U.S. BOAT TO GAZA

We are thrilled to announce the Gaza's Ark project and the participation of those in the United States who support the people of Gaza and the West Bank.

 

If you would like to know more about Gaza's Ark and how you can support the project, join us on a conference call,  

Tuesday, May 22 at 11pm Eastern.  Please call

712-432-3900, access code 481417#.

Ann Wright and Jane Hirschmann are the US points of contact on the international steering committee.

Please email Ann if you are planning on calling in for the conference call-- gazaarkus@gmail.com

Gaza's Ark

Building Hope

The Canadian Boat to Gaza, in cooperation, with international initiatives in the US, Australia and other countries, is launching a new initiative to challenge the illegal and inhumane Israeli blockade of Gaza, the only Mediterranean port closed to shipping.

This new initiative: Gaza's Ark, will build a boat in Gaza, using existing resources. A crew of internationals and Palestinians will sail it out of Gaza carrying Palestinian products to fulfill trade deals with international buyers.

Gaza's Ark will be constructed in Gaza by Palestinian hands and expertise, with international assistance.

Gaza's Ark will help revitalize the dwindling ship building industry in Gaza and help ensure the transmission of this disappearing expertise (another effect of the blockade) to the younger generations.

Through Gaza's Ark and trade deals secured between Palestinian producers in Gaza and international businesses and NGOs a channel will be established to export Palestinian products from Gaza that are available despite the blockade.

Gaza's Ark will also provide training to Gaza's sailors in the use of up-to-date electronic sailing equipment and techniques which they have been denied for years as a result of the blockade.

Although it will help in a very limited manner to alleviate Gaza's unemployment crisis by paying wages to the boat builders and providing business opportunities to traders, Gaza's Ark is not an aid project. It is a peaceful action against the blockade which Israel unilaterally and unreasonably imposes on Gaza.

Gaza's Ark also stands in solidarity with the Palestinian fishery in Gaza whose ability to operate in territorial waters and to derive a livelihood is threatened by the same Israeli blockade which our campaign is challenging.

Gaza's Ark challenges the blockade by building hope on the ground in Gaza, and affirms our confidence that the Palestinians of Gaza can rebuild their economy through outbound trade that threatens no-one's security.

With your support, the work on Gaza's Ark will start this summer. You will be able to follow its progress with regular updates on the web (www.GazaArk.org), on Facebook (www.facebook.com/GazaArk) and Twitter (@GazaArk).

You can reach us by email at info@gazaark.org.

"As if there was no humanity in the room"

French boat Dignité of Freedom Flotilla II leaves Greece

16 July 2011

For Immediate Release

French boat Dignité of Freedom Flotilla II leaves Greece

The French boat “Dignité/Karama” (Dignity) left the Greek island Kastellorizo around 8:30PM local time on Saturday July 16, 2011, heading south. The ten passengers onboard view themselves as representatives of the whole Freedom Flotilla II – Stay Human. The rest of the Flotilla’s ships have been detained in different Greek ports, through bureaucratic obstruction, sabotage, sudden restrictions and withdrawals of flags.

The Dignité, sailing under a French flag, left Corsica on June 25th, and has, over the past weeks, been in Greek waters. It has now left– so far without being followed by the Greek coast guard or Navy.

Among the delegates on board is Jacqueline Le Corre, member of the French Communist Party, Jean Claude Lefort, former French Member of the European Parliament, as well as representatives of the Canadian, French, Greek and Swedish initiatives within Freedom Flotilla II. Onboard the Dignité are also renowned Israeli journalist Amira Hass, reporting for Haaretz, and a team from Al-Jazeera TV. (Full list of passengers below).

Kastellorizo, in the far east of the Greek archipelago, is only miles from Turkish mainland. A substantial part of Kastellorizo’s population fled during the Second World War to Gaza, where they stayed for years. The present mayor of the island, Paul Panigiris, was born in Gaza, and feels strongly, as do many other people from Kastellorizo, for a population that once hosted them and is now under siege.

The action of Dignité is not a mini-version of Freedom Flotilla 2, but a first wave that will be followed by others. It is a message to the Israeli government, to the international community and to the besieged people of Gaza: The Free Gaza Movement and the coalition of Freedom Flotilla II are not giving up until the inhumane and illegitimate blockade of Gaza is lifted.

