This is a video of Medea Benjamin at the border in Gaza last month, talking about Hamas and about women's rights in Palestine. I showed my wife and her friend this video and asked them their impression. "Sincere," was the first word out of both of their mouths. Benjamin grew up on Long Island in a family that supported Israel, and at 18 she changed her first name to Medea and began a life of travel and activism, culminating in her co-founding the antiwar group Code Pink. I hung out with Benjamin in Gaza and found her warm, funny, lowkey, effective. And like Greta Garbo in Ninotchka, she carries her own bags. It was her third trip to the territory since the slaughter of Dec-Jan. Benjamin doesn't do things halfway. She will be talking about her Gaza experience tomorrow night in New York at the Brecht Forum— along with Norman Finkelstein, Felice Gelman, Sammer Aboelela, and myself– at 6 p.m. 435 West Street, between Bank and Bethune.
