Wed., October 12, 2011
6:30 PM
Mary Lou Leiser Smith
Edith Garwood
Covenant Presbyterian Church
100 E. Morehead St.
Charlotte, NC 28204
"Reality on the Ground: What About Human Rights"
Longtime educator and Middle East peace activist, Mary Lou is the founder and Coordinating Director of the Coalition for Peace with Justice. She also serves in a leadership capacity with other peace and human rights groups that support just peace efforts in Israel and Palestine. Her frequent travels to Israel-Palestine inform her work in education and advocacy of the dynamic changing realities that impact the prospects for justice and peace. Edie Garwood is Amnesty International's country specialist for Israel-Palestine.
Dinner Available Before the Event
Covenant Connection Dinner: 5:30 - 6:30 pm
$6/adults; $4/children and youth; $20 family
Dinner reservations and cancellations needed by noon each Monday prior to the Wed. event
Phone (704) 333-9071
Showing posts with label Palestine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Palestine. Show all posts
March 6: The Stories Behind The Jewish Boat to Gaza
The Stories Behind The Jewish Boat to Gaza
Sunday, March 6 2011
6:30pm - 8:30pm
Providence Road Baptist Church
4921 Randolph Road
Charlotte, NC
Come hear how an international crew consisting of an 82 year old Israeli Holocaust survivor, two Israeli Defense Force members, a founding member of the Bereaved Families Circle, an American whose family are Shoa survivors, and a German Jew by conversion joined a small ship bound for Gaza under the helm of British activist Glyn Secker. Boat Captain Secker and Holocaust survivor Reuven Moskovitz relate how all endured disparagement by their respective countrymen and governments, assault by the Israeli navy, and arrest by the Israeli government. Choosing to uphold fundamental Jewish values over Israeli government policies, their journey and sacrifices are a message of hope, solidarity and peace based on freedom, justice and human rights for all.
Sponsored by
Providence Baptist Church
St. Peter's Catholic Church
Muslim American Society of Charlotte (MAS)
Al-Awda of Charlotte
Amnesty International of Charlotte
Baptist Peace Fellowship North America
Facebook Event page for The Stories Behind The Jewish Boat to Gaza
Sunday, March 6 2011
6:30pm - 8:30pm
Providence Road Baptist Church
4921 Randolph Road
Charlotte, NC
Come hear how an international crew consisting of an 82 year old Israeli Holocaust survivor, two Israeli Defense Force members, a founding member of the Bereaved Families Circle, an American whose family are Shoa survivors, and a German Jew by conversion joined a small ship bound for Gaza under the helm of British activist Glyn Secker. Boat Captain Secker and Holocaust survivor Reuven Moskovitz relate how all endured disparagement by their respective countrymen and governments, assault by the Israeli navy, and arrest by the Israeli government. Choosing to uphold fundamental Jewish values over Israeli government policies, their journey and sacrifices are a message of hope, solidarity and peace based on freedom, justice and human rights for all.
Sponsored by
Providence Baptist Church
St. Peter's Catholic Church
Muslim American Society of Charlotte (MAS)
Al-Awda of Charlotte
Amnesty International of Charlotte
Baptist Peace Fellowship North America
Facebook Event page for The Stories Behind The Jewish Boat to Gaza
SIGN to Stop FBI Repression of Anti-War Activists NOW
International Action Center - iacenter.org
About the IAC | Donate | IAC Books & Resources | Contact Us | Sign the Petition! SIGN to Stop FBI Repression of Anti-War Activists NOW
Condemn the FBI Raids and Harassment of Anti-War and International Solidarity Activists!
Tell President Obama, Attorney General Holder, DOJ Inspector General Fine, the Senate and House Judiciary Committees, Congressional Leaders, U.N. Secy Gen Ban, and members of the media to STOP THE FBI CAMPAIGN OF REPRESSION AGAINST ANTI-WAR AND INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY ACTIVISTS NOW!
Sign the Petition Now: iacenter.org/stopfbi
**Stop the repression against anti-war and international solidarity activists.
**Immediately return all confiscated materials: computers, cell phones, papers, documents, etc.
**End the grand jury proceedings against anti-war activists.
Be part of the united opposition to this FBI campaign of harassment and intimidation. Make your voice heard!
The Committee to Stop FBI Repression ( stopfbi.net ) and the International Action Center urge you to sign the petition at iacenter.org/stopfbi demanding justice. Over a dozen activists across the country have already been raided. Only our united opposition will stop this harassment.
Your message will go to President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, Attorney General Eric Holder, DOJ Inspector General Fine, Congressional leaders, the Senate and House Judiciary Committees, U.N. Secretary General Ban, along with Major media representatives.
We denounce the Federal Bureau of Investigation harassment of anti-war and solidarity activists. The FBI raided seven houses and an office in Chicago and Minneapolis on Friday, September 24, 2010. The FBI served subpoenas to testify before a federal grand jury to 13 activists in Illinois, Minnesota, and Michigan. The FBI also attempted to intimidate activists in Wisconsin, California and North Carolina.
The FBI confiscated computers, email and mailing lists, cell phones , cameras, videos, books, and passports. This is a dangerous attack on the constitutional rights of free speech of every social justice, antiwar and human rights activist and organization in the U.S. today. The right to speak, meet and write opinions is guaranteed under the constitution.
This suppression of civil rights is aimed at those who dedicate their time and energy to supporting the struggles of the Palestinian and Colombian peoples against U.S. funded occupation and war. Grand Jury subpoenas investigating material support of terrorism are being used to silence highly respected and well known human rights activists. This is dangerous national effort to shut down growing opposition to U.S. wars. It cannot be allowed.
The FBI and the Grand Jury are threatening courageous individuals who have written and spoken publicly to broaden understanding of social justice issues of war and occupation. The activists are involved with many groups, including: the Twin Cities Anti-War Committee, the Palestine Solidarity Group, the Colombia Action Network, Students for a Democratic Society, and Freedom Road Socialist Organization. These activists came together with many others to organize the 2008 anti-war marches on the Republican National Convention in St. Paul.
We ask people of conscience to join us in fighting this political repression, as we continue working to build the movements against US war and occupation.
Sign the Petition Now: iacenter.org/stopfbi
Petition text:
To: President Barack Obama, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder
cc: Vice President Biden, DOJ Inspector General Fine, the Senate and House Judiciary Committees, Congressional Leaders, the Congressional Black Caucus, U.N. Secy Gen Ban, and members of the media
** Stop the repression against anti-war and international solidarity activists.
** Immediately return all confiscated materials: computers, cell phones, papers, documents, etc.
** End the grand jury proceedings against anti-war activists.
I am writing to demand justice and an end to the FBI's continued harassment of antiwar and international solidarity activists, activists who are guilty of no crime but opposition to U.S. foreign policy. On Friday, September 24, 2010 the FBI raided seven houses and an office in Chicago and Minneapolis. The FBI served subpoenas to testify before a federal grand jury to eleven activists in Illinois, Minnesota, and Michigan. The FBI also attempted to intimidate activists in California, Wisconsin and North Carolina. This is not the action of a lone prosecutor. The raids were coordinated nationally, spanned several cities, and many other activists have been visited and personally threatened by the FBI.
The FBI confiscated computers, email and mailing lists, cell phones , cameras, videos, books, and passports. This is a dangerous attack on the constitutional rights of free speech of every social justice, antiwar and human rights activist and organization in the U.S. today. The right to speak, meet and write opinions is guaranteed under the constitution.
This suppression of civil rights is aimed at those who dedicate their time and energy to supporting the struggles of the Palestinian and Colombian peoples against U.S. funded occupation and war. Grand Jury subpoenas investigating material support of terrorism are being used to silence highly respected and well known human rights activists. This is a dangerous national effort to shut down growing opposition to U.S. wars. It cannot be allowed.
The FBI and the Grand Jury are threatening courageous individuals who have written and spoken publicly to broaden understanding of social justice issues of war and occupation. The activists are involved with many groups, including: the Twin Cities Anti-War Committee, the Palestine Solidarity Group, the Colombia Action Network, Students for a Democratic Society, and Freedom Road Socialist Organization. These activists came together with many others to organize the 2008 anti-war marches on the Republican National Convention in St. Paul.
The FBI and the U.S. government must end this campaign of intimidation against anti-war and international solidarity activists. I am outraged at this disrespect of democratic rights. I ask that you intervene immediately to:
** Stop the repression against anti-war and international solidarity activists.
** Immediately return all confiscated materials: computers, cell phones, papers, documents, etc.
** End the grand jury proceedings against anti-war activists.
Sincerely
(your signature here)
Sign the Petition Now: iacenter.org/stopfbi
You can also call the U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder at 202-353l-1555 or write an email to: AskDOJ@usdoj.gov demanding an end to the FBI raids, return of all confiscated materials and an end to the Grand Jury witchhunt.
Contact the Committee to Stop FBI Repression
at stopfbi.net
Outraged by FBI raids: U.S. activists call emergency actions
Download PDF flyer: Stop FBI Repression
By Kris Hamel
Detroit
Detroit
Sep 29, 2010
The day after the Sept. 24 multistate raids and grand jury subpoenas, a broad range of progressive activists and community members denounced the FBI at a rally at the federal building in downtown Milwaukee.
 New York, Sept. 28. photo: Greg Butterfield " border="0"> New York, Sept. 28. photo: Greg Butterfield photo: Greg Butterfield |
Progressive activists and organizations across the U.S. began immediately to galvanize a struggle upon learning of the outrageous attacks carried out against solidarity activists by federal agents and the Obama administration. Demonstrations have been called in at least 32 cities and towns from coast to coast.
“The FBI is trying to round people up and scare activists from doing solidarity work with people in other nations, oppressed nations around the world. They’re trying to scare us into silence,” said Natasha Morgan of the Colombia Action Network and the Freedom Road Socialist Organization.
 |
| Rally in Washington, DC |
| The national headquarters of the FBI in Washington, D.C., was the scene of a spirited picket line and rally Sept. 28 to protest the FBI raids. Almost every progressive group in the area was represented, including Bailout the People Movement, International Action Center, Black is Back Coalition, Rev. Graylan Hagler, National Lawyers Guild, Code Pink, Students for a Democratic Society, Answer Coalition, Veterans for Peace, Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador, International Socialist Organization, Green Party, Students for Justice in Palestine, and Workers World Party. Participants attempted to enter the FBI building to deliver a list of demands. Police and FBI agents quickly locked the doors to stop activists from getting inside. Groups vowed to continue with protests. photo: Sharon Black |
Morgan and another Milwaukee activist in Students for a Democratic Society were contacted by the FBI via phone on Sept. 24. They told the FBI that legal counsel was being retained and immediately ended the calls.
The rally was sponsored by SDS Milwaukee and was attended by representatives of the Milwaukee Graduate Assistants Association-American Federation of Teachers Local 2169; American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 82; the Latin America Solidarity Committee; Workers World Party; and other organizations.
On Sept. 27 in Minneapolis, more than 500 demonstrators gathered at the FBI headquarters. They chanted, “From Colombia to Palestine, solidarity is not a crime!” and spoke out against the raids.
Speakers included activists whose homes were raided, as well as representatives of the labor, anti-war and social justice movements. Speaker after speaker expressed support and solidarity with their fellow activists who had been targeted.
 Minneapolis Photo: Fight Back! News " border="0"> Minneapolis Photo: Fight Back! News |
“This is an attack on our ideas,” stated Jess Sundin of the Anti-War Committee, whose home was raided. “These actions by the FBI will not intimidate us nor will they silence us. ... Standing up for truth and justice is not a crime!”
Clyde Bellecourt, founder and national director of the American Indian Movement, urged support for those facing the grand jury. He recalled the brutal FBI repression suffered by Native Americans in the 1970s during the occupation of Wounded Knee.
In Detroit, the Sept. 27 weekly meeting of the Michigan Emergency Committee Against War and Injustice heard from Tom Burke of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, one of the subpoenaed activists who now lives in Grand Rapids, Mich.
 Detroit/Tom Burke, FRSO, speaks. " border="0"> Detroit/Tom Burke, FRSO, speaks. photo: Bryan G. Pfeifer |
“What this centers around is our international solidarity work and the fact that we are all deeply internationalist,” said Burke. “The FBI agents told us directly that their goal is to find evidence to support charges of terrorism. They won’t find it.” Burke said he attended a demonstration against the raids earlier that day in Kalamazoo, Mich.
In downtown Durham, N.C., more than 50 community members and activists rallied Sept. 27 in support of Kosta Harlan, a Durham anti-war activist with the Colombia Action Network and Students for a Democratic Society, and to oppose the FBI’s targeting of other activists across the country.
 Durham, N.C./Kosta Harlan, a target of FBI, at protest." border="0"> Durham, N.C./Kosta Harlan, a target of FBI, at protest. Photo: Raleigh FIST |
Four FBI agents visited Harlan on the morning of Sept. 24 and attempted to intimidate him.