Gaza, we are coming!

www.freegaza.org

www.witnessgaza.com

www.freedomflotilla.eu

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Passengers on the Dignité

Stéphan Corriveau, Coordinator of Canadian boat to Gaza

Dror Feiler, spokesperson of Ship to Gaza-Sweden, President of the European Jews for a Just Peace, artist, musician, composer

Jérôme Gleizes, France, Europe Ecologie Les Verts

Jacqueline Le Corre, France, Médecin-Collectif 14 de soutien au peuple palestinien, member of Parti communiste francais

Jean Claude Lefort, former MEP, French Communist Party –PCF

Claude Léostic, spokesperson of Un bateau français pour Gaza

Yamin Makri, France, Collectif 69 de soutien au peuple palestinien

Omeyya Naoufel Seddik, Tunisian, Fédération des Tunisiens pour une citoyenneté des deux rives (FTCR), and Ligue tunisienne des Droits de l'Homme (LTDH), Phd in Political Science

Thomas Sommer-Houdeville, spokesperson of Un bateau français pour Gaza, Researcher, Political Sciecnce, Middle East Studies, at the Institut francais du proche Orient

Vangelis Pissias, spokesperson of Ship to Gaza-Greece, Professor at Technical University of Athens

Amira Hass, Israeli journalist - Haaretz

Ayyache Derradji, Journalist from Al Jazeera

Stéphane Guida, Cameraman from Al Jazeera

Zacharia Stylianakis, Captain

Hilaire Folacci, Mariner

Yannick Voisin, Mariner

Jo Leguen, Navigator

How to turn the Freedom Flotilla 2 debacle into an opportunity

What can we make of the FF2 debacle?

First, let's say this openly: the FF2 was a comprehensive defeat for civilized mankind and a major tactical victory for the "Jewish state of Israel". Yes, the FF2 did bring some additional attention to the Gaza blockade and the plight of the Palestinian people, but that is a very modest achievement at best. I would argue that the benefits of drawing the media attention back to Gaza are far offset by the costs of allowing the Israelis to claim "we are invincible, we can even outsource our repressive policies to any government we want".  Like the Borg in the Star Trek series, the Israelis always want to convince us that "resistance is futile". I can just imagine how depressing and demotivating such an outcome must be not only for the people of Gaza, but also to all the Free Palestine activists worldwide: frankly, the FF2 was, in essence, stillborn.

I have to say that I do not feel that the blame for this outcome should put upon the organizers of the FF2. Before the Papandreou regime, Greece used to be generally pro-Palestinian and I don't believe that anybody could have predicted the abject degree of subservient collaboration the Papandreou regime would engage in. Yes, there were signs of a "rapprochement" between Greece and the Israel, but that this would include a wholesale violation Greek and international law including preventing all the ships of the FF2 from *leaving* Greek waters was, I think, quite imaginable to predict, even for the most cynical among us.

What happened in Greece is a "perfect storm": a mob of international "banksters" mugging Greece, a Greek government comprehensively sold out to these international mobsters, Israel courting Greece to try to offset its crashing relationship with Turkey, and an always present Uncle Sam using all his might to blindly support any Israeli interests. As for the Greek general public, it would be fair to say that it had bigger fish to fry.

Still, the decision of the the US organizers of the Audacity of Hope to basically throw in the towel and leave is premature. In fact, I would argue that the FF2 can use the Greek government's actions to basically maintain a constant pro-Gaza campaign in Greece, in far more comfortable, not to mention safer, conditions than on the high seas.

Since the Papandreou regime is in violation of God only knows how many legal norms, sooner or later the FF2 would have prevailed. Yes, this might be a long-time effort and yes, it might be  costly, but I am quite confident that both money and volunteers could easily be found. 

Furthermore, pounding Israel's image via its shabbos-goy Papandreou and getting a pound of his flesh in the courts, the media and the public opinion could be a wonderful context for the preparation of the next, third, freedom flotilla, if only because of the legal precedence which will inevitably be set.  This might well be one of the  few situation were repeating the same thing over and over again expecting different results is not a sign insanity, but a very rational choice.

Now let's also look forward at what could be done next in preparation for a Freedom Flotilla 3. Here are some ideas which came to me:

First, letters could be sent out to all major politicians in Greece, Turkey, Syria (both sides), Lebanon (both sides), Egypt, Libya (both sides), and Cyprus (both sides) asking them to take a stance for the record on the legality of leaving the territorial waters of their country to bring humanitarian aid to Gaza.Politicians  answering 'yes' would be on the record, those answering 'no' - or refusing to answer - could then be denounced as 'Israeli puppets/agents' - something rather damaging to any politician in these countries. Such a write-in campaign would be simple, cheap, very effective and, frankly, great fun to do: basically, this would rattle the cages of the entire political class of the region.

