Radical Left-Wing Code Pink Links California Wildfires to Gaza Conflict in ‘Unhinged’ Protest: ‘Genocide Is Ecocide’

Activists protest the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, IL, Monday, August 1
DOMINIC GWINN/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

Far-left activists from Code Pink are being accused of exploiting tragedy after linking California’s devastating wildfires to the conflict in Gaza, claiming both are fueled by policies targeting indigenous lands and broader environmental neglect.

Code Pink organizer Olivia DiNucci led a protest outside Sen. Alex Padilla’s California office on Wednesday, using the state’s raging wildfires as a platform to promote the group’s radical agenda. 

Slamming Congress’s support for Israel “to continue to bomb and obliterate people in Gaza,” DiNucci alleged that California’s fire crisis is part of a global pattern of destruction, tying the environmental devastation to the conflict in Gaza, where Hamas rules.  

“We are drawing the parallels where people in communities in California are being evacuated from their homes, and people in Gaza have been evacuated from their homes for the past 15 months,” DiNucci stated.

“Every bomb that goes off is being tested and built on sacrifice zones in this country, on indigenous lands,” she claimed, arguing that U.S. priorities are creating both ecological harm and human suffering. “We need that money for climate reparations, for health care, for housing, instead of going to further climate collapse and further the devastation and genocide of the people in Gaza.”

Code Pink, a self-described “anti-militarist, internationalist & feminist environmental movement,” is urging the redirection of federal funds toward climate reparations, housing, and health care rather than programs it says exacerbate crises at home and abroad.  

“We are here today making the connection between the climate crisis, between endless militarism, that genocide is ecocide, and that we need to put that money into constituents and communities here at home,” the radical peace activist continued.

The group’s claims immediately drew widespread outrage, with many accusing Code Pink of exploiting the California fires for political theater.  

“Fires are raging in Los Angeles, and thousands are losing their homes. Naturally, Code Pink goes through the halls of Congress with, ‘How can we make this all about Gaza?’” said commentator Joel M. Petlin.  

Other critics labeled the group’s actions “disaster appropriation,” arguing they used the suffering of Californians to promote their far-left, eco-political agenda. “Please tell us more about how you use other people’s pain to push your anti-American ideas,” one user remarked.  

“They hate America,” one X user insisted.

“The communists funded by the CCP [Chinese Communist Party] are drawing moral equivalence between Gaza and the California fires! How disgusting are they?” wrote another.

California’s wildfires are primarily driven by drought, high temperatures, and poor land management. Years of mismanagement, combined with natural challenges, have left the state vulnerable to devastating blazes that destroy homes, livelihoods, and ecosystems.

Founded as an anti-war organization, Code Pink has increasingly focused on connecting global conflicts with environmental activism, often targeting U.S. domestic policies in the process. The group’s recent actions highlight its tendency to leverage high-profile tragedies — such as California’s fires — for political messaging.

The group has accused the U.S. — not Hamas — of sabotaging peace.

Joshua Klein is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jklein@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter @JoshuaKlein.

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