“I believe that I am being targeted for my anti-war activism,” said Harlan. “Everyone who believes in ... basic democratic freedoms should be concerned by the FBI’s disgraceful actions. All of my organizing work is public and perfectly legal. I call on all people of conscience to speak out against these violations of our fundamental rights.”
Black Workers for Justice; the Muslim American Society Freedom Foundation; NC Peace Action; Raleigh Fight Imperialism, Stand Together (FIST); members of UE Local 150, NC Public Sector Workers Union; and people from other progressive organizations attended the rally, which was followed by a “Know Your Rights” training session provided by the National Lawyers Guild.
In Raleigh, N.C., dozens of social justice, anti-war, and immigrant rights activists gathered the morning of Sept. 28 in front of the New Bern Avenue Federal Building to denounce the raids and harassment. The protest included members of FIST, SDS, MASFF, NLG and Black Workers for Justice.
A rally was held in Atlanta in front of the Richard Russell building Sept. 28. Activists represented the IAC, ACLU, SEIU, UNITE HERE and Georgia Peace and Justice Coalition.
A spirited demonstration in Boston picketed and chanted outside the JFK Federal Building the afternoon of Sept. 27. The protest was co-sponsored by the Boston Mayday Committee and the International Action Center.
 Boston " border="0"> Boston photo: Steve Kirschbaum |
Activists from many organizations in the anti-war movement participated, as well as civil liberties and immigrant rights activists. Chants and slogans demanded an end to the raids, and that all confiscated materials be returned. Immigration raids were linked to the FBI raids on activists.
 Buffalo, N.Y." border="0"> Buffalo, N.Y. photo: Ellie Dorritie |
Speakers brought up the history of state repression going back to the Palmer Raids and emphasized the importance of standing up in solidarity, uniting and fighting back.
Ellie Dorritie, Leslie Feinberg, Peter Gilbert, Bryan G. Pfeifer, Dianne Mathiowetz, Frank Neisser and Scott Williams contributed to this article. Information on the Minnesota action was taken from www.fightbacknews.org.
Get involved! Become part of the Committee to Stop FBI Repression! go to stopfbi.net
July 6: National Protests To End Siege Of Gaza During Israeli PM Netanyahu Meeting With Obama
Tuesday, July 6:
End the siege of Gaza! End all U.S. aid to Israel!
Demonstrations to take place as Netanyahu meets with Pres. Obama
All out July 6th -- we need your support!
Demonstrations to take place as Netanyahu meets with Pres. Obama
All out July 6th -- we need your support!
Washington, D.C.
Where: White House
When: 10 am
Email: dc@answercoalition.org
Phone: 202-265-1948
San Francisco, Calif.
Where: Israeli Consulate (456 Montgomery St.)
When: 4:30 p.m.
Email: answer@answersf.org
Phone: 415-821-6545
Los Angeles, Calif.
Where: Westwood Federal Building (11000 Wilshire Blvd.)
When: 5 p.m.
Email: answerla@answerla.org
Phone: 213-251-1025
Syracuse, N.Y.
Where: Federal Building (Washington and Clinton)
When: 12 noon
Email: syracuse@answercoalition.org
Phone: 315-491-6987
Charlotte, NC
Where: Federal Building (401 W. Trade St)
When: 12 noon
Email: charlotteaction@gmail.com
Phone: 704-759-6529
On the eve of his White House visit Netanyahu’s government just announced its latest Gaza-propaganda ploy to derail the growing global movement to end the criminal siege. On Monday, Israel dropped its restrictions on some consumer goods into the Gaza Strip but retained tight limits on desperately needed construction materials. Israel announced that they would bar steel, concrete and other construction materials and many other goods. This makes it impossible to rebuild from the massive destruction caused by Israel’s murderous bombing campaign in 2008-2009.
Netanyahu is responding to the growing chorus of international outrage but with the goal of allowing President Obama to pat him on the back and announce that the new Israeli policy is a "step forward." It is up to each and every one of us to keep the pressure on the White House! That is what is making the difference.
A truly historic victory was won on June 20, 2010 at the Port of Oakland. For the first time ever, an Israeli ship was prevented from loading/unloading cargo in a U.S. port. The full-day shut down of work on a Zim Navigations (the national shipping line of the Israel) ship was the result of powerful picket lines at all four gates at the SSA terminal.
Next step: On July 6, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu will be in Washington meeting with President Obama. The meeting was originally scheduled for June 1, the day after the deadly and piratical Israeli attack on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla. That brutal assault has triggered a wave of international outrage and protest, of which the June 20 port shutdown was the latest manifestation.
Read the full statement here.
Your support is needed now to make the July 6 demonstrations and the other activities that will follow as successful as possible.
Lift The Siege of Gaza & End The Occupation Of Palestine!
No More U.S. Aid To Israeli Apartheid!
Hold Israel Accountable - Sanctions For Israel!
Tues., July 6, 2010
12 Noon
Federal Building
401 W. Trade St
Charlotte, NC
Charlotte protest initiated & sponsored by:
Action Center For Justice
Al-Awda, Palestine Right To Return Coalition - Charlotte
Students For A Democratic Society (SDS) - UNCC
CODEPINK Women For Peace - Charlotte
Movement For A Democratic Society (MDS) - Charlotte
Charlotte 4 Palestine
& others
*******************
Action Center For Justice
http://www.charlotteaction.
charlotteaction@gmail.com
704-759-6529
BitTorrent Live Stream Brings Film Festival to Gaza
By Ernesto, TorrentFreak, June 11, 2010
BitTorrent is the most effective way to share large files online, but it can also be used to stream live events. In some cases it’s the only way for people to access cultural events. After a Palestinian filmmaker was denied a visa to visit a film festival in Norway where one of his films is to be screened, the festival’s organizers are turning to BitTorrent to stream the festival live to Gaza.
This weekend, the International “Nordic Youth Film Festival” takes place in Tromsø, Norway. As is the case every year, the festival’s organizers have invited young filmmakers from all over the world to show their work, but not all were allowed to come. Despite an invite, the Palestinian director of Ticket to Azrael was prevented from flying to Norway by the authorities.
“It’s not a secret that the blockade in the Middle East prevents vital resources like water, food and medicines going to the needy people in Palestine. But it is perhaps not as general known that normal people who are traveling out of the area are denied a visa,” the festival organizers write in a blog post commenting on the issue. Luckily, with BitTorrent the filmmaker can still follow the festival.
The Norwegian film festival has close ties to the people of Gaza. The festival’s organizers have previously invited its young filmmakers and after the 2008/2009 siege they continued to collaborate on film workshops over the Internet. This year, due to the political situation, they’re going to take it up a notch by offering a BitTorrent-powered live stream to people all over the world, including Gaza.
The BitTorrent stream that the festival will use is facilitated by The Far North Living Lab which has experience with the technology. Last year the lab kicked off with a spectacular experiment in which they used BitTorrent to stream a 2K resolution film onto the big screen, and a few months later they hosted the first BitTorrent-powered live streamed concert.
The Far North Living Lab start their live stream from the festival tonight during the opening. In order to get the stream to Gaza and other parts of the Internet they’ve set up a BitTorrent-powered live stream (approx 1.1mbit h264, full PAL resolution) that will be transmitting from Norway’s oldest still-used cinema. Similar to the previous projects, the lab’s researchers are using the P2P-Next codebase.
“This is an important opportunity to reach our goal for an international awareness of Youth Cinema,” festival director Hermann Greuel told TorrentFreak.
An important aspect is that through the stream young filmmakers in Gaza can follow the festival. “The current stream will not be possible on a central place or event in Gaza due to special permissions from the Gaza government, but the stream is available in Gaza,” he added.
It’s good to see that there are filmmakers and enthusiasts who put BitTorrent to creative use, rather than simply accusing the technology of facilitating copyright infringement.
Readers who want to check out the stream can do so from 6 PM CET.
BitTorrent is the most effective way to share large files online, but it can also be used to stream live events. In some cases it’s the only way for people to access cultural events. After a Palestinian filmmaker was denied a visa to visit a film festival in Norway where one of his films is to be screened, the festival’s organizers are turning to BitTorrent to stream the festival live to Gaza.
This weekend, the International “Nordic Youth Film Festival” takes place in Tromsø, Norway. As is the case every year, the festival’s organizers have invited young filmmakers from all over the world to show their work, but not all were allowed to come. Despite an invite, the Palestinian director of Ticket to Azrael was prevented from flying to Norway by the authorities.
“It’s not a secret that the blockade in the Middle East prevents vital resources like water, food and medicines going to the needy people in Palestine. But it is perhaps not as general known that normal people who are traveling out of the area are denied a visa,” the festival organizers write in a blog post commenting on the issue. Luckily, with BitTorrent the filmmaker can still follow the festival.
The Norwegian film festival has close ties to the people of Gaza. The festival’s organizers have previously invited its young filmmakers and after the 2008/2009 siege they continued to collaborate on film workshops over the Internet. This year, due to the political situation, they’re going to take it up a notch by offering a BitTorrent-powered live stream to people all over the world, including Gaza.
The BitTorrent stream that the festival will use is facilitated by The Far North Living Lab which has experience with the technology. Last year the lab kicked off with a spectacular experiment in which they used BitTorrent to stream a 2K resolution film onto the big screen, and a few months later they hosted the first BitTorrent-powered live streamed concert.
The Far North Living Lab start their live stream from the festival tonight during the opening. In order to get the stream to Gaza and other parts of the Internet they’ve set up a BitTorrent-powered live stream (approx 1.1mbit h264, full PAL resolution) that will be transmitting from Norway’s oldest still-used cinema. Similar to the previous projects, the lab’s researchers are using the P2P-Next codebase.
“This is an important opportunity to reach our goal for an international awareness of Youth Cinema,” festival director Hermann Greuel told TorrentFreak.
An important aspect is that through the stream young filmmakers in Gaza can follow the festival. “The current stream will not be possible on a central place or event in Gaza due to special permissions from the Gaza government, but the stream is available in Gaza,” he added.
It’s good to see that there are filmmakers and enthusiasts who put BitTorrent to creative use, rather than simply accusing the technology of facilitating copyright infringement.
Readers who want to check out the stream can do so from 6 PM CET.
Israeli document: Gaza blockade isn't about security
By Sheera Frenkel, McClatchy Newspapers, June 9, 2010
JERUSALEM — As Israel ordered a slight easing of its blockade of the Gaza Strip Wednesday, McClatchy obtained an Israeli government document that describes the blockade not as a security measure but as "economic warfare" against the Islamist group Hamas, which rules the Palestinian territory.
Israel imposed severe restrictions on Gaza in June 2007, after Hamas won elections and took control of the coastal enclave after winning elections there the previous year, and the government has long said that the aim of the blockade is to stem the flow of weapons to militants in Gaza.
Last week, after Israeli commandos killed nine volunteers on a Turkish-organized Gaza aid flotilla, Israel again said its aim was to stop the flow of terrorist arms into Gaza.
However, in response to a lawsuit by Gisha, an Israeli human rights group, the Israeli government explained the blockade as an exercise of the right of economic warfare.
"A country has the right to decide that it chooses not to engage in economic relations or to give economic assistance to the other party to the conflict, or that it wishes to operate using 'economic warfare,'" the government said.
McClatchy obtained the government's written statement from Gisha, the Legal Center for Freedom of Movement, which sued the government for information about the blockade. The Israeli high court upheld the suit, and the government delivered its statement earlier this year.
Sari Bashi, the director of Gisha, said the documents prove that Israel isn't imposing its blockade for its stated reasons, but rather as collective punishment for the Palestinian population of Gaza. Gisha focuses on Palestinian rights.
(A State Department spokesman, who wasn't authorized to speak for the record, said he hadn't seen the documents in question.)
The Israeli government took an additional step Wednesday and said the economic warfare is intended to achieve a political goal. A government spokesman, who couldn't be named as a matter of policy, told McClatchy that authorities will continue to ease the blockade but "could not lift the embargo altogether as long as Hamas remains in control" of Gaza.
President Barack Obama, after receiving Mahmoud Abbas, the head of the Palestinian Authority, said the situation in Gaza is "unsustainable." He pledged an additional $400 million in aid for housing, school construction and roads to improve daily life for Palestinians — of which at least $30 million is earmarked for Gaza.
Israel's blockade of Gaza includes a complex and ever-changing list of goods that are allowed in. Items such as cement or metal are barred because they can be used for military purposes, Israeli officials say.
According to figures published by Gisha in coordination with the United Nations, Israel allows in 25 percent of the goods it had permitted into Gaza before the Hamas takeover. In the years prior to the closure, Israel allowed an average of 10,400 trucks to enter Gaza with goods each month. Israel now allows approximately 2,500 trucks a month.
The figures show that Israel also has limited the goods allowed to enter Gaza to 40 types of items, while before June 2007 approximately 4,000 types of goods were listed as entering Gaza.
Israel expanded its list slightly Wednesday to include soda, juice, jam, spices, shaving cream, potato chips, cookies and candy, said Palestinian liaison official Raed Fattouh, who coordinates the flow of goods into Gaza with Israel.