Second, alternative routes need to be carefully considered. This is a tough one. Turkey seems to have gotten cold feet at the idea of a 2nd, nevermind 3rd, Freedom Flotilla. Egypt is in a situation too similar to the one of Greece: in deep chaos (albeit for different reasons), and very susceptible to the pressure from Uncle Sam. Libya is even in worse shape, with a Qaddafi regime fighting for survival and an opposition totally controlled by the CIA/MI6/DGSE agents. So it appears that there are not good options, but is that really so?  Let's take another look at the "Egyptian option": it would be easy to find *many* people in Egypt willing to help. Furthermore, since there are major elections scheduled in the near future, candidates running for office will be extremely careful about their stance on Palestine. And there is no March 14 movement in Egypt, no AIPAC, at least not overtly. Even more than in any other country, a write-in campaign asking politicians to state their position on the record could be use to unmask and embarrass pro-Israeli politicians. Is that not a "win-win" situation in political terms?

Third, the choice of Egypt will also complicate the job for the Israeli naval thugs who will try to intercept the next flotilla. First, Egyptian and Gaza territorial waters are adjacent to each other making it hard to monitor them and easy to organize false alarms (which always wear down the defending side). Furthermore, should the Israelis show their usual contempt for international law and decide to enter into the Egyptian territorial waters this would result in yet another diplomatic nightmare for pro-Israeli politicians and yet another wonderful opportunity to denounce the Zionists.

Fourth, the logistical capabilities needed to bring people from Egypt to Gaza are far smaller than from Greece to Gaza. Bottom line - a lot of money could be saved by choosing the Egyptian option.

None of the above is anything close resembling an actual plan. It is nothing more than a suggestion that I submit for discussion. I have always believed that a tactical defeat creates new opportunities to make a virtue out of necessity and that a fresh look into previously unconsidered options can be most productive.

I sure hope that the Free Palestine movement will rebound from its latest setback.

The Saker

Another major victory for the Egyptian people?

According to Ha'aretz and the BBC, Egypt will permanently open the Rafah crossing into Gaza The Rafah crossing will be opened permanently from 0900 to 2100 every day except Fridays and holidays, beginning Saturday 28 May: the crossing will be opened permanently from 0900 to 2100 every day except Fridays and holidays, beginning Saturday 28 May.

If that is true, this is wonderful and long-awaited news!!

Brick by brick, the racist abomination of the "Jewish state of Israel" is being dismantled.  There remains much to still be done, but punching a hole through the blockade of Gaza was always a top priority and a first step towards bringing down the "Apartheid wall" in the rest of Palestine.

I don't believe for one second that this decision has been taken thanks to the deep humanism of the military caretaker junta running the Egyptian state.  I therefore can only put the credit there where I believe it is due: to the pressure of the Egyptian people themselves.

We all - not just the Palestinians of Gaza - owe them an immense debt of gratitude!

Road to Hope (R2H) Convoy Reaches Gaza

Road to Hope (R2H) Convoy Reaches Gaza

Despite kidnapping, government obstacles and financial challenges

The Road to Hope Convoy reunited in Egypt after having been split by the Egyptian requirement to charter a ship from Libya to El Arish and the kidnapping of 10 convoy members from Libya to Greece.  3 members of the convoy travelled to Egypt by sea with 30 vehicles and £500,000 of humanitarian aid, 29 convoy members flew in a chartered jet from Libya to El Arish and 3 of the 10 kidnap victims flew from the UK and Greece to Egypt on November 21, 23 and 25, all reuniting on the 25^th.  The convoy was subsequently challenged by the Egyptian resistance to the 3 kidnapped convoy members rejoining the convoy, this because they had not flown in with the chartered jet from Libya.  This was not possible however because of their inability to get new passports after having been separated from them against their will.  Importantly, Egypt had approved travel to Gaza for all 3 of these convoy members just days before.

Being unable to negotiate the return of the kidnapped convoy members to the convoy they were compelled to jump into the vans when they proceeded from El Arish Port to Rafah.  When the Egyptian authorities realized that these convoy members were among the entire convoy group at Rafah, they announced that these three would not be able to reach Gaza.  Among these members was Ken O’Keefe, convoy leader and survivor of the Israeli attack on the Mavi Marmara.  With the entire convoy standing firm, the Egyptian authorities reversed their decision after several hours and the entire convoy passed through to Gaza. 

