Medea Benjamin

Cofounder of peace group CODEPINK. Author. Peace activist. Wannabe salsa dancer :)

[Medea Benjamin @medeabenjamin]

We, the US people, welcome the Iranian team to the World Cup. Unfortunately, our government is humiliating them. Iranian players are being forced to sleep in Mexico. Team staff have been denied visas. Journalists have been blocked from covering the team. Fans are being prevented from traveling to cheer on their country. These athletes are not politicians. They are players who have spent their lives working for this moment. The people of Iran are not our enemies. Go Team Melli!

[Medea Benjamin @medeabenjamin]

Albania’s Flamingo Revolution to save Sazan Island is a reminder that people don’t have to accept secret deals made by politicians and billionaires. When communities organize, create, and resist together, even the most powerful can be challenged.

Long live the Flamingo Revolution.

[Medea Benjamin @medeabenjamin]

@resisres I can't find the words to say how much I love Claudia Sheinbaum!!!

[Medea Benjamin @medeabenjamin]

@ragipsoylu This is DISGRACEFUL. Trita Parsi is an American treasure. We are so lucky to have him in this country. Millions of us depend on him for his incredibly insightful understanding of Iran and the Middle East in general. #HandsOffTrita

[Medea Benjamin @medeabenjamin]

After more than a year in ICE detention, Leqaa Kordia is free but her fight is not over.

She still faces the threat of deportation to Israel, where even an immigration judge acknowledged she could face persecution, imprisonment, torture, or worse.

Today, Leqaa is using her voice to advocate for the thousands of people still trapped in ICE detention. Her message is simple: freedom is possible when people organize, speak out, and refuse to look away.

Free them all.

[Medea Benjamin @medeabenjamin]

House Democratic leadership just handed AIPAC darling Debbie Wasserman Schultz a seat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

At a moment when Democratic voters are increasingly rejecting endless war, unconditional support for Israel, and failed sanctions on countries like Cuba and Venezuela, party leaders rewarded one of Congress’s most hawkish voices with a powerful role shaping U.S. foreign policy.

What does it say about Democratic leadership when this is who they choose to represent them on foreign affairs?

[Medea Benjamin @medeabenjamin]

Today we visited Rep. Katherine Clark’s office to urge her to action for Sama Safi, a Palestinian American student at Birzeit University taken from her home near Ramallah by Israeli soldiers in the middle of the night.

Her family still has no answers about where she is, what charges she faces, or whether she’s receiving the daily medication she needs.

Sama’s life is at risk. Silence is not an option.

FREE SAMA NOW.

[Medea Benjamin @medeabenjamin]

Outside Delaney Hall Detention Center, protesters gathered in solidarity with immigrants inside who are on hunger strike, risking their health to demand dignity, freedom, and an end to their detention.

Instead of pouring billions into detention centers, deportations, and raids, we should be investing in the things that actually make communities stronger: housing, healthcare, schools, legal services, and good jobs.

Abolish ICE. Fund communities. Free them all.

[Medea Benjamin @medeabenjamin]

@IndieChefster that is not her. It's Maria Elvira Salazar, another congresswoman

[Medea Benjamin @medeabenjamin]

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna says she’s pursuing criminal charges for assault. She claims I “smacked” her.
What do you think happened?
Watch the video and vote in the comments:
1.⁠ ⁠Yes, you hit her. I hope she got medical attention.
2.⁠ ⁠You barely touched her. This is a ridiculous attempt to criminalize protest.

[Medea Benjamin @medeabenjamin]

@LuluTheLogical exactly, we just shook hand a minute before

[Medea Benjamin @medeabenjamin]

Really, Bernie? Two people just spoke out about US support for Israel during Senator Sanders' talk at the Press Club. Instead of saying, "I understand. your passion and we will get to that issue soon," Bernie said "Get her out of here."

[Medea Benjamin @medeabenjamin]

@RepJoshG @AIPAC Are you insane? Israel started this entire disaster in Iran, while it continues to slaughter people in gaza and lebanon.

[Medea Benjamin @medeabenjamin]

Rep Maria Elvira Salazar says we’ve been fooled by the Cuban government. But listening to her own argument, it sounds more like she’s fooling herself.

When I pointed out that Cuba maintained universal healthcare and education while under U.S. sanctions, Maria Elvira didn’t deny it. She said Cuba was receiving support from the Soviet Union.

Exactly. Cuba was under sanctions, received resources from an ally, and used them to fund social programs. Today, instead of allowing Cuba to trade and develop normally, Washington doubles down on economic punishment.

You can criticize the Cuban government all you want. But after more than 60 years, collective punishment has not brought democracy. It has only made life harder for ordinary Cubans.

END THE BLOCKADE NOW!

[Medea Benjamin @medeabenjamin]

Re Israel, Democratic leadership (Jeffries, Schumer) is entirely out of sync with the current sentiment within the party @adamjohnsonCHI https://t.co/u0RWjoOt7q

[Trita Parsi @tparsi]

Today, among other things, an Israeli soldier shot and killed a 7-month-old Palestinian baby. And in Gaza, this 10-year-old girl survived another attack.

This is partly why Iran is insisting on a regionwide ceasefire in which the US is responsible for ensuring Israel's compliance.

Because the Palestinian infant was killed during the existing American-sponsored Swiss-cheese ceasefires...

[Medea Benjamin @medeabenjamin]

Yesterday, Marco Rubio announced new restrictions targeting Cuban organizations, further limiting who Americans can meet with while traveling to Cuba.

Americans can travel freely to countries with one-party systems, monarchies, mass incarceration, political prisoners, or severe human rights abuses. Yet when it comes to Cuba, Washington tells us where we can travel, which hotels we can stay in, and now even which organizations we can meet with. All in the name of “democracy.”

Leave Cuba alone. End the blockade.
#LetCubaLive #EndTheBlockade

[Medea Benjamin @medeabenjamin]

@DavidMurrayGenX @RepLuna @RepMariaSalazar You are confusing me with the other cofounder of CODEPINK.

[Medea Benjamin @medeabenjamin]

Funny how @RepLuna called the police to arrest me (they didn’t once they saw the video) because she said I touched her arm. 10 minutes later @RepMariaSalazar grabbed my face. I’m not complaining because she didn’t do it maliciously, I’m just pointing out the lunacy of @RepLuna

[Domhnall (Cogito) @CogitoEdu]

Ban Ki-moon, then secretary-general of the United Nations, commented on how, in his visits to some of the most forgotten areas of the world, there was a common factor: the presence of Cuban doctors.

“They are always the first to arrive and the last to leave.”

[Medea Benjamin @medeabenjamin]

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna accused CODEPINK of being tied to the Chinese Communist Party and said foreign influence laws should be strengthened.

We said: absolutely. That means taking a serious look at AIPAC and other organizations that spend enormous amounts of money shaping U.S. foreign policy and pushing Congress toward endless wars.

Thank you Anna Paulina Luna