THE JEWS ON THE FLOTILLA ~~ SELF HATERS OR SIMPLY FED UP WITH ISRAELI POLICIES?

Desert Peace

Israeli attempts to paint flotilla activists as a violent threat to the national security of the state has only brought the efforts of these Jews more exposure. The flotilla may have been stopped from physically sailing to Gaza, but the damage it has inflicted on Israel’s position as the vanguard of Jewish identity has added dramatic new layers to a painful internal discussion already in motion.

Over the past two weeks, American activists aboard the US boat to Gaza, dubbed the Audacity of Hope, have been engaged in nonviolence training, holding preparation meetings and speaking to the media about their mission to Gaza. Yesterday, their mission officially ended. The Greek government acting on the behest of Israel, stopped their boat, arrested their captain and ended their mission. Confident that they still won the public relations war, the emotional withdrawal from such an event will leave a lasting mark on many of the passengers. For the Jewish passengers on the Audacity of Hope, their convoluted relationship with Israel will continue to play a major role in their lives when they return to the United States.

The exhaustion of two anxious weeks of preparation was clear on the face of 74 year old Sante Fe resident Ken Myers as he talked about his Jewish background while on the lower deck of the Audacity of Hope, snacking on a freshly prepared Greek salad the night before the boat set sail. “For the most part, my family including my Israeli family have been supportive of my participation in this mission to Gaza.” He remarked as passenger chefs announced that everyone must take second portions of the salad since there is not enough storage space on board for leftovers. “I grew up in an extremely Jewish neighbourhood on the south shore of Long Island but my parents never forced Zionism on me even though my friends were all in Zionist youth groups.” Taking his last bits before handing over his plastic dish to the chefs he said, “I have come to understand that Zionism is simply incompatible with my version of Judaism.”

The Israeli government announced that it would seek a 10 year travel ban for all passengers participating in the Gaza flotilla for ‘illegally entering Israel’. Myers, visibly upset at the prospect of being banned from a country claiming to be his homeland questioned the rationale of the decision. “I am not traveling to Israel on this boat. I am traveling to Gaza and if Israel takes over the boat en route and claims that I illegally entered Israel despite the facts, well, banishment is the price I am willing to pay.”

As the Audacity of Hope left port on Friday afternoon, passengers embraced one and other triumphantly. Despite that the fact that they had not entered international waters and would surely be stopped by the Greek coast guard, many felt that their mission to confront Israel had succeeded when the boat left port. When Greek coast guard officials approached, their nonviolent trainers went into action, informing passengers to take  positions around the wheelhouse in order to protect the captain.

The initial excitement of the confrontation with the Greeks wore off as the evening approached. The passenger chefs prepared a dinner of pesto pasta as the defeat of their mission to Gaza set in. Some passengers remained upbeat even after it was clear that the boat would not travel to Gaza. Steve Fake, a writer and activist from New Orleans, remarked under the setting Athenian sun as the boat approached a military port, “just getting this boat to sea, even if it has only been for an hour, is proof that our mission of awareness has been successful.”

French Flotilla Boat Sets Sail For Gaza

Intifada Palestine

A French boat has set sail for Gaza from Corsica in the latest attempt by activists to deliver aid to the Palestinian territory, according to a journalist aboard the vessel.

The Dignite al Karama, which left the western Mediterranean island overnight is, thus far, the only boat in a flotilla organised by pro-Palestinian activists to successfully sail for Gaza, with most confined to ports in Greece.

The vessel’s passengers include Olivier Besancenot, head of the New Left Party in France, French politician and member of the European Parliament Nicole Kiil-Nilsen, and other well-known French personalities.

“We are about 20 minutes from international waters, and when we arrive there, the organisers on the boat will decide what their next move is,” Quentin Girard, a journalist with the French newspaper Liberation, told Al Jazeera from aboard the boat.

Girard said that the activists on the boat want to go to Gaza, but are waiting to decide if they will go once the boat arrives in international waters.

“I think they will go if the international committee for the flotilla encourages them to go,” Girard said.

Charges dropped

Meanwhile, the captain of a US ship, who was arrested by Greek authorities, was released on Tuesday and all charges against him dropped, Al Jazeera’s Jamal Elshayyal reported from Athens.

“He has not been fined for anything, and he is a free man. This after Greek authorities arrested him or detained him late on Friday as he tried to bring his ship out and take the passengers to Gaza,” Elshayyal said.