"I think Israel wants to defuse international pressure," said Fattouh. "They want to show people that they are allowing things into Gaza."
It was the first tangible step taken by Israel in the wake of the unprecedented international criticism it's faced over the blockade following last week's Israeli raid on the high seas.
While there have been mounting calls for an investigation into the manner in which Israel intercepted the flotilla, world leaders have also called for Israel to lift its blockade on Gaza.
At his meeting with Abbas, Obama said the Security Council had called for a "credible, transparent investigation that met international standards." He added: "And we meant what we said. That's what we expect."
He also called for an easing of Israel's blockade. "It seems to us that there should be ways of focusing narrowly on arms shipments, rather than focusing in a blanket way on stopping everything and then, in a piecemeal way, allowing things into Gaza," he told reporters.
Egypt, which controls much of Gaza's southern border, reopened the Rafah crossing this week in response to international pressure to lift the blockade.
Egypt has long been considered Israel's partner in enforcing the blockade, but Egyptian Foreign Minister Hossam Zaki said the Rafah crossing will remain open indefinitely for Gazans with special permits. In the past, the border has been opened sporadically.
Maxwell Gaylard, the U.N.'s humanitarian coordinator in the Palestinian territories, said the international community is seeking an "urgent and fundamental change" in Israel's policy regarding Gaza rather than a piecemeal approach.
"A modest expansion of the restrictive list of goods allowed into Gaza falls well short of what is needed. We need a fundamental change and an opening of crossings for commercial goods," he said.
Hamas officials said that they were "disappointed" by Israel's announcement, and that the goods fell far short of what was actually needed.
"They will send the first course. We are waiting for the main course," Palestinian Economy Minister Hassan Abu Libdeh said in Ramallah, specifying that construction materials were the item that Gazans need most. Many Palestinians have been unable to build their homes in the wake of Operation Cast Lead, Israel's punishing offensive in the Gaza Strip in December 2008 and January 2009.
Israel said the cement and other construction goods could be used to build bunkers and other military installations.
Some of those goods already come into Gaza via the smuggling tunnels that connect it to Egypt.
(Frenkel, a McClatchy special correspondent, reported from Jerusalem. Warren P. Strobel and Steven Thomma contributed to this article from Washington.)
JERUSALEM — As Israel ordered a slight easing of its blockade of the Gaza Strip Wednesday, McClatchy obtained an Israeli government document that describes the blockade not as a security measure but as "economic warfare" against the Islamist group Hamas, which rules the Palestinian territory.
Israel imposed severe restrictions on Gaza in June 2007, after Hamas won elections and took control of the coastal enclave after winning elections there the previous year, and the government has long said that the aim of the blockade is to stem the flow of weapons to militants in Gaza.
Last week, after Israeli commandos killed nine volunteers on a Turkish-organized Gaza aid flotilla, Israel again said its aim was to stop the flow of terrorist arms into Gaza.
However, in response to a lawsuit by Gisha, an Israeli human rights group, the Israeli government explained the blockade as an exercise of the right of economic warfare.
"A country has the right to decide that it chooses not to engage in economic relations or to give economic assistance to the other party to the conflict, or that it wishes to operate using 'economic warfare,'" the government said.
McClatchy obtained the government's written statement from Gisha, the Legal Center for Freedom of Movement, which sued the government for information about the blockade. The Israeli high court upheld the suit, and the government delivered its statement earlier this year.
Sari Bashi, the director of Gisha, said the documents prove that Israel isn't imposing its blockade for its stated reasons, but rather as collective punishment for the Palestinian population of Gaza. Gisha focuses on Palestinian rights.
(A State Department spokesman, who wasn't authorized to speak for the record, said he hadn't seen the documents in question.)
The Israeli government took an additional step Wednesday and said the economic warfare is intended to achieve a political goal. A government spokesman, who couldn't be named as a matter of policy, told McClatchy that authorities will continue to ease the blockade but "could not lift the embargo altogether as long as Hamas remains in control" of Gaza.
President Barack Obama, after receiving Mahmoud Abbas, the head of the Palestinian Authority, said the situation in Gaza is "unsustainable." He pledged an additional $400 million in aid for housing, school construction and roads to improve daily life for Palestinians — of which at least $30 million is earmarked for Gaza.
Israel's blockade of Gaza includes a complex and ever-changing list of goods that are allowed in. Items such as cement or metal are barred because they can be used for military purposes, Israeli officials say.
According to figures published by Gisha in coordination with the United Nations, Israel allows in 25 percent of the goods it had permitted into Gaza before the Hamas takeover. In the years prior to the closure, Israel allowed an average of 10,400 trucks to enter Gaza with goods each month. Israel now allows approximately 2,500 trucks a month.
The figures show that Israel also has limited the goods allowed to enter Gaza to 40 types of items, while before June 2007 approximately 4,000 types of goods were listed as entering Gaza.
Israel expanded its list slightly Wednesday to include soda, juice, jam, spices, shaving cream, potato chips, cookies and candy, said Palestinian liaison official Raed Fattouh, who coordinates the flow of goods into Gaza with Israel.
"I think Israel wants to defuse international pressure," said Fattouh. "They want to show people that they are allowing things into Gaza."
It was the first tangible step taken by Israel in the wake of the unprecedented international criticism it's faced over the blockade following last week's Israeli raid on the high seas.
While there have been mounting calls for an investigation into the manner in which Israel intercepted the flotilla, world leaders have also called for Israel to lift its blockade on Gaza.
At his meeting with Abbas, Obama said the Security Council had called for a "credible, transparent investigation that met international standards." He added: "And we meant what we said. That's what we expect."
He also called for an easing of Israel's blockade. "It seems to us that there should be ways of focusing narrowly on arms shipments, rather than focusing in a blanket way on stopping everything and then, in a piecemeal way, allowing things into Gaza," he told reporters.
Egypt, which controls much of Gaza's southern border, reopened the Rafah crossing this week in response to international pressure to lift the blockade.
Egypt has long been considered Israel's partner in enforcing the blockade, but Egyptian Foreign Minister Hossam Zaki said the Rafah crossing will remain open indefinitely for Gazans with special permits. In the past, the border has been opened sporadically.
Maxwell Gaylard, the U.N.'s humanitarian coordinator in the Palestinian territories, said the international community is seeking an "urgent and fundamental change" in Israel's policy regarding Gaza rather than a piecemeal approach.
"A modest expansion of the restrictive list of goods allowed into Gaza falls well short of what is needed. We need a fundamental change and an opening of crossings for commercial goods," he said.
Hamas officials said that they were "disappointed" by Israel's announcement, and that the goods fell far short of what was actually needed.
"They will send the first course. We are waiting for the main course," Palestinian Economy Minister Hassan Abu Libdeh said in Ramallah, specifying that construction materials were the item that Gazans need most. Many Palestinians have been unable to build their homes in the wake of Operation Cast Lead, Israel's punishing offensive in the Gaza Strip in December 2008 and January 2009.
Israel said the cement and other construction goods could be used to build bunkers and other military installations.
Some of those goods already come into Gaza via the smuggling tunnels that connect it to Egypt.
(Frenkel, a McClatchy special correspondent, reported from Jerusalem. Warren P. Strobel and Steven Thomma contributed to this article from Washington.)
June 5: Global Day To Break The Israeli Siege Of Gaza & Support Aid Flotilla
Sat., June 5, 2010
1:00 PM
Caterpillar
9000 Statesville Rd
Charlotte, NC
(protest at corner of WT Harris Blvd & Statesville Rd)
We will demonstrate in front of Caterkiller in solidarity with the Freedom Flotilla taking humanitarian aid to Gaza. This day also marks the 43rd anniversary of Israel's Six Day War in 1967 against Palestine & her neighbors.
The company which best exemplifies the interest of US corporations in the Occupation and the complete refusal to address human rights concerns in the region is Caterpillar. The most destructive weapon of the Occupation may not be an F-16 or helicopter gunship, but rather, an armor plated D-9 or D-11 bulldozer. These are the machines that have demolished thousands of homes, uprooted countless olive trees, and carved gaping holes in roads, making them impassable. Even when used in Israel’s colonial intrusions on the land through construction of illegal housing or bypass roads, CAT equipment is being used daily in the commission of war crimes and violations of human rights.
Call for Action: Global Day to Break Israeli Siege
Today we watched with horror as Israel committed its massacre against the Freedom Flotilla to Gaza murdering at least 9 unarmed civilians and leaving over 50 injured. The peaceful Flotilla carrying over 10,000 tones of humanitarian aid to Gaza and over 700 pro-Palestinian activists was attacked by Israeli Navy forces using live ammunition, teargas, grenades…etc.
The Israeli apartheid state has again acted in full impunity against international law and needs to be held accountable for the murder of unarmed civilians at sea and illegal barbaric piracy of civilian vessels in international water carrying humanitarian aid for Gaza.
In memory of the brave men and women who lost their lives on the Freedom Flotilla to Gaza, today we are calling all free citizens and people of conscience around the world to a Global Day of Action to carry forward Freedom Flotilla’s cause of breaking the Israeli siege of Gaza.
Let’s mark Saturday, 5th June 2010 as Global Day to Break Israeli Siege with protests and demonstrations in front of Israeli embassies and consulates all over the world. We call on you to join us on this day to demand in a global united voice, from our governments to:
- Take a stance against this horrid inhumanity committed by Israel against armless humanitarians and activists by following Turkey’s footsteps in shutting down Israeli’s consulates. Crimes against inhumanity are inexcusable and will not be welcome in our countries.
- Join the growing international Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement in cutting all political, economic, cultural and academic ties with Israel as a statement that crimes against humanity are inexcusable, unwelcome and will not pass unchallenged.
- Impose full sanctions against Israel until they fully abide by international law and UN conventions in relation to the siege in Gaza, occupation and apartheid in Palestine as well as the right of return of refugees.
- If you do not have an Israeli embassy in your country, protest in front of major corporations or institutions with economic, political, cultural or academic ties with Israel.
We stand today at an urgent and critical point in our global quest for justice and human rights. The brutal attack on activists aboard the Gaza Freedom Flotilla, resulting in at least 9 deaths and tens of injuries, proves that Zionism indiscriminately targets human rights advocates of all nationalities. We must not allow this massacre to pass quietly.
Please register your event on Global Day to Break Israeli Siege by sending us an email to support@breaksiege.com or by submitting your event details here.
Join the growing critical mass around the world with a commitment to the day when Palestinians are entitled to the same rights as any other people, when the siege is lifted, the occupation is over and the 6 million Palestinian refugees are finally granted justice.
For more information:
http://charlotteaction.blogspot.com
For more info on the Global Day To Break The Israeli Siege of Gaza:
http://www.breaksiege.com/
http://gazafreedommarch.org
1:00 PM
Caterpillar
9000 Statesville Rd
Charlotte, NC
(protest at corner of WT Harris Blvd & Statesville Rd)
We will demonstrate in front of Caterkiller in solidarity with the Freedom Flotilla taking humanitarian aid to Gaza. This day also marks the 43rd anniversary of Israel's Six Day War in 1967 against Palestine & her neighbors.The company which best exemplifies the interest of US corporations in the Occupation and the complete refusal to address human rights concerns in the region is Caterpillar. The most destructive weapon of the Occupation may not be an F-16 or helicopter gunship, but rather, an armor plated D-9 or D-11 bulldozer. These are the machines that have demolished thousands of homes, uprooted countless olive trees, and carved gaping holes in roads, making them impassable. Even when used in Israel’s colonial intrusions on the land through construction of illegal housing or bypass roads, CAT equipment is being used daily in the commission of war crimes and violations of human rights.
Call for Action: Global Day to Break Israeli Siege
Today we watched with horror as Israel committed its massacre against the Freedom Flotilla to Gaza murdering at least 9 unarmed civilians and leaving over 50 injured. The peaceful Flotilla carrying over 10,000 tones of humanitarian aid to Gaza and over 700 pro-Palestinian activists was attacked by Israeli Navy forces using live ammunition, teargas, grenades…etc.
The Israeli apartheid state has again acted in full impunity against international law and needs to be held accountable for the murder of unarmed civilians at sea and illegal barbaric piracy of civilian vessels in international water carrying humanitarian aid for Gaza.
In memory of the brave men and women who lost their lives on the Freedom Flotilla to Gaza, today we are calling all free citizens and people of conscience around the world to a Global Day of Action to carry forward Freedom Flotilla’s cause of breaking the Israeli siege of Gaza.
Let’s mark Saturday, 5th June 2010 as Global Day to Break Israeli Siege with protests and demonstrations in front of Israeli embassies and consulates all over the world. We call on you to join us on this day to demand in a global united voice, from our governments to:
- Take a stance against this horrid inhumanity committed by Israel against armless humanitarians and activists by following Turkey’s footsteps in shutting down Israeli’s consulates. Crimes against inhumanity are inexcusable and will not be welcome in our countries.
