the village's residents live in caves. The village is located south-east of the village of Yatta, Hebron ...

in the

West Bank The West Bank is located on the western bank of the Jordan River and is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip) that make up the State of Palestine. A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

. A 2003 photograph by the ''

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

'' depicted Gish standing in front of an

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engine; ...

in Hebron. Gish and his wife, activist Peggy Gish, opposed the 2003 Iraq War. Art and Peggy Gish were fixtures of peace actions in Athens, Ohio, which saw them cooperating with a wide array of community members, including Ohio University faculty members. Art Gish opposed capital punishment and attended a vigil at the Athens Court House whenever a state execution was taking place.

Personal life

Gish and his wife settled on an

organic farm Organic farming, also known as organic agriculture or ecological farming or biological farming,Labelling, article 30 o''Regulation (EU) 2018/848 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2024 on organic production and labelling of ...

Amesville, Ohio Amesville is a village in Athens County, Ohio, United States, located on Federal Creek. The population was 171 at the 2020 census. History Amesville was laid out in 1837. The village derives its name from Fisher Ames who was instrumental in g ...

, near

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

, where they grew and sold organic produce and other related products. Arthur Gish was killed on his farm in Athens County, Ohio, on July 28, 2010, when his

tractor A tractor is an engineering vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort (or torque) at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a Trailer (vehicle), trailer or machinery such as that used in agriculture, mining or constructio ...

overturned and caught fire. Gish was 70 years old and was survived by his wife, Peggy Gish, who was in

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

at the time of the accident.

Works authored

Gish authored numerous books, including *''The New Left and Christian Radicalism'' (1970) *''Beyond the Rat Race'' (1973) *''Living in Christian Community'' (1979) *''Wealth and Poverty: Four Christian Views of Economics'' (contributor) (1984) *''Hebron Journal: Stories of Nonviolent Peacemaking'' (2001) *''At-Tuwani Journal: Hope and Nonviolent Action in a Palestinian Village'' (2008) *''Muslim, Christian, Jew: The Oneness of God and the Unity of Our Faith'' (2012, posthumous)

Film references

Art and Peggy Gish are the subjects of the 2010 short documentary ''Old Radicals'', which screened at the

Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival The Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival is the largest documentary festival in North America. The event takes place annually in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The 27th edition of the festival took place online throughout May and Jun ...

as part of the International Documentary Challenge. In 2012 the film was extended to include the story of Art's death and the stories of 3 other elderly activists. The 45 min documentary is also titled ''Old Radicals''.

References