FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Alli McCracken, CODEPINK Organizer, 860-575-5692, alli@codepink.org

CODEPINK Activists Stage Sit-In In Senator Elizabeth Warren’s Office, Call on Her to Support Palestinian Human Rights

When: Monday, September 8th at 1:00pm

Where: Activists will meet in the atrium of the Senate Hart Building and proceed to her office (317 Hart)

Washington, DC –– Progressive Senator Elizabeth Warren has finally broken her silence on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with a statement justifying Israel’s practice of bombing schools and hospitals in the name of “self-defense.” Outraged by this position from someone who is an icon among progressives, CODEPINK and other activists have planned a sit-in in the Senator’s Washington DC office to educate her and her staff about the issue. Massachusetts area activists are planning a simultaneous action at her Massachusetts office.

“Why is Senator Warren, who stands up for the ‘little guy’ in the face of big banks and corrupt corporations in America, siding with big bully Israel?”, asked CODEPINK cofounder Medea Benjamin. “We’re here to tell Senator Warren and her staff that it is never acceptable to bomb schools and hospitals.”

For 7 years, with the help of the Egyptian government, Israel has maintained a blockade of Gaza that prevents the free movement of the Palestinians living there, and restricts fishing, and the import or export of basic goods. Just this summer Israel conducted a brutal assault on the tiny Gaza Strip, killing over 2,000, wounding thousands more, and displacing over 100,000 people. The Israeli military bombed schools, hospitals (which is illegal under international law), mosques, playgrounds, and children playing on the beach.

“Senator Warren has defended her vote to send $225 million of American taxpayer money to Israel for its Iron Dome missile defense system,” said CODEPINK organizer Alli McCracken. “With schools and community centers shutting down in the US, and road and bridges crumbling, shouldn’t we be using those American taxpayer dollars here at home?”

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