- Join the growing international Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement in cutting all political, economic, cultural and academic ties with Israel as a statement that crimes against humanity are inexcusable, unwelcome and will not pass unchallenged.
- Impose full sanctions against Israel until they fully abide by international law and UN conventions in relation to the siege in Gaza, occupation and apartheid in Palestine as well as the right of return of refugees.
- If you do not have an Israeli embassy in your country, protest in front of major corporations or institutions with economic, political, cultural or academic ties with Israel.
We stand today at an urgent and critical point in our global quest for justice and human rights. The brutal attack on activists aboard the Gaza Freedom Flotilla, resulting in at least 9 deaths and tens of injuries, proves that Zionism indiscriminately targets human rights advocates of all nationalities. We must not allow this massacre to pass quietly.
Please register your event on Global Day to Break Israeli Siege by sending us an email to support@breaksiege.com or by submitting your event details here.
Join the growing critical mass around the world with a commitment to the day when Palestinians are entitled to the same rights as any other people, when the siege is lifted, the occupation is over and the 6 million Palestinian refugees are finally granted justice.
For more information:
http://charlotteaction.blogspot.com
For more info on the Global Day To Break The Israeli Siege of Gaza:
http://www.breaksiege.com/
http://gazafreedommarch.org
Israel using 'pirated' footage to defend raid: media body
TurkishPress.com, June 3, 2010
JERUSALEM — The Israeli military's YouTube site is using 'pirated' footage confiscated from journalists on board a Turkish vessel in a bid to defend its botched flotilla raid, a press body charged on Thursday.
"The Foreign Press Association (FPA) strongly condemns the use of photos and video material shot by foreign journalists, now being put out by the IDF (Israel Defence Forces) spokesman's office as 'captured material'," a statement from the organisation said.
The complaint centres on footage shot on board the Mavi Marmara passenger ship, which was the focus of a deadly Israeli commando raid at dawn Monday, in which nine foreign aid activists were killed, provoking an international outcry.
One of the clips on YouTube, entitled: "Flotilla Passenger: I Want to Be a Shahid (Martyr)" shows a passenger being interviewed on the boat before the raid, by someone holding a microphone with 'Press TV' stamped on it.
The 23-second clip, in which the man talks about wanting to become a martyr, is not credited to any journalist or media outlet, and only described as "footage captured on the Gaza flotilla."
Several other unattributed clips shown on the IDF's YouTube channel also feature "footage captured on the Mavi Marmara" -- one of which shows activists hurling objects and hosing down troops trying to board the vessel from an assault craft.
"The material and/or equipment that was confiscated from journalists covering the events on the ships, should be returned to the owners and their media organisations," the FPA said.
"The use of this material without permission from the relevant media organisations is a clear violation of journalistic ethics and unacceptable," it said, warning media outlets to treat such material "with caution."
"We call upon the authorities to immediately clarify the source of the material."
The army had no immediate comment on the exact source of the footage, with a spokesman saying only it was "found" on board the Marmara after it was taken over by troops following the bloody operation.
Nearly 700 passengers were travelling on board the aid fleet, of which around 60 were journalists, press freedom group Reporters Without Borders said earlier this week, including correspondents from Al Jazeera, Al Arabiya and the Sydney Morning Herald.
Since Monday, the army has broadcast more than a dozen video clips on YouTube in a bid to back up its claim that the activists on the boat were not harmless peaceniks but Islamists bent on violence.
JERUSALEM — The Israeli military's YouTube site is using 'pirated' footage confiscated from journalists on board a Turkish vessel in a bid to defend its botched flotilla raid, a press body charged on Thursday.
"The Foreign Press Association (FPA) strongly condemns the use of photos and video material shot by foreign journalists, now being put out by the IDF (Israel Defence Forces) spokesman's office as 'captured material'," a statement from the organisation said.
The complaint centres on footage shot on board the Mavi Marmara passenger ship, which was the focus of a deadly Israeli commando raid at dawn Monday, in which nine foreign aid activists were killed, provoking an international outcry.
One of the clips on YouTube, entitled: "Flotilla Passenger: I Want to Be a Shahid (Martyr)" shows a passenger being interviewed on the boat before the raid, by someone holding a microphone with 'Press TV' stamped on it.
The 23-second clip, in which the man talks about wanting to become a martyr, is not credited to any journalist or media outlet, and only described as "footage captured on the Gaza flotilla."
Several other unattributed clips shown on the IDF's YouTube channel also feature "footage captured on the Mavi Marmara" -- one of which shows activists hurling objects and hosing down troops trying to board the vessel from an assault craft.
"The material and/or equipment that was confiscated from journalists covering the events on the ships, should be returned to the owners and their media organisations," the FPA said.
"The use of this material without permission from the relevant media organisations is a clear violation of journalistic ethics and unacceptable," it said, warning media outlets to treat such material "with caution."
"We call upon the authorities to immediately clarify the source of the material."
The army had no immediate comment on the exact source of the footage, with a spokesman saying only it was "found" on board the Marmara after it was taken over by troops following the bloody operation.
Nearly 700 passengers were travelling on board the aid fleet, of which around 60 were journalists, press freedom group Reporters Without Borders said earlier this week, including correspondents from Al Jazeera, Al Arabiya and the Sydney Morning Herald.
Since Monday, the army has broadcast more than a dozen video clips on YouTube in a bid to back up its claim that the activists on the boat were not harmless peaceniks but Islamists bent on violence.
Rachel Corrie makes its way to Gaza
by SHAHANAAZ HABIB, The Star Online, June 4, 2010
AMMAN - Volunteers on the MV Rachel Corrie are not trained soldiers, and they are fearful of being attacked by the Israeli army – but they are determined to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza.
“Of course there is worry, but this is an amanah (trust bestowed upon us) to deliver the aid to Gaza,” said Perdana Global Peace Organisation representative Shamsul Akmar in an interview.
He is on board the sole ship making its way to Gaza.
Israel’s attack on the six aid ships in international waters on Monday resulting in nine deaths only made those on Rachel Corrie more determined to carry out their amanah.
Rachel Corrie was supposed to be part of the flotilla but she got left behind due to delays and some “suspicious stringent checks” by port authorities at several places, said Shamsul.
If all goes well, the 1,200 tonne Rachel Corrie, carrying medical aid, construction material, toys, educational and writing material is expected to reach Gaza on Saturday.
There are 19 people on board and they have been travelling for 20 days.
Other than Shamsul, who is the head of the delegation, there are five other Malaysians – Matthias Chang, Parit MP Nizar Zakaria, activist Ahmad Faizal Azumu and TV3 crew members Halim Mohamed and Jufri Junid.
Also on board is a strong Irish delegation with Nobel Peace Laureate Mairead Corrigan Maguire.
There are six crew members, a captain and a chief engineer.
The ship is funded by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s Perdana Global Peace Orga nisation.
Shamsul said there are a number of possible scenarios:
> Israel may let Rachel Corrie through
> Israel may become aggressive and board the ship; and
> those on board the ship may be shot by Israeli forces
Shamsul said that if Israel stopped the ship in international waters, but the ship was forced away, “we collectively feel we should stay there for a few days to try and deliver the aid.”
The tiny Gaza strip has been put under a strangling blockade after Hamas took over control of it in 2007, causing hardship to the 1.5 million living in what is called the “world’s biggest prison on earth.”
In December 2008, Israel launched a three week massive military strike on Gaza, killing at least 1,400 people and destroying many homes, buildings, factories and infrastructure.
But because of the siege, Gaza has not been able to bring the materials needed to rebuild including construction material like cement, glass and bricks.
AMMAN - Volunteers on the MV Rachel Corrie are not trained soldiers, and they are fearful of being attacked by the Israeli army – but they are determined to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza.“Of course there is worry, but this is an amanah (trust bestowed upon us) to deliver the aid to Gaza,” said Perdana Global Peace Organisation representative Shamsul Akmar in an interview.
He is on board the sole ship making its way to Gaza.
Israel’s attack on the six aid ships in international waters on Monday resulting in nine deaths only made those on Rachel Corrie more determined to carry out their amanah.
Rachel Corrie was supposed to be part of the flotilla but she got left behind due to delays and some “suspicious stringent checks” by port authorities at several places, said Shamsul.
If all goes well, the 1,200 tonne Rachel Corrie, carrying medical aid, construction material, toys, educational and writing material is expected to reach Gaza on Saturday.
There are 19 people on board and they have been travelling for 20 days.
Other than Shamsul, who is the head of the delegation, there are five other Malaysians – Matthias Chang, Parit MP Nizar Zakaria, activist Ahmad Faizal Azumu and TV3 crew members Halim Mohamed and Jufri Junid.
Also on board is a strong Irish delegation with Nobel Peace Laureate Mairead Corrigan Maguire.
There are six crew members, a captain and a chief engineer.
The ship is funded by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s Perdana Global Peace Orga nisation.
Shamsul said there are a number of possible scenarios:
> Israel may let Rachel Corrie through
> Israel may become aggressive and board the ship; and
> those on board the ship may be shot by Israeli forces
Shamsul said that if Israel stopped the ship in international waters, but the ship was forced away, “we collectively feel we should stay there for a few days to try and deliver the aid.”
The tiny Gaza strip has been put under a strangling blockade after Hamas took over control of it in 2007, causing hardship to the 1.5 million living in what is called the “world’s biggest prison on earth.”
In December 2008, Israel launched a three week massive military strike on Gaza, killing at least 1,400 people and destroying many homes, buildings, factories and infrastructure.
But because of the siege, Gaza has not been able to bring the materials needed to rebuild including construction material like cement, glass and bricks.
Activists: We have funding for another larger Gaza flotilla
'Freedom 2' expected to set sail in coming weeks; Crew members of 'Rachel Corrie' ship, part of the first Gaza aid convoy, still determined to break Gaza blockade, saying 'we are a peaceful mission.'
By Avi Issacharoff and Reuters, Haaretz Daily Newspaper, June 2, 2010
The European Campaign to End the Siege on Gaza announced on Wednesday that they received funding for three more ships to be part of a new Gaza-bound flotilla dubbed "Freedom 2".
Dr. Arafat Madi, the head of the group, based in Brussels, said that they are planning a new Gaza flotilla comprised of many more ships and pro-Palestinian activists than the first one.
"Following the massacre done by the IDF forces in international waters, the world's calls for another flotilla are even more pressing."
The new flotilla is expected to set sail in the coming weeks, and the head of the group didn't discount the possibility of Turkey's semi-official participation in funding or organizing.
Meanwhile, the last aid ship of the first Gaza flotillais determined to finish its journey despite a naval blockade and expects to reach the point where Israeli commandos raided a flotilla later this week, a crew member said.
The MV Rachel Corrie, a converted merchant ship bought by pro-Palestinian activists and named after an American woman killed in the Gaza Strip in 2003, set off on Monday from Malta.
It is carrying 15 activists including a northern Irish Nobel Peace laureate and expects to be at the point of Monday's deadly raid on a Turkish-backed aid convoy between Friday evening and Saturday morning, crew member Derek Graham said.
The Israeli navy stormed a Turkish ferry leading a six-ship convoy on Monday, killing nine people in what authorities have said was self-defense. The killings have sparked a world outcry and condemnations of Israel.
"We had a meeting after what happened on Monday morning and we were more determined than ever to continue with our mission," Graham told Irish state broadcaster RTE on Wednesday.
He said he would inform Israeli authorities of the exact positions of the ship's passengers and urge those on board to remain peaceful.
"I will advise the passengers and crew to sit quietly with their hands shown so they cannot do like they did on Monday and claim we attacked them," he said. "We are a peaceful mission."
The Israeli government has offered to escort the vessel and deliver the civilian aid for it. It has said Egypt is prepared to do the same.
However Graham said he was concerned not all the cargo would be delivered. The ship is carrying medical equipment, school supplies and cement, a material Israel has banned from entering Gaza.
Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen, who described the vessel as Irish-owned, said it should be allowed to finish its mission.
.
By Avi Issacharoff and Reuters, Haaretz Daily Newspaper, June 2, 2010
The European Campaign to End the Siege on Gaza announced on Wednesday that they received funding for three more ships to be part of a new Gaza-bound flotilla dubbed "Freedom 2".Dr. Arafat Madi, the head of the group, based in Brussels, said that they are planning a new Gaza flotilla comprised of many more ships and pro-Palestinian activists than the first one.
"Following the massacre done by the IDF forces in international waters, the world's calls for another flotilla are even more pressing."
The new flotilla is expected to set sail in the coming weeks, and the head of the group didn't discount the possibility of Turkey's semi-official participation in funding or organizing.
Meanwhile, the last aid ship of the first Gaza flotillais determined to finish its journey despite a naval blockade and expects to reach the point where Israeli commandos raided a flotilla later this week, a crew member said.
The MV Rachel Corrie, a converted merchant ship bought by pro-Palestinian activists and named after an American woman killed in the Gaza Strip in 2003, set off on Monday from Malta.