After a demanding and very long 7 week journey the convoy members have been given just over two days to stay in Gaza or risk joining the imprisoned population of Gaza; this is typical of the Egyptian control of the Rafah Crossing.  13members of the convoy were blacklisted by Egypt, including a seventy-year-old children’s entertainer and magician from Wales who was transporting toys for the children of Gaza.  Also blacklisted was a Scottish national who has never left Scotland and has no affiliation with any organization, along with a 19 year-old British national, again with no associations that could be considered prohibitive.  Several survivors of the Mavi Marmara were banned, along with British/Pakistani nationals and previous convoy members.  This trend makes it harder and harder for people to support Palestine and should be considered a part of the overall blockade of Gaza.

The convoy members will do their best to experience as much of Gaza as possible and share with the world the reality of life for people entering four years of a brutal collective punishment policy.  The vehicles and aid will be distributed to various charities and organizations that are doing invaluable work.  Among the aid is medical equipment and medicines, wheel chairs, crutches, toys, clothes footballs and shoes. 

Ken O’Keefe will remain in Gaza for 40 days (or longer if imprisoned) and begin daily video reports focusing on the children of Gaza.  These will be posted at his Facebook and Twitter accounts and his blog.

-------

 

R2H Facts - The Road to Hope humanitarian aid convoy left London on the 10^th of October with £500,000 of humanitarian aid for the besieged people of the Gaza Strip. The convoy travelled with over 100 members and 32 vehicles over 5,000 miles through the UK, France, Spain, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya and Egypt.

Contact:

Ken O’Keefe (Gaza) +970 5977 52919

Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/1worldcitizen

Twitter - http://twitter.com/1worldcitizen

Blog - http://kenokeefe.wordpress.com/

Keep your eye on witnessgaza.com for the US Boat to Gaza launch videos

They said it couldn't be done, that Americans couldn't raise money fast enough to buy a boat to join Freedom Flotilla 2 in the fall. But never underestimate American determination in the face of Israeli intransigence and brutality. The launch of the US Boat to Gaza began last night in New York, and Free Gaza was there to participate.

Listen to Col. Ann Wright's eloquent speech, then watch our TWITTER page for the next video uploads.

And this is just a beginning, as witnessgaza.com gets ready to go live for events across the US and across Europe.

"The Audacity of Hope" is more than just a book title. It is a call to everyone who believes in justice for Palestine... that there is hope, that civil society will do what governments refuse to do, that we will sail again and again until Palestinians gain the human and civil rights that have been denied to them for 62 years.

WE SAIL UNTIL PALESTINE IS FREE.

--
Greta Berlin,
witnessgaza.com

Rachel Corrie on Her Way

Written by Free Gaza Team | 04 June 2010

[Cyprus, June 4, 2010] The Rachel Corrie is 150 miles away from Gaza in international waters and on her way. They will arrive on Saturday morning. The 1200 ton cargo ship is the last ship from the Freedom Flotilla and is loaded with construction materials, 20 tons of paper and many other supplies that Israel refuses to allow into the imprisoned people of Gaza.

Some of the High-Profile people on board:

Mairead Maguire from Belfast, Ireland, a Nobel Peace Laureate (l976) and Co-founder of Peace People, Northern Ireland. She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her work for peace and a nonviolent solution to the Ethnic/political conflict in Northern Ireland. Mairead went on the maiden Voyage of Dignity in October 2008, the second successful voyage for the Free Gaza Movement. She was also on Board ‘Spirit’ when Israel hijacked the Boat in International Waters, taking all 2l humanitarian passengers to Israel, where they were arrested, detained for a week in an Israeli prison and then deported.

Denis Halliday, from Ireland, a UN Assistant Secretary-General from 1994-98. Appointed by SG Boutros Ghali, he served as ASG UN Human Resources Management in New York and in mid 1997 to end 1998 as Head, Humanitarian Programme in Iraq to support the Iraqi people struggling under the genocidal impact of UN Sanctions. Since resigning from the UN in 1998, Halliday has delivered numerous parliamentary briefings, provided extensive media inputs and has given public/university lectures on Iraq, human rights, and the UN, in particular its reform.

Matthias Chang Wen Chieh is a Malaysian of Chinese descent. He is a Barrister of 32 years standing and once served as the Political Secretary to the Fourth Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad. He is the author of three bestsellers, “Future Fast Forward”, “Brainwashed for War, Programmed to Kill”, and “The Shadow Money-Lenders and the Global Financial Tsunami”, published in the US and in Malaysia.

Mohd Nizar bin Zakaria,Perak, Malaysia, MP Mohd Nizar bin Zakaria is a Member of the Malaysian Parliament.

In addition, there is a three-member camera crew on board from Malaysia TV3 and journalis Shamsul Akmar bin Musa Kamal.

The passengers on board the ship have stated, “Communication is difficult and sometimes impossible and there are many rumors out there started by Israeli authorities, but there is no way we are going to Ashdod. We are, for sure, on our way to Gaza.”