The Audacity of Hope, also part of the so-called ‘Freedom Flotilla’, set sail on Friday from the Greek port of Perama and was towed back to shore by the Greek coast guard.

“Many viewed that the case today would be indicative of how likely it would be that this flotilla would actually set sail altogether,” Elshayyal said. ”And it seems that there is reason for optimism on the part of the participants, since now their captain has been set free.”

Greece’s coast guard said on Saturday that the captain of The Audacity of Hope faced charges of trying to leave port without permission and of endangering the lives of the boat’s passengers.

The US boat is one of nine vessels carrying several hundred activists attempting to deliver aid to Gaza.
Some of the passengers on the US ship have remained on board in solidarity with the jailed captain.

On June 24, an anonymous complaint was filed against the ship’s “seaworthiness”. The Israel Law Centre (Shurat HaDin), took responsibility for the complaint in the Israeli media.

‘No matter how long it takes’

Gaza flotilla to set sail Monday despite numerous setbacks

Haaretz
By Amira Hass

An activist stands in front of the "Stefano Chiarini"
ship, during a demonstration against the Greek authorities'
ban on Gaza-bound ships, July 2, 2011.
Photo by: Reuters

Activists say all operational ships will be ready to depart, but exact number is yet unknown.

The organizers of the Gaza-bound flotilla said Sunday that all operational ships will set sail on Monday, despite the numerous delays the flotilla activists had encountered in the past week.

The decision to depart on Monday was made following several days of deliberations on the subject, and the exact number of ships due to sail is still unknown.

In contrast to recent reports, most of the Gaza flotilla activists are still participating.

Moreover, activists in several countries of origin of the ships participating in the flotilla such as Canada and Belgium held protests in support of the Gaza flotilla and against the Greek government, which had issued an order to bar the ships from leaving Greek ports.
Gaza flotilla July 2, 2011 (Reuters)

Eight of the ten ships due to participate in the Gaza flotilla were delayed over the weekend in various Greek ports, following an order by the Greek government to bar the departure of the vessels.

The activists as well as members of the leftist opposition in Greece accused the Socialist government of caving in to Israeli pressure. Greek Foreign Minister Stavros Lambrinidis said that the Greek government is preventing the departure of the vessels in order to avoid a ‘humanitarian disaster’ which will result from a violent confrontation with the Israeli navy.

The foreign minister also promised that he will continue to negotiate with the UN in order to find a solution to the flotilla crisis.

The Greek ban applies to all Greek and foreign vessels in Greek ports heading to Gaza.

Breaking: Greek Coast Guard Blocks 2011 Flotilla/US Boat to Gaza

Anything for a buck these days as Greece takes a break from cracking the skulls of its own citizens to participate in Israeli piracy.

OpEdNews

The messages are coming from people tweeting on the US Boat that's been in Athens. 

follow @usboattogaza #usboattogaza #flotilla2 #naiman #medeabenjamin

it looks like Israeli influence, and perhaps US influence as well, has reached Athens, where the US boat is being blocked at the harbor.

This is a fluid situation and OEN would like our readers to help keep track of what's going on by posting in the comments.

Israeli actor in anti-Gaza Flotilla pinkwashing video identified

Trying to kill two birds with one stone; the LGBT Rights Movement and the Gaza bound Flotilla…
*
Israel is taking advantage of a new phenomenon by engaging in an on-line ‘Pinkwashing‘ campaign. As was reported on this site earlier today, ISRAEL GRASPING AT STRAWS TO STOP THE FLOTILLAS, the following just might be the straw needed to ‘break the camel’s back.’

Submitted by Benjamin Doherty

The disillusioned “gay activist” called “Marc” who appeared in a YouTube video condemning the Gaza Freedom Flotilla for alleged homophobia, that was tweeted by the Israeli Government Press Office, has been identified as an Israeli called Omer Gershon.

This definitely proves that the video is either a hoax or a piece of propaganda designed to discredit the flotilla and use a mask of concern for gay rights to pinkwash Israel and justify the persecution of Palestinians in Gaza.

Last night The Electronic Intifada confirmed that one of the first people to tweet the video was Guy Seemann, a staffer in the office of the Israeli prime minister.

The following images clearly identify Gershon by his face and tattoos.

Omer Gershon’s public Facebook profile

Gershon, as an Israeli, could not possibly have been so naive as “Marc” claimed to be in the video about either the flotilla or the situation in Gaza. It is puzzling that a piece of propaganda that was meant to pass as the genuine work of an activist previously uninformed about the situation in Palestine would use a figure who is fairly well-known in the Israeli gay scene.