It is carrying 15 activists including a northern Irish Nobel Peace laureate and expects to be at the point of Monday's deadly raid on a Turkish-backed aid convoy between Friday evening and Saturday morning, crew member Derek Graham said.
The Israeli navy stormed a Turkish ferry leading a six-ship convoy on Monday, killing nine people in what authorities have said was self-defense. The killings have sparked a world outcry and condemnations of Israel.
"We had a meeting after what happened on Monday morning and we were more determined than ever to continue with our mission," Graham told Irish state broadcaster RTE on Wednesday.
He said he would inform Israeli authorities of the exact positions of the ship's passengers and urge those on board to remain peaceful.
"I will advise the passengers and crew to sit quietly with their hands shown so they cannot do like they did on Monday and claim we attacked them," he said. "We are a peaceful mission."
The Israeli government has offered to escort the vessel and deliver the civilian aid for it. It has said Egypt is prepared to do the same.
However Graham said he was concerned not all the cargo would be delivered. The ship is carrying medical equipment, school supplies and cement, a material Israel has banned from entering Gaza.
Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen, who described the vessel as Irish-owned, said it should be allowed to finish its mission.
.
South Africa recalls its ambassador
Flotilla affair leads to further diplomatic fallout.
By AMIR MIZROCH, The Jerusalem Post, June 4, 2010
South African Embassy spokesman Judika Tladi told The Jerusalem Post that Ambassador Ismael Coovadia was being recalled to Pretoria so that the government can get a “better understanding” of what happened off the coast. He could not say when Coovadia, who was leaving the country this weekend, would return to Israel.
Tladi added that Pretoria was not planning on expelling Israel’s ambassador to South Africa or severing ties.
“This will not affect ties between the two countries. We have no intention of expelling the Israeli ambassador or cutting ties with Israel,” Tladi said.
Israeli Ambassador to South Africa Dov Sergev-Steinberg was summoned earlier this week to a meeting and given a demarche from Deputy Minister of International Relations and Co-operation Sue Van Der Merwe.
“This was done in order to register the Government’s strongest possible protest to the Israeli Government, for its unjustified military action and resultant loss of life inflicted by The State of Israel on a flotilla of ships carrying humanitarian relief supplies to Gaza,” Deputy International Relations Minister Ebrahim Ebrahim said in a statement to reporters on Thursday.
“The recall of Ambassador Ismael Coovadia for consultations is a way of protesting and a way of showing our strongest condemnation of the attack. This recent Israel aggression of attacking the aid flotilla severely impacts on finding a lasting solution to the problems of the region,” Ebrahim told journalists in Pretoria.
Some 3,500 protesters in Cape Town on Thursday called on South Africa to sever ties with Israel, E-tv, which is based in the city, reported.
South Africa’s diplomatic recall comes several days after Turkey recalled its ambassador to Israel. Turkish Ambassador Oguz Celikkol arrived in Ankara Thursday. Nicaragua cut ties with Israel earlier this week and Ecuador announced Thursday that it was recalling its ambassador as well.
Israel expressed its regret and disappointment at the South African move.
“Those who criticize Israel would be better advised to turn their criticism against the terror-supporting rioters from the flotilla, who have nothing to do with humaneness,” spokesman Yigal Palmor said in a statement.
Relations between Israel and South Africa are for all intents and purposes in a “freeze,” one diplomatic official said Thursday.
South Africa, a close trading partner with Iran, votes against Israel in almost every possible international forum.
“We try to strengthen ties and South Africa tries to break them. They are very much like Turkey now,” the official said.
Pretoria also joined the many in the international community calling for the naval blockade of Gaza to be immediately lifted.
“This siege, which has brought untold hardships to the ordinary people of Gaza and made their lives nightmarish, is unconscionable and unsustainable,” said Ebrahim.
Ebrahim also spoke of the government’s commitment to contributing towards peace in the region and ensuring an independent and viable Palestinian state.
“A long-term solution to the region can only be achieved through negotiation. What is needed is the creation of a climate of mutual trust and peace,” he said.
A low point in relations with South Africa was reached during Operation Cast Lead, when then-South African deputy minister of foreign affairs Fatima Hajaig unleashed an anti-Semitic tirade against Israel.
“In fact, no matter which government comes into power, whether Republican or Democratic, whether Barack Obama or George Bush, the control of America, just like the control of most Western countries is in the hands of Jewish money, and if Jewish money controls their country, you cannot expect anything else,” Hajaig was recorded as saying, to thunderous applause, at a pro-Palestinian rally in the Lenasia township outside of Johannesburg in January 2009.
South Africa had one citizen on board the flotilla. Gadija Davids, a journalist with Radio 786 in Cape Town, was aboard the Mavi Marmara , on which the deadly raid that killed nine activists occurred.
Radio 786 is a community radio station, whose license holder is the Islamic Unity Convention, The Mail and Guardian reported. The journalist was not hurt and is expected back in South Africa Friday.
In a statement released Thursday, the South African Jewish leadership said that while it is saddened over the deaths and injuries incurred during the Gaza flotilla incident, it nevertheless saw the South African government’s decision to temporarily recall its ambassador in response as “premature and inappropriate.”
“The relevant facts of the incident are not yet fully known; they will become so only after the investigation into its causes has completed its work and reported its findings to the international community,” the South Africa Jewish Board of Deputies said.
“In this regard, the leadership expresses its profound disappointment at the decision, as it goes against the South African way of engaging in dialogue and not jumping to conclusions before all the facts are known. The Jewish leadership regrets that South Africa is thus far the only country, aside from Turkey, to have taken so radical and disproportionate a step, despite not being directly involved in the matter,” the statement said.
By AMIR MIZROCH, The Jerusalem Post, June 4, 2010
“This was done in order to register the Government’s strongest possible protest to the Israeli Government, for its unjustified military action and resultant loss of life inflicted by The State of Israel on a flotilla of ships carrying humanitarian relief supplies to Gaza,” Deputy International Relations Minister Ebrahim Ebrahim said in a statement to reporters on Thursday.South Africa on Thursday announced that it was recalling its ambassador to Israel for consultations over the Gaza flotilla incident earlier this week.
“The recall of Ambassador Ismael Coovadia for consultations is a way of protesting and a way of showing our strongest condemnation of the attack. This recent Israel aggression of attacking the aid flotilla severely impacts on finding a lasting solution to the problems of the region,” Ebrahim told journalists in Pretoria.
Some 3,500 protesters in Cape Town on Thursday called on South Africa to sever ties with Israel, E-tv, which is based in the city, reported.
South African Embassy spokesman Judika Tladi told The Jerusalem Post that Ambassador Ismael Coovadia was being recalled to Pretoria so that the government can get a “better understanding” of what happened off the coast. He could not say when Coovadia, who was leaving the country this weekend, would return to Israel.
Tladi added that Pretoria was not planning on expelling Israel’s ambassador to South Africa or severing ties.
“This will not affect ties between the two countries. We have no intention of expelling the Israeli ambassador or cutting ties with Israel,” Tladi said.
Israeli Ambassador to South Africa Dov Sergev-Steinberg was summoned earlier this week to a meeting and given a demarche from Deputy Minister of International Relations and Co-operation Sue Van Der Merwe.
“This was done in order to register the Government’s strongest possible protest to the Israeli Government, for its unjustified military action and resultant loss of life inflicted by The State of Israel on a flotilla of ships carrying humanitarian relief supplies to Gaza,” Deputy International Relations Minister Ebrahim Ebrahim said in a statement to reporters on Thursday.
“The recall of Ambassador Ismael Coovadia for consultations is a way of protesting and a way of showing our strongest condemnation of the attack. This recent Israel aggression of attacking the aid flotilla severely impacts on finding a lasting solution to the problems of the region,” Ebrahim told journalists in Pretoria.
Some 3,500 protesters in Cape Town on Thursday called on South Africa to sever ties with Israel, E-tv, which is based in the city, reported.
South Africa’s diplomatic recall comes several days after Turkey recalled its ambassador to Israel. Turkish Ambassador Oguz Celikkol arrived in Ankara Thursday. Nicaragua cut ties with Israel earlier this week and Ecuador announced Thursday that it was recalling its ambassador as well.
Israel expressed its regret and disappointment at the South African move.
“Those who criticize Israel would be better advised to turn their criticism against the terror-supporting rioters from the flotilla, who have nothing to do with humaneness,” spokesman Yigal Palmor said in a statement.
Relations between Israel and South Africa are for all intents and purposes in a “freeze,” one diplomatic official said Thursday.
South Africa, a close trading partner with Iran, votes against Israel in almost every possible international forum.
“We try to strengthen ties and South Africa tries to break them. They are very much like Turkey now,” the official said.
Pretoria also joined the many in the international community calling for the naval blockade of Gaza to be immediately lifted.
“This siege, which has brought untold hardships to the ordinary people of Gaza and made their lives nightmarish, is unconscionable and unsustainable,” said Ebrahim.
Ebrahim also spoke of the government’s commitment to contributing towards peace in the region and ensuring an independent and viable Palestinian state.
“A long-term solution to the region can only be achieved through negotiation. What is needed is the creation of a climate of mutual trust and peace,” he said.
A low point in relations with South Africa was reached during Operation Cast Lead, when then-South African deputy minister of foreign affairs Fatima Hajaig unleashed an anti-Semitic tirade against Israel.
“In fact, no matter which government comes into power, whether Republican or Democratic, whether Barack Obama or George Bush, the control of America, just like the control of most Western countries is in the hands of Jewish money, and if Jewish money controls their country, you cannot expect anything else,” Hajaig was recorded as saying, to thunderous applause, at a pro-Palestinian rally in the Lenasia township outside of Johannesburg in January 2009.
South Africa had one citizen on board the flotilla. Gadija Davids, a journalist with Radio 786 in Cape Town, was aboard the Mavi Marmara , on which the deadly raid that killed nine activists occurred.
Radio 786 is a community radio station, whose license holder is the Islamic Unity Convention, The Mail and Guardian reported. The journalist was not hurt and is expected back in South Africa Friday.
In a statement released Thursday, the South African Jewish leadership said that while it is saddened over the deaths and injuries incurred during the Gaza flotilla incident, it nevertheless saw the South African government’s decision to temporarily recall its ambassador in response as “premature and inappropriate.”
“The relevant facts of the incident are not yet fully known; they will become so only after the investigation into its causes has completed its work and reported its findings to the international community,” the South Africa Jewish Board of Deputies said.
“In this regard, the leadership expresses its profound disappointment at the decision, as it goes against the South African way of engaging in dialogue and not jumping to conclusions before all the facts are known. The Jewish leadership regrets that South Africa is thus far the only country, aside from Turkey, to have taken so radical and disproportionate a step, despite not being directly involved in the matter,” the statement said.
Rachel Corrie' proceeding to Gaza
PAMELA NEWENHAM and MARY FITZGERALD, The Irish Times, June 3, 2010
An Irish-owned boat laden with humanitarian supplies is continuing its journey towards Gaza despite Israel’s insistence it will not allow any vessel break its blockade on the territory.
The MV Rachel Corrie , which has five Irish citizens aboard, including Nobel peace laureate Mairéad Corrigan-Maguire and former UN official Denis Halliday, is currently in Libyan waters some 640 km (400 miles) from Gaza.
The Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign tonight dismissed some reports that the boat was due to dock in Turkey and insisted it intends to maintain course with no stops until it reaches the Gazan port.
The boat, which is captained by Eric Harcis, is travelling at approximately 402 kms (250 miles) a day and expects to reach Gaza by Saturday. Film-maker Fiona Thompson from Dundalk and husband and wife Derek and Jenny Graham from Co Mayo are also on board.
“I spoke to Derek and he said they were going full throttle towards Gaza,” Freda Hughes from the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign said today. “Originally the boat was lagging behind the rest of the flotilla, now it looks like the one surviving member that might get to Gaza."
Ms Hughes said the activists would not accede to an Israeli request unloading the ship’s cargo at Ashdod port for transport to Gaza was not a deal the activists would strike with Israel, as the ship is carrying banned building materials including cement which would not be delivered.
“It’s bringing aid to Gaza that’s not allowed such as medical equipment and construction materials. If it docks in Ashdod, none of this aid will reach Gaza”.
Speaking from the ship today, Dennis Halliday said: “We want to emphasise that our aim is not provocation but getting our aid cargo into Gaza”.
We are calling on the UN to inspect the cargo and escort us into Gaza, he said, adding “we all remain in good spirits”.
Irish officials have been maintaining close contact with the 1,200-ton boat which was supposed to join the aid flotilla raided by Israeli commandos on Monday but was delayed due to mechanical problems.
“We have continued to make it clear to the Israeli government . . . that we want maximum restraint and we do not want any interception in international waters,” Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin said. “It has been a terrible week in terms of the loss of life and there is now an obligation on all involved to reduce tension . . . It is extremely important that we do not have a repeat of what happened earlier this week.”
Israel’s ambassador to Ireland, Zion Evrony, has said Israel does not expect any confrontation or violence when the MV Rachel Corrie approaches the exclusion zone.
