Coalition for Jewish Values Accuses Code Pink of Antisemitism After Confrontation with Rabbi

BALTIMORE (VINnews)— The Coalition for Jewish Values, an organization representing more than 2,500 traditional Orthodox rabbis, on Wednesday accused the activist group Code Pink of revealing itself as an antisemitic organization following an incident involving its co-founder, Medea Benjamin, and a CJV rabbi.

The accusation stems from a Dec. 12 confrontation in a U.S. Capitol hallway, where Rabbi Yaakov Menken, CJV’s executive vice president, said he was targeted by Code Pink activists solely because he is visibly Jewish.

Video of the encounter, widely shared on social media and garnering millions of views, shows a Code Pink activist yelling “Free Palestine” at Menken as he walked past. Benjamin, walking alongside the activist, later echoed the slogan during the exchange.

Menken responded by accusing the activists of harassing him because of his Jewish appearance, saying they had found “a new pretense to hate Jews.” The activists, in turn, called Menken a “racist” and “baby-killer,” according to the footage. The exchange ended with one activist saying “from the river to the sea,” a phrase CJV and many Jewish organizations describe as a call for the elimination of Israel.

“After this incident, only those who harbor antisemitic bias themselves can question whether Code Pink is an anti-Jewish hate group,” said Rabbi Ze’ev Smason, CJV vice president. He added that the slogans used “echo German chants of the 1930s, despite using Israel as a euphemism for their underlying targets.”

Code Pink, a leftist group known for anti-war activism and criticism of Israeli policies, has not publicly responded to the specific allegations as of Wednesday. The organization has previously condemned antisemitism in pro-Palestinian activism.

Menken, in social media posts following the incident, maintained he was not attending any Israel-related hearing that day and was singled out based on his attire. He described the confrontation as evidence that anti-Zionism can mask antisemitism.