Photo: From Code Pink website

Recently, former US House speaker Nancy Pelosi, without any evidence, suggested some protesters calling for a ceasefire in Gaza are connected to Russia, sparking widespread skepticism. Against this backdrop, the US anti-war organization Code Pink posted a video on social media on Tuesday, which was shot in October of last year. The video shows a group of anti-war protesters blocking vehicle that Pelosi took, and the former House speaker reacted by unexpectedly telling the crowd, "Go back to China, that's where your headquarters is." 

Melissa Garriga, media relations manager for Code Pink, told the Global Times on Wednesday that those who are protesting Pelosi have received zero dollars from any foreign country or outside influence; they are simply constituents who don't want to see their tax dollars funding the extermination of Palestinians. 

It is shameful for the former Speaker of the House to insinuate that those advocating for peace are somehow un-American. And such a statement not only undermines the fundamental principles of American democracy but also constitutes a slanderous attack, Garriga said. 

"It is Pelosi who receives money to represent the interests of foreign countries," she said. Code Pink on Sunday released a statement, in which the organization claimed that over the years, Rep. Pelosi has received over half a million dollars from pro-Israel lobbying groups. 

The accusations from someone as powerful as Pelosi should unite people in outrage at the notion that, according to her, being American requires surrender to the genocide of another population. Code Pink, alongside a growing majority of Americans, staunchly rejects such a notion. 

The Palestinian death toll from a deadly Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip has reached 26,637 since October 7 last year, the Ministry of Health in the enclave said on Monday, Anadolu Agency reports.

Pelosi is facing criticism after suggesting some pro-Palestinian protesters are "connected to Russia," some US media reported. She told at a CNN program that for those to call for a ceasefire is Putin's message, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The comments came as pro-Palestinian protesters demanding a ceasefire in the Israel-Palestine war in Gaza have consistently interrupted US President Joe Biden's events as well as Pelosi's own recent event in Seattle, CNN said. And Pelosi suggested that some protesters are connected to Russia, saying that some financing should be investigated. 

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) on Sunday condemned Pelosi for linking pro-Palestinian protesters to Russia, the Hill reported. 

A short time after Pelosi's remarks aired on CNN, CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad condemned Pelosi's comments in a statement that referred to her remarks as an "unsubstantiated smear," according to the US media report. 

The same voices have persistently advocated for peace over the past 20 years. They are the activists who have rightfully objected to all of the US' deadly and destabilizing wars and foreign policies, including the Iraq war, which Pelosi has supported, Garriga said.

"This accusation leveled at antiwar dissent is a tale as old as time," she said. 

When the group Women's Strike for Peace formed in the sixties to oppose nuclear weapons, their activism landed them unjustly before the House Un-American Activities Committee. The same slanderous tactic was a popular choice by racist lawmakers who used it in an attempt to silence civil rights such as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, Garriga noted. 

The US has played a significant role in the suffering of Palestinians at the hands of Israel by maintaining its position as the biggest funder of Israel's military, Garriga said. 

"Despite Israel's genocide against Palestinians, the US has repeatedly expressed its support for the occupying forces and continues to send military aid so that the genocide continues," she said, noting that "we demand our government call for an immediate ceasefire and to cease all military aid to Israel and support Palestinian's legal right to return to their homelands."

"Also, we have no plans of stopping until the genocide ends, those responsible are held accountable and the Palestine is free," she added.