The storming of the six-ship flotilla by Israeli commandos on Monday resulted in the deaths of nine activists and prompted renewed international criticism of Israel’s blockade.
An Irish-owned boat laden with humanitarian supplies is continuing its journey towards Gaza despite Israel’s insistence it will not allow any vessel break its blockade on the territory.The MV Rachel Corrie , which has five Irish citizens aboard, including Nobel peace laureate Mairéad Corrigan-Maguire and former UN official Denis Halliday, is currently in Libyan waters some 640 km (400 miles) from Gaza.
The Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign tonight dismissed some reports that the boat was due to dock in Turkey and insisted it intends to maintain course with no stops until it reaches the Gazan port.
The boat, which is captained by Eric Harcis, is travelling at approximately 402 kms (250 miles) a day and expects to reach Gaza by Saturday. Film-maker Fiona Thompson from Dundalk and husband and wife Derek and Jenny Graham from Co Mayo are also on board.
“I spoke to Derek and he said they were going full throttle towards Gaza,” Freda Hughes from the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign said today. “Originally the boat was lagging behind the rest of the flotilla, now it looks like the one surviving member that might get to Gaza."
Ms Hughes said the activists would not accede to an Israeli request unloading the ship’s cargo at Ashdod port for transport to Gaza was not a deal the activists would strike with Israel, as the ship is carrying banned building materials including cement which would not be delivered.
“It’s bringing aid to Gaza that’s not allowed such as medical equipment and construction materials. If it docks in Ashdod, none of this aid will reach Gaza”.
Speaking from the ship today, Dennis Halliday said: “We want to emphasise that our aim is not provocation but getting our aid cargo into Gaza”.
We are calling on the UN to inspect the cargo and escort us into Gaza, he said, adding “we all remain in good spirits”.
Irish officials have been maintaining close contact with the 1,200-ton boat which was supposed to join the aid flotilla raided by Israeli commandos on Monday but was delayed due to mechanical problems.
“We have continued to make it clear to the Israeli government . . . that we want maximum restraint and we do not want any interception in international waters,” Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin said. “It has been a terrible week in terms of the loss of life and there is now an obligation on all involved to reduce tension . . . It is extremely important that we do not have a repeat of what happened earlier this week.”
Israel’s ambassador to Ireland, Zion Evrony, has said Israel does not expect any confrontation or violence when the MV Rachel Corrie approaches the exclusion zone.
The storming of the six-ship flotilla by Israeli commandos on Monday resulted in the deaths of nine activists and prompted renewed international criticism of Israel’s blockade.
Martin calls on Israel to show restraint with Irish boat
MARY FITZGERALD and ALISON HEALY, The Irish Times, June 3, 2010
IRISH APPEAL: THE GOVERNMENT yesterday repeated calls for Israel to exercise restraint in dealing with an Irish-owned boat currently en route to Gaza to deliver aid in defiance of the Israeli blockade of the territory.
The Government has urged Israel to allow the MV Rachel Corrie, whose crew includes five Irish citizens, safe passage to discharge its cargo.
The activists onboard expect to reach the exclusion zone off Gaza by late Friday. Taoiseach Brian Cowen told the Dáil yesterday that the Government has been maintaining close contact with the 1,200-ton boat which was supposed to join the aid flotilla raided by Israeli commandos on Monday but had been delayed due to mechanical problems.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin said he had stressed the importance of restraint in conversations with Israel’s ambassador to Ireland Zion Evrony.
“We have continued to make it clear to the Israeli government ... that we want maximum restraint and we do not want any interception in international waters,” Mr Martin said.
“It has been a terrible week in terms of the loss of life and there is now an obligation on all involved to reduce tensions ... It is extremely important that we do not have a repeat of what happened earlier this week.”
Fianna Fáil TD Chris Andrews, whose plans to travel with the flotilla were scuppered when authorities in Cyprus did not allow him board the ships last week, said there were plans for another aid flotilla to Gaza.
“The events ... have only made people more determined,” he said, adding that if force were used against the MV Rachel Corrie , there “will be consequences for that”.
Green Party leader John Gormley said Israel’s attack on the flotilla showed it can act with “virtual impunity” because of “policy incoherence” at EU level.
“We don’t have that coherent response at a foreign policy level. That’s what’s required and if we had that I think Israel would listen.
“But at the moment they can act with virtual impunity because of the incoherence at European level and because they continue to get not just outright support but tacit support as well from the US.”
Mr Evrony has postponed an appearance in front of the Oireachtas Foreign Affairs Committee, which was scheduled to take place today. Committee chairman Dr Michael Woods said the postponement was “most disappointing”.
IRISH APPEAL: THE GOVERNMENT yesterday repeated calls for Israel to exercise restraint in dealing with an Irish-owned boat currently en route to Gaza to deliver aid in defiance of the Israeli blockade of the territory.
The Government has urged Israel to allow the MV Rachel Corrie, whose crew includes five Irish citizens, safe passage to discharge its cargo.
The activists onboard expect to reach the exclusion zone off Gaza by late Friday. Taoiseach Brian Cowen told the Dáil yesterday that the Government has been maintaining close contact with the 1,200-ton boat which was supposed to join the aid flotilla raided by Israeli commandos on Monday but had been delayed due to mechanical problems.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin said he had stressed the importance of restraint in conversations with Israel’s ambassador to Ireland Zion Evrony.
“We have continued to make it clear to the Israeli government ... that we want maximum restraint and we do not want any interception in international waters,” Mr Martin said.
“It has been a terrible week in terms of the loss of life and there is now an obligation on all involved to reduce tensions ... It is extremely important that we do not have a repeat of what happened earlier this week.”
Fianna Fáil TD Chris Andrews, whose plans to travel with the flotilla were scuppered when authorities in Cyprus did not allow him board the ships last week, said there were plans for another aid flotilla to Gaza.
“The events ... have only made people more determined,” he said, adding that if force were used against the MV Rachel Corrie , there “will be consequences for that”.
Green Party leader John Gormley said Israel’s attack on the flotilla showed it can act with “virtual impunity” because of “policy incoherence” at EU level.
“We don’t have that coherent response at a foreign policy level. That’s what’s required and if we had that I think Israel would listen.
“But at the moment they can act with virtual impunity because of the incoherence at European level and because they continue to get not just outright support but tacit support as well from the US.”
Mr Evrony has postponed an appearance in front of the Oireachtas Foreign Affairs Committee, which was scheduled to take place today. Committee chairman Dr Michael Woods said the postponement was “most disappointing”.
Israeli raid on Gaza Freedom Flotilla killed US citizen Furkan Dogan
Furkan Dogan – one of the activists killed in an Israeli raid on the Gaza 'Freedom Flotilla' and buried in Turkey today – was a US citizen. A friend, who had been on board the same ship, said Dogan was shot by five bullets.
By Scott Peterson, CSMonitor.com, June 3, 2010
Istanbul, Turkey - An American-Turkish dual citizen killed during an Israeli commando raid on a humanitarian aid flotilla was among activists buried in Turkey on Thursday.
Furkan Dogan was struck by five bullets shortly before dawn on Monday while atop the Turkish-flagged Mavi Marmara ship, according to friends who were on board at the time of the Israeli raid and attended the funeral for eight of the nine Turks who died.
The website of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan – who called the Israeli raid a "bloody massacre" and threatened to sever ties with Israel – listed Mr. Dogan's nationality as American. A State Department spokesman confirmed a dual US-Turkish citizen was killed and said the embassy in Turkey had offered consular services to the family.
Dogan’s death and his US citizenship were spoken of at the funeral.
“Furkan was my friend,” said Ali Yunusoalu, who went with Dogan for pre-dawn prayers on the top deck of the Mavi Marmar on Monday. Israeli naval boats soon approached the ship, he said, and then commandos dropped from helicopters.
“The soldiers started shooting and bombing” with bullets and percussion grenades, said Mr. Yunusoalu. “It was a big sound – you can’t hear a thing because of the noise.”
Dogan ran “everywhere” before he was killed, recalled Yunusoalu. “We were very afraid.”
Repercussions?
Though Dogan’s ongoing American ties appear to be limited, the death of a US citizen will make it harder for the Obama administration to side-step a diplomatic confrontation with Israel.
So far, the US public and government response has been more muted than those in Europe or the Middle East, with the administration caught between a powerful pro-Israel constituency at home, on the one hand, and growing anger among other allies, on the other.
But the death of a US citizen by violence usually prompts a response from the federal government and politicians.
After American activist Rachel Corrie was killed by an Israeli military bulldozer as she tried to stop it from destroying a Palestinian home in Gaza in 2003, senior US officials demanded a full investigation of the incident.
The results of the Israeli investigation into her death was that it was accidental, which drew charges of a whitewash from her supporters and her family, which this year sued the Israeli military over the incident. An Irish-owned humanitarian boat that is steaming towards Gaza and could challenge Israel’s blockade as soon as Saturday was named in her honor: the MV Rachel Corrie.
Dogan was not the only American casualty of Monday’s events. Shortly after Israel's raid on the flotilla, US college student Emily Henochowicz was struck by an Israeli tear gas canister and lost her eye while attending a pro-Palestinian protest at the Kalandia crossing, along the fence Israel erected between Jerusalem and the West Bank.
How they died?
Turkish media reported that initial examinations of the dead Turkish activists show they all had been killed by bullets, some fired at close range. A funeral for the ninth Turkish citizen killed was due on Friday.
Dogan’s apparent dual citizenship was not the only American connection weighing on some of several thousands mourners at the service at Istanbul’s Fatih mosque, where eight coffins draped with Turkish and Palestinian flags were lifted overhead to chants of “God is great!”
A few Turks also shouted: “Murderous United States of America.”
“No thanks to the Americans for supplying all arms to [the Israelis],” said Sakir Yildirim, a UK-British dual national who was also on the Mavi Marmara ship. He said he witnessed three or four deaths of activists within a few yards of him—one of the men shot in the forehead when the red light of a laser rifle sight alighted there. “All that stuff is American made.”
Staff writer Dan Murphy contributed from Boston.
By Scott Peterson, CSMonitor.com, June 3, 2010
Istanbul, Turkey - An American-Turkish dual citizen killed during an Israeli commando raid on a humanitarian aid flotilla was among activists buried in Turkey on Thursday.
Furkan Dogan was struck by five bullets shortly before dawn on Monday while atop the Turkish-flagged Mavi Marmara ship, according to friends who were on board at the time of the Israeli raid and attended the funeral for eight of the nine Turks who died.
The website of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan – who called the Israeli raid a "bloody massacre" and threatened to sever ties with Israel – listed Mr. Dogan's nationality as American. A State Department spokesman confirmed a dual US-Turkish citizen was killed and said the embassy in Turkey had offered consular services to the family.
Dogan’s death and his US citizenship were spoken of at the funeral.
“Furkan was my friend,” said Ali Yunusoalu, who went with Dogan for pre-dawn prayers on the top deck of the Mavi Marmar on Monday. Israeli naval boats soon approached the ship, he said, and then commandos dropped from helicopters.
“The soldiers started shooting and bombing” with bullets and percussion grenades, said Mr. Yunusoalu. “It was a big sound – you can’t hear a thing because of the noise.”
Dogan ran “everywhere” before he was killed, recalled Yunusoalu. “We were very afraid.”
Repercussions?
Though Dogan’s ongoing American ties appear to be limited, the death of a US citizen will make it harder for the Obama administration to side-step a diplomatic confrontation with Israel.
So far, the US public and government response has been more muted than those in Europe or the Middle East, with the administration caught between a powerful pro-Israel constituency at home, on the one hand, and growing anger among other allies, on the other.
But the death of a US citizen by violence usually prompts a response from the federal government and politicians.
After American activist Rachel Corrie was killed by an Israeli military bulldozer as she tried to stop it from destroying a Palestinian home in Gaza in 2003, senior US officials demanded a full investigation of the incident.
The results of the Israeli investigation into her death was that it was accidental, which drew charges of a whitewash from her supporters and her family, which this year sued the Israeli military over the incident. An Irish-owned humanitarian boat that is steaming towards Gaza and could challenge Israel’s blockade as soon as Saturday was named in her honor: the MV Rachel Corrie.
Dogan was not the only American casualty of Monday’s events. Shortly after Israel's raid on the flotilla, US college student Emily Henochowicz was struck by an Israeli tear gas canister and lost her eye while attending a pro-Palestinian protest at the Kalandia crossing, along the fence Israel erected between Jerusalem and the West Bank.
How they died?
Turkish media reported that initial examinations of the dead Turkish activists show they all had been killed by bullets, some fired at close range. A funeral for the ninth Turkish citizen killed was due on Friday.
Dogan’s apparent dual citizenship was not the only American connection weighing on some of several thousands mourners at the service at Istanbul’s Fatih mosque, where eight coffins draped with Turkish and Palestinian flags were lifted overhead to chants of “God is great!”
A few Turks also shouted: “Murderous United States of America.”
