Bari Weiss, CBS News’ editor-in-chief and a journalist who embraced the “Zionist fanatic” label proudly, was heavily heckled while at a Chicago, Illinois, event by an activist screaming at her, “the bloody genocide in Palestine is on your hands.”
The clip itself was shared by activist group Code Pink, self-described as “transnational feminists for peace.” Weiss was moderating a Second Amendment debate at the Fine Arts Building in Chicago, featuring NRA spokeswoman Dana Loesch and gun control advocate Alan Dershowitz.
“You call yourself a journalist?” a Code Pink activist shouts at Weiss, as seen in the video. “You’re nothing but a hateful Zionist mouthpiece for the genocidal entity! Bari, the bloody genocide in Palestine is on your hands!“
The activist also mentioned Refaat Alareer, a Palestinian writer and activist who was killed alongside his family in an Israeli airstrike back on December 6, 2023. She, too, blamed Alareer’s death on Weiss, who publicly criticized him before his passing. The activist added that Weiss will be remembered as a Holocaust denier.
A ‘Zionist Fanatic,’ Reactions
Code Pink also called Weiss a “self-proclaimed Zionist fanatic.” This label stems from a 2018 The New York Times piece Weiss co-wrote with columnist Bret Stephens. They both quoted writer Andrew Sullivan describing each of them as a “Zionist fanatic of near-unhinged proportions.” Dismissing the “near,” both authors said they “plead guilty as charged.”
While some online users criticized the Chicago Code Pink activist, most of the responses to their video were supportive of the heckling.
“Just like how they do the Palestinians, never give them a moment’s peace,” one person wrote. A second commenter said, “Thanks you guys for the heavy lifting. We all appreciate it! [sic]” A third added, “You are an amazing women, let them know we won’t forget!“
Bari Weiss worked for The New York Times as an op-ed staff editor and writer from 2017 to 2020. Her hiring was an attempt to diversify the outlet’s ideological range. Following a controversial resignation, she launched Common Sense, a Substack newsletter later renamed The Free Press. Her media company of the same name was bought by Paramount Skydance in 2025, and she became the editor-in-chief of CBS News.