Contact: Greta Berlin, 00 357 99 18 72 75

Mary Hughes 00 357 6 38 38 09

Sabotage on the High Sea

Written by Greta Berlin for FreeGaza.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(Cyprus, June 4, 2010) On Tuesday,, Colonel Itzik Tourgeman told the Knesset Defense and Foreign Affairs Committee on Tuesday that two more ships are on their way to try and break the naval blockade of Gaza. The head of research in the operations division said, "The ships have not reached their target as of today because covert action was taken against them." http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/Flash.aspx/187299

We had suspicions about our two boats, Challenger 1 and 2 and their mechanical problems as they sailed toward the flotilla, but we were not going to say anything unless we could prove it. Turns out we didn't have to prove it. Israeli mouthpieces did.

The Guardian ran a piece the same day, saying,

Israel gave strong indications today that its forces had secretly sabotaged some of the ships bound for Gaza as part of the freedom flotilla.

Matan Vilnai, the deputy defence minister, was asked on Israel Radio whether there had not been a smarter alternative to direct assault. He answered that "all possibilities had been considered," adding: "The fact is that there were less than the 10 ships that were due to participate in the flotilla."

An unnamed Israeli Defence Force source who briefed the Knesset's foreign affairs and defence committee on the widely criticised armed interception of the flotilla at sea, also spoke of "grey operations" being mounted against the flotilla."

We were lucky that our two captains were supurbly trained and able to offload the passengers safely.

So we are going to make sure the Rachel Corrie is well protected and that Israel is put on notice that anything that happens to her, the passengers and the crew will rest with Israel. As a result of these threats, we're going to pull Rachel Corrie into a port, add more high-profile people on board, and insist that journalists from around the world also come with us.

And sabotage happens with more than deeds. It also happens with words. In today's Haaretz, Barak Ravid reported,

"A diplomatic solution seems imminent to allow the humanitarian aid vessel the Rachel Corrie to dock without incident at the Ashdod Port. According to European diplomats and senior Foreign Ministry officials in Jerusalem, quiet messages have been exchanged over the past few days between Israel and the group operating the ship, to allow it to dock."

This, too, is sabotage in writing. We called Haaretz and the reporter. He did not return our call.

We have no intention nor would we ever have any intention of ever docking in Ashdod.

Contact: Greta Berlin 00 357 99 18 72 75
Mary Hughes, 00 357 96 38 38 09

News update about the Freedom Flotilla 2

Preparation is already well underway for an even larger “Freedom Flotilla Two” to be launched in the coming weeks. The new flotilla will travel to Gaza again in matter of weeks. Statements by the EU, the UN and others have made it imperative that Israel obey international law and lift the blockade. For example, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has stated that the siege is “unsustainable and unacceptable.” While Israel does have genuine security concerns, this does not allow it to break international law.

Contrary to Israeli spin-doctors, we want to emphasise that both the current and future flotillas are humanitarian and comprised of civilians working with other civilians, without support for specific Palestinian political parties. The humanitarian aid flotillas will continue to be sent until the siege on Gaza is lifted. We expect the international community to turn their strong words about the need to lift the siege on Gaza into concrete action. If governments don’t step up to insist that Israel abide by international law, civilians will continue to do the work.
----

The "European Campaign to End Siege on Gaza", announced that it already obtain the funding of the first three ships of the new fleet which will go to the Gaza Strip, which will be named "fleet of Freedom 2", related to the name of the First Fleet, who was exposed to piracy and a bloody massacre by Israel against the peace activists on board.

Dr. Arafat Madi, president of the Campaign, one of the founders of the fleet of freedom’s coalition, said in a statement:" The extensive calls are taking place to launch a new fleet to the Gaza Strip, involving many ships, will be carrying on board more aid and more peace activists than “Freedom 1” which was carrying ten thousand tons of aid and hundreds of peace activists from more than forty countries around the world.

Madi added, “following the massacre committed by Israeli forces against the peace activists on board the fleet of freedom, in regional and international territorial waters; Arab, Islamic, European and Western calls increased to form a fleet, larger than “freedom1”, in clear defiance by the liberals of the world, who rose up around the world to condemn the horrible massacr and against the Israeli arrogance.

The President of the European Campaign , the Brussels-based, confirmed that the “fleet of Freedom 2” is expected to start sailing in the coming weeks, adding that it would be larger inthe quantity and quality than “fleet of Freedom 1”, and would be formed by the will of the free world to break the Israeli unjust siege on Gaza.

source: http://savegaza.eu/eng/

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