“No thanks to the Americans for supplying all arms to [the Israelis],” said Sakir Yildirim, a UK-British dual national who was also on the Mavi Marmara ship. He said he witnessed three or four deaths of activists within a few yards of him—one of the men shot in the forehead when the red light of a laser rifle sight alighted there. “All that stuff is American made.”
Staff writer Dan Murphy contributed from Boston.
'Rachel Corrie' may arrive by Saturday
Activists on board Gaza-bound Irish ship say they will not resist if IDF troops board vessel
By Aviel Magnezi, Ynetnews, June 3, 2010
A pro-Palestinian activist on board the Irish vessel 'Rachel Corrie' told Ynet Wednesday that the ship is currently located between Libya and Cyprus, and that it is making its way to Gaza but will not arrive before Saturday morning.
The activist said those on board were coming "in peace", and that they would not resist IDF soldiers if they insisted coming on board. The claim was reminiscent of one made by the activists on board the flotilla that arrived Monday.
He added that before the ship had embarked it had been searched for weapons, and stressed that there were none on board.
The Irish vessel, named after a peace activist killed by an Israeli bulldozer, is reportedly carrying more than 20 people: More than ten Malaysians, five Irish, and eight crew members.
"We are not afraid, despite what happened on the Marmara," said Derrick Graham, who is on board with wife Jeanie. "The violence there was a product of fear, I saw the fear in the eyes of the soldiers. You need to send your veteran soldiers, not the young ones."
He stressed that the violent turn of events on board the Turkish ship Monday would not affect the Rachel Corrie. "We don't plan on resisting. In the event that your men are stupid enough to come and arrest us, we will sit down and not resist," he said. "It would not be wise for the government of Israel to direct its brutal violence towards us."
Graham added that the passengers on board the ship were saddened by the violence on board the Marmara. He said he had participated in a number of voyages to Gaza in the past, and that this was not the general rule.
"There were never such problems on sails to Gaza. We object to violence, which is why before we left we searched the ship to make sure there were no guns or weapons of any kind on board. The crew members were also checked by officials," he said.
The activist added that the IDF had called to ask him similar questions. When asked whether he knew that the passengers on board the Marmara had firearms, he expressed shock. "These are supposed to be violence-free, weapons-free ships," he said.
On board is also Mairead Maguire, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate well-known to Israeli authorities. She was injured at an anti-fence protest in Bil'in in 2008, and has taken part in previous Gaza sails. "I'm not afraid, I think it is important to give Gaza freedom and support it," she said.
The 66-year old, who has previously called for Israel's removal from the UN, said her family supported her. "We believe in a peaceful resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and believe it can be solved through negotiations," she said.
Maguire also stressed that there would be no violence on board the Rachel Corrie. "I have experience with this. If (the soldiers) come on board, I hope and believe it will be in a peaceful manner," she said.
By Aviel Magnezi, Ynetnews, June 3, 2010
A pro-Palestinian activist on board the Irish vessel 'Rachel Corrie' told Ynet Wednesday that the ship is currently located between Libya and Cyprus, and that it is making its way to Gaza but will not arrive before Saturday morning.The activist said those on board were coming "in peace", and that they would not resist IDF soldiers if they insisted coming on board. The claim was reminiscent of one made by the activists on board the flotilla that arrived Monday.
He added that before the ship had embarked it had been searched for weapons, and stressed that there were none on board.
The Irish vessel, named after a peace activist killed by an Israeli bulldozer, is reportedly carrying more than 20 people: More than ten Malaysians, five Irish, and eight crew members.
"We are not afraid, despite what happened on the Marmara," said Derrick Graham, who is on board with wife Jeanie. "The violence there was a product of fear, I saw the fear in the eyes of the soldiers. You need to send your veteran soldiers, not the young ones."
He stressed that the violent turn of events on board the Turkish ship Monday would not affect the Rachel Corrie. "We don't plan on resisting. In the event that your men are stupid enough to come and arrest us, we will sit down and not resist," he said. "It would not be wise for the government of Israel to direct its brutal violence towards us."
Graham added that the passengers on board the ship were saddened by the violence on board the Marmara. He said he had participated in a number of voyages to Gaza in the past, and that this was not the general rule.
"There were never such problems on sails to Gaza. We object to violence, which is why before we left we searched the ship to make sure there were no guns or weapons of any kind on board. The crew members were also checked by officials," he said.
The activist added that the IDF had called to ask him similar questions. When asked whether he knew that the passengers on board the Marmara had firearms, he expressed shock. "These are supposed to be violence-free, weapons-free ships," he said.
On board is also Mairead Maguire, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate well-known to Israeli authorities. She was injured at an anti-fence protest in Bil'in in 2008, and has taken part in previous Gaza sails. "I'm not afraid, I think it is important to give Gaza freedom and support it," she said.
The 66-year old, who has previously called for Israel's removal from the UN, said her family supported her. "We believe in a peaceful resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and believe it can be solved through negotiations," she said.
Maguire also stressed that there would be no violence on board the Rachel Corrie. "I have experience with this. If (the soldiers) come on board, I hope and believe it will be in a peaceful manner," she said.
MV Rachel Corrie waiting in Mediterranean: Reports
Ma'an News Agency, June 3, 2010
Bethlehem - The Irish Times reported Thursday that the MV Rachel Corrie assumed a holding position in the eastern Mediterranean one day earlier, apparently waiting for two other boats to sail as a second flotilla to Gaza by the week's end.
Free Gaza organizer Greta Berlin told the Times that a small ship, Challenger II, was being fixed so it was fit for the voyage.
In addition to Berlin, aboard the ships will be Nobel Prize laureate Mairead Maguire and former UN assistant secretary general Denis Halliday.
A statement from the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) said the Rachel Corrie was carrying 1,000 tons of educational and rebuilding supplies.
Israeli media reports, however, said the ship may have already agreed to dock in Ashdod. The daily newspaper Haaretz cited European diplomats and senior Foreign Ministry officials in Jerusalem, as saying a "diplomatic" solution had been found to impending second challenge to Israel's siege on Gaza.
Speaking from the boat, Irishman Derek Graham told PSC that "if this aid is not delivered, then Monday's deaths will have been in vain".
He said the passengers had discussed the possability of being boarded by commandos like the first ships, and told PSC that all 15 passengers would sit with their arms in the air so that they would not be attacked.
Bethlehem - The Irish Times reported Thursday that the MV Rachel Corrie assumed a holding position in the eastern Mediterranean one day earlier, apparently waiting for two other boats to sail as a second flotilla to Gaza by the week's end.Free Gaza organizer Greta Berlin told the Times that a small ship, Challenger II, was being fixed so it was fit for the voyage.
In addition to Berlin, aboard the ships will be Nobel Prize laureate Mairead Maguire and former UN assistant secretary general Denis Halliday.
A statement from the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) said the Rachel Corrie was carrying 1,000 tons of educational and rebuilding supplies.
Israeli media reports, however, said the ship may have already agreed to dock in Ashdod. The daily newspaper Haaretz cited European diplomats and senior Foreign Ministry officials in Jerusalem, as saying a "diplomatic" solution had been found to impending second challenge to Israel's siege on Gaza.
Speaking from the boat, Irishman Derek Graham told PSC that "if this aid is not delivered, then Monday's deaths will have been in vain".
He said the passengers had discussed the possability of being boarded by commandos like the first ships, and told PSC that all 15 passengers would sit with their arms in the air so that they would not be attacked.
More Gaza Flotilla Detainees Released; Larudee Badly Beaten But Now Headed to Greece
From Henry Norr, Free Palestine Movement, The Berkeley Daily Planet, June 2, 2010
Dr. Paul Larudee, a passenger on the Freedom Flotilla that was attacked by Israel before it could deliver its cargo of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, was badly beaten and tasered during the Memorial Day commando raid, but according to latest reports he was released from detention late Wednesday night and is now in flight to Greece.
Larudee, a resident of Richmond, CA, participated in the international flotilla as part of a delegation from the Free Palestine Movement (FPM), a California-based non-profit. Two other members of the FPM group - Ambassador Ed Peck of Chevy Chase, MD, a retired US diplomat, and Joe Meadors of Corpus Christi, TX, a USS Liberty veteran (hence now a survivor of two unprovoked Israeli attacks on the high seas) - have returned home safely and are now speaking out about their ordeal. As of Wednesday afternoon California time, two other members of the group - Gene St. Onge and Janet Kobren, both of Oakland, CA - have been held up for the last 12 hours at Israel's international airport near Tel Aviv. but are expected to board a flight to Istanbul soon, before proceeding home to the US.
Gayle McLaughlin, Mayor of Richmond, said "I have worked with Paul on local housing issues in Richmond, and I know he has a track record of commitment to nonviolence in standing up against the oppression of Palestinians. I condemn the Israeli assault on this humanitarian flotilla and join others in calling for an end to the blockade of Gaza."
Ambassador Peck this morning described the Israeli commando raid on the Sfendoni, the Freedom Flotilla ship he and other FPM delegates were aboard: "The first thing we knew was the sound of footsteps, and my eyelids flicked open, and there they were, heavily armed. The Israeli government keeps referring to the paint guns, but the paint guns were attached to the automatic weapons and the stun grenades and the pepper spray and the tasers and everything else that these guys carry. ... And it was all over in the inside of the ship, where I was. But up on the upper deck, where some people had been sitting and sleeping, they made an effort to peacefully prevent the Israelis from taking over the wheelhouse, and we had a number of people injured in that. Nothing of a critical nature, but we had people on crutches and people with bandages and peoples with their arms in slings, and the captain had his neck in a brace."
"I was deported for having violated Israeli law," Peck added. "I asked [the Israeli official processing his deportation], 'What law have I violated?' He said, 'You have illegally entered Israel.' I said, 'Well, now, wait. Our ship was taken over by armed commandos. I was brought here at gunpoint against my will, and you call that illegally entering Israel?'"
To Navy vet Joe Meadors, “There is no doubt that the Israelis were committing piracy on the high seas against the Freedom Flotilla and used deadly force against unarmed humanitarians whose only crime was defending themselves against a sea and airborne invasion by heavily armed aggressors."
"As a survivor of the June 8, 1967 Israeli attack on the USS Liberty," Meadors said, "I am fully aware of the tactics the Israelis are capable of and willing to use with impunity and without remorse. That time they fired machine guns, cannon, rockets, napalm, and torpedoes on us, then deliberately machine-gunned life rafts we had dropped over the side in anticipation of abandoning ship. And the only response from the American government was to impose a gag order on the crew of the USS Liberty."
"This time, too," Meadors continued, "the Israelis have shown no remorse, and I fear that the US government is again granting them impunity."
As to the other FPM detainees, St. Onge suffered a gash on his head when kicked by an Israeli soldier as he tried to protect a fellow passenger whom the commandos were beating on the deck of the Sfendoni, he told his wife Jan St. Onge. Kobren was allowed to make a brief phone call to the US from a women's prison unit in Beersheba, Israel, yesterday and reported that she is good health, but all the prisoners' belongings had been taken from them.
Larudee, 64, is a longtime activist in the struggle for justice for Palestine: he and Kobren co-founded the FPM in 2009, and he previously co-founded the Free Gaza Movement, the organization that first broke the Israeli blockade of Gaza from the sea in 2008, and the International Solidarity Movement, a group that has sent hundred of Americans and other internationals to support non-violent Palestinian resistance to the Israeli occupation. Paul holds a Ph.D. in linguistics and makes his living as a piano tuner.
At least seven other US citizens took part in the Freedom Flotilla under the auspices of other organizations. One, Huwaida Arraf, chair of the Free Gaza Movement, was released Tuesday. The FPM has no confirmed information about the status of the other six: Iara Lee, a filmmaker from San Francisco; Kathy Sheetz, a retired nurse from Richmond, CA, and Woods Hole, MA; Ann Wright, a retired U.S. Army Colonel and a U.S. diplomat until she resigned in opposition to theIraq war; David Schermerhorn, a film producer from Deer Harbor, WA; Fatima Mohammadi, a longtime activist from Chicago; and Khalid Turaani, who was founder and executive director of the former American Muslims forJerusalem and now lives in Dubai.
For more information about the Free Palestine Movement, see www.freepalestinemovement.org.
For information on other groups that played major roles in the Freedom Flotilla, see savegaza.eu/eng/ (the European Campaign to End the Siege of Gaza), www.freegaza.org/ (the Free Gaza Movement), and www.ihh.org.tr/filistin/en/ (The Foundation For Human Rights And Freedoms And Humanitarian Relief of Turkey - IHH).
Dr. Paul Larudee, a passenger on the Freedom Flotilla that was attacked by Israel before it could deliver its cargo of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, was badly beaten and tasered during the Memorial Day commando raid, but according to latest reports he was released from detention late Wednesday night and is now in flight to Greece.
Larudee, a resident of Richmond, CA, participated in the international flotilla as part of a delegation from the Free Palestine Movement (FPM), a California-based non-profit. Two other members of the FPM group - Ambassador Ed Peck of Chevy Chase, MD, a retired US diplomat, and Joe Meadors of Corpus Christi, TX, a USS Liberty veteran (hence now a survivor of two unprovoked Israeli attacks on the high seas) - have returned home safely and are now speaking out about their ordeal. As of Wednesday afternoon California time, two other members of the group - Gene St. Onge and Janet Kobren, both of Oakland, CA - have been held up for the last 12 hours at Israel's international airport near Tel Aviv. but are expected to board a flight to Istanbul soon, before proceeding home to the US.
Gayle McLaughlin, Mayor of Richmond, said "I have worked with Paul on local housing issues in Richmond, and I know he has a track record of commitment to nonviolence in standing up against the oppression of Palestinians. I condemn the Israeli assault on this humanitarian flotilla and join others in calling for an end to the blockade of Gaza."
Ambassador Peck this morning described the Israeli commando raid on the Sfendoni, the Freedom Flotilla ship he and other FPM delegates were aboard: "The first thing we knew was the sound of footsteps, and my eyelids flicked open, and there they were, heavily armed. The Israeli government keeps referring to the paint guns, but the paint guns were attached to the automatic weapons and the stun grenades and the pepper spray and the tasers and everything else that these guys carry. ... And it was all over in the inside of the ship, where I was. But up on the upper deck, where some people had been sitting and sleeping, they made an effort to peacefully prevent the Israelis from taking over the wheelhouse, and we had a number of people injured in that. Nothing of a critical nature, but we had people on crutches and people with bandages and peoples with their arms in slings, and the captain had his neck in a brace."
"I was deported for having violated Israeli law," Peck added. "I asked [the Israeli official processing his deportation], 'What law have I violated?' He said, 'You have illegally entered Israel.' I said, 'Well, now, wait. Our ship was taken over by armed commandos. I was brought here at gunpoint against my will, and you call that illegally entering Israel?'"
To Navy vet Joe Meadors, “There is no doubt that the Israelis were committing piracy on the high seas against the Freedom Flotilla and used deadly force against unarmed humanitarians whose only crime was defending themselves against a sea and airborne invasion by heavily armed aggressors."
"As a survivor of the June 8, 1967 Israeli attack on the USS Liberty," Meadors said, "I am fully aware of the tactics the Israelis are capable of and willing to use with impunity and without remorse. That time they fired machine guns, cannon, rockets, napalm, and torpedoes on us, then deliberately machine-gunned life rafts we had dropped over the side in anticipation of abandoning ship. And the only response from the American government was to impose a gag order on the crew of the USS Liberty."
"This time, too," Meadors continued, "the Israelis have shown no remorse, and I fear that the US government is again granting them impunity."
As to the other FPM detainees, St. Onge suffered a gash on his head when kicked by an Israeli soldier as he tried to protect a fellow passenger whom the commandos were beating on the deck of the Sfendoni, he told his wife Jan St. Onge. Kobren was allowed to make a brief phone call to the US from a women's prison unit in Beersheba, Israel, yesterday and reported that she is good health, but all the prisoners' belongings had been taken from them.
Larudee, 64, is a longtime activist in the struggle for justice for Palestine: he and Kobren co-founded the FPM in 2009, and he previously co-founded the Free Gaza Movement, the organization that first broke the Israeli blockade of Gaza from the sea in 2008, and the International Solidarity Movement, a group that has sent hundred of Americans and other internationals to support non-violent Palestinian resistance to the Israeli occupation. Paul holds a Ph.D. in linguistics and makes his living as a piano tuner.
At least seven other US citizens took part in the Freedom Flotilla under the auspices of other organizations. One, Huwaida Arraf, chair of the Free Gaza Movement, was released Tuesday. The FPM has no confirmed information about the status of the other six: Iara Lee, a filmmaker from San Francisco; Kathy Sheetz, a retired nurse from Richmond, CA, and Woods Hole, MA; Ann Wright, a retired U.S. Army Colonel and a U.S. diplomat until she resigned in opposition to theIraq war; David Schermerhorn, a film producer from Deer Harbor, WA; Fatima Mohammadi, a longtime activist from Chicago; and Khalid Turaani, who was founder and executive director of the former American Muslims forJerusalem and now lives in Dubai.
For more information about the Free Palestine Movement, see www.freepalestinemovement.org.
For information on other groups that played major roles in the Freedom Flotilla, see savegaza.eu/eng/ (the European Campaign to End the Siege of Gaza), www.freegaza.org/ (the Free Gaza Movement), and www.ihh.org.tr/filistin/en/ (The Foundation For Human Rights And Freedoms And Humanitarian Relief of Turkey - IHH).
Workers World Party statement: Israeli terror must not pass!
End the siege of Gaza — Break the blockade —
Boycott the apartheid settler state
Stop Washington’s imperialist strategic alliance with Israel
Long live Palestine!
Editorial, Workers World, June 2, 2010
Workers World Party links arms with the heroic members of the Freedom Flotilla who risked their lives trying to break Israel’s genocidal siege of Gaza. We mourn for those who were cut down by the racist settler state of Israel while on a humanitarian mission and will redouble our militant support for the movement to end the blockade.
Israel now adds piracy and murder on the high seas to its long list of crimes against the Palestinian people and their supporters. It is not known yet whether the decision to carry out this foul deed came only from Israeli commanders or whether its imperialist sponsors, especially Washington and London, were also involved and informed.
Either way, such conduct by a small country would be impossible without the undeniable support and collusion of these imperialist powers over decades. Israel has again and again launched terror attacks on the Palestinians and on neighboring countries like Lebanon. It carried out a ruthless military campaign just 16 months ago against the civilian population of Gaza, bombing and burning to death more than 1,400 Palestinians.
Now these same imperialists are trying again to put out the fires of resistance sparked by Israel’s crimes. As they have done before, with each act of Israeli terror, the U.S. and Britain in particular block any meaningful international condemnation of this outrageous act at a time when the people of the world are demanding retribution.
It has never been clearer than now why Israel gets away with its crimes: It is a ruthless instrument of imperialism that was deliberately planted in the Middle East to counter the long and growing struggle of the peoples of the region to finally free their resources from Western exploitation and regain their sovereignty.
Israel is a racist, settler state that has much in common with the apartheid regime in South Africa. In fact, documents have just been revealed showing Israel agreed to supply the apartheid regime with a nuclear war-making capability - a deal that was thwarted when the African people, supported by a world anti-apartheid movement, succeeded in bringing down the racists.
That’s what is needed now - a worldwide movement to pull down the racist settler state in Israel. It is an essential and key element in the growing struggle of the workers and oppressed peoples of the world to get the billionaires off their backs and win economic and social justice.
Boycott the apartheid settler state
Stop Washington’s imperialist strategic alliance with Israel
Long live Palestine!
Editorial, Workers World, June 2, 2010
Workers World Party links arms with the heroic members of the Freedom Flotilla who risked their lives trying to break Israel’s genocidal siege of Gaza. We mourn for those who were cut down by the racist settler state of Israel while on a humanitarian mission and will redouble our militant support for the movement to end the blockade.
Israel now adds piracy and murder on the high seas to its long list of crimes against the Palestinian people and their supporters. It is not known yet whether the decision to carry out this foul deed came only from Israeli commanders or whether its imperialist sponsors, especially Washington and London, were also involved and informed.
Either way, such conduct by a small country would be impossible without the undeniable support and collusion of these imperialist powers over decades. Israel has again and again launched terror attacks on the Palestinians and on neighboring countries like Lebanon. It carried out a ruthless military campaign just 16 months ago against the civilian population of Gaza, bombing and burning to death more than 1,400 Palestinians.
Now these same imperialists are trying again to put out the fires of resistance sparked by Israel’s crimes. As they have done before, with each act of Israeli terror, the U.S. and Britain in particular block any meaningful international condemnation of this outrageous act at a time when the people of the world are demanding retribution.
It has never been clearer than now why Israel gets away with its crimes: It is a ruthless instrument of imperialism that was deliberately planted in the Middle East to counter the long and growing struggle of the peoples of the region to finally free their resources from Western exploitation and regain their sovereignty.
Israel is a racist, settler state that has much in common with the apartheid regime in South Africa. In fact, documents have just been revealed showing Israel agreed to supply the apartheid regime with a nuclear war-making capability - a deal that was thwarted when the African people, supported by a world anti-apartheid movement, succeeded in bringing down the racists.
That’s what is needed now - a worldwide movement to pull down the racist settler state in Israel. It is an essential and key element in the growing struggle of the workers and oppressed peoples of the world to get the billionaires off their backs and win economic and social justice.
June 16: Peace Vigil In Solidarity With Aid Flotilla Attacked & Abducted By Israel
Peace Vigil In Solidarity With Aid Flotilla Attacked & Abducted By Israel
Wed., June 16, 2010
5:00 PM
7th St & Hawthorne Ln
Charlotte, NC
Sponsored by: CODEPINK Charlotte; Action Center For Justice; Al-Awda Charlotte; Students For A Democratic Society - UNCC; Movement For A Democratic Society - Charlotte; ISO Charlotte; & others.
The Free Gaza Flotilla, comprised of 6 ships bringing emergency supplies to the Palestinians held under Israeli siege in Gaza , was attacked in international waters by 14 Israeli ships, helicopters and masked Israeli commandos.
Sara Flounders, Co-Director of International Action Center, said this attack and the brutal starvation siege of Gaza would not have been possible without the billions of dollars in international aid that Washington gives to Israel every year for more than 60 years. This latest massacre is an act of international piracy. We must reinforce the efforts to Boycott, Divest and Sanction this racist regime and demand an end to all U.S. aid to Israel .
AlAwda NYC points out that live footage from one of the boats reveals the Israeli soldiers were heavily masked and carrying live ammunition which they used on the unarmed passengers. None of the passengers or activists were armed. Israel has continuously seized and refused to release emergency aid supplies to the besieged people of Gaza.
Wed., June 16, 2010
5:00 PM
7th St & Hawthorne Ln
Charlotte, NC
Sponsored by: CODEPINK Charlotte; Action Center For Justice; Al-Awda Charlotte; Students For A Democratic Society - UNCC; Movement For A Democratic Society - Charlotte; ISO Charlotte; & others.
The Free Gaza Flotilla, comprised of 6 ships bringing emergency supplies to the Palestinians held under Israeli siege in Gaza , was attacked in international waters by 14 Israeli ships, helicopters and masked Israeli commandos.
Sara Flounders, Co-Director of International Action Center, said this attack and the brutal starvation siege of Gaza would not have been possible without the billions of dollars in international aid that Washington gives to Israel every year for more than 60 years. This latest massacre is an act of international piracy. We must reinforce the efforts to Boycott, Divest and Sanction this racist regime and demand an end to all U.S. aid to Israel .
AlAwda NYC points out that live footage from one of the boats reveals the Israeli soldiers were heavily masked and carrying live ammunition which they used on the unarmed passengers. None of the passengers or activists were armed. Israel has continuously seized and refused to release emergency aid supplies to the besieged people of Gaza.
Video: Israelis' Celebrate Attack On Aid Ship In Front Of Turkish Embassy
Demonstrators in Tel Aviv call Erdogan 'fascist'
By Yael Branovsky, Ynetnews, June 1, 2010
Hundreds protest outside Turkish embassy against Ankara's involvement in Gaza flotilla, carry signs reading, 'Provocation is not the path to peace.' Likud MK: There are Trojan horses in the Knesset who support terror
Hundreds of Israelis gathered outside the Turkish embassy in Tel Aviv Monday evening in protest against Ankara's involvement in the Gaza-bound aid flotilla.
Israeli commandos raided the ships early Monday morning. At least 10 Palestinian activists were killed as the soldiers boarded one of the ships.
The demonstrators waved Israeli flags, sang the national anthem and called on the Turkish government not to intervene in Israel's affairs.
They also carried signs reading, "Provocation is not the path to peace", "Stop Hamas", "Free Gilad Shalit", "Killed and injured - and the Turks are pleased" and "Erdogan is an Islamo-fascist" – referring the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who supported the sail to Gaza.
Likud Knesset Member Danny Danon, who participated in the rally, told Ynet, "The Turks should not teach us about human rights. I can only imagine what would have happened had a ship of terrorists reached Turkey's shores.
"We regret the deaths, but we are proud of our security forces," he added.
Fellow Likud parliamentarian Miri Regev addressed the participation of Arab-Israeli MK Hanin Zoabi (National Democratic Assembly) in the sail. "There are Trojan horses in the Knesset who support terror. We didn’t see a sail for the release of (kidnapped soldier) Gilad Shalit. The Turks know that humanitarian aid is transferred to Gaza on a regular basis."
Boaz Arad, who helped organize the rally said, "Erdogan's game is obvious – he wants to please the Arab world."
Another demonstrator, an Italian of Jewish descent, said, "I came to support Israel. I am sick and tired of the fact that we always have to explain ourselves."
During the rally eggs were thrown at the Turkish embassy.
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