Gershon has been profiled in leading Israeli publications such as Haaretz, Maariv and Ynet (here and here).

A 2008 report gave his age as 33 and said he lived in Tel Aviv. Gershon was described as a “producer, entrepreneur, and PR manager for clubs.” Gershon says he went to school in New York where he got a degree in marketing and advertising at the age of 25 and lived there for almost four years. He also said he had volunteered for IGY (the youth LGBT organization in Israel) and a women’s rights org called “Ladies Circle.”

Spirits of Justice Going to Gaza

OpEdNews
Ray McGovern

For those who engage in the common struggle for Justice, an invaluable grace comes from getting to know new friends similarly engaged -- and equally willing to speak with more than words.

Thus, it has been a great grace to get to know folks like Alice Walker personally as well as through her writings -- including some new ones.  In one recent article, Alice addressed her reasons for joining the other 49 of us by putting her body on the line in sailing with "The Audacity of Hope," the U.S. boat to Gaza. She wrote:

"There is for me an awareness of paying off a debt to the Jewish civil rights activists who faced death to come to the side of black people in the South in our time of need. I am especially indebted to Michael Schwerner and Andrew Goodman who heard our calls for help -- our government then as now glacially slow in providing protection to non-violent protestors -- and came to stand with us.

"They got as far as the truncheons and bullets of a few "good ol' boys' of Neshoba County, Mississippi, and were beaten and shot to death along with James Cheney, a young black man with formidable courage who died with them. So even though our boat will be called "The Audacity of Hope,' it will fly the Goodman, Cheney, Schwerner flag in my own heart."

As for me, I will be flying in my own heart the flag of Jonathan Daniels, a Danforth Graduate Fellow of 1961, with whom my Fordham '61 college classmate Brian Daley, S.J., author Palmer Parker, and I spent a week of Danforth Fellow orientation on the shore of Lake Michigan in September 1961. Four years later, Jonathan was dead. Here's some of the rest of the story:

On Aug. 13, 1965, Jonathan Daniels, in a group of 29, went to picket whites-only stores in the small town of Fort Deposit, Alabama. All were arrested and taken to jail in the nearby town of Hayneville. Five juvenile protesters were released the next day. The rest of the group was held for six days; they refused to accept bail unless everyone was bailed.

Finally, on Aug. 20, the prisoners were released without transport back to Fort Deposit. After release, the group waited by a road near the jail. Jonathan with three others -- a white Catholic priest and two black protesters -- went down the street to get a cold soft drink at Varner's Grocery Store, one of the few local stores that would serve nonwhites.

They were met at the front by Tom L. Coleman, an engineer for the state highway department and unpaid special deputy, who wielded a shotgun. The man threatened the group, and finally leveled his gun at 16-year-old Ruby Sales. Daniels pushed Sales to the ground and caught the full blast of the gun. He was killed instantly.

The priest, Richard F. Morrisroe, grabbed the other protester and ran. Coleman shot Morrisroe, wounding him in the lower back. Coleman was subsequently acquitted of manslaughter charges by an all-white jury.

Video of Previous Act of Israeli Piracy Against Flotilla Mavi Mamara

‘Audacity of Hope’ Unlikely to Protect Gaza Flotilla Boat

Mideast Post

The United States flotilla group, US to Gaza, reacting to Israeli threats of violence, sent a letter to President Barack Obama informing him that:

As U.S. citizens we expect our country and its leaders to help ensure the Flotilla’s safe passage to Gaza – as our country should support our humanitarian demand that the Gaza blockade be lifted. This should begin by notifying the Israeli government in clear and certain terms that it may not physically interfere with the upcoming Flotilla of which the U.S. boat—The Audacity of Hope — is part.

The group asks that people call the White House (202-456-1111) in order to express their support for the international nonviolent protest and to tell the President that they “expect [him] to take action to uphold the rights of peaceful citizens to safe passage on the seas.”

I have little hope that Mr. Obama would respond to a call to protect Americans from an Israeli assault. He has failed to do this in the past. But isn’t it a wonderful irony that the name of the U.S. boat is a phrase closely associated with the President? Although Obama is not on board, maybe there are groups and individuals who have not publicly supported the flotilla movement in the past that would, at least, demand strongly that the IDF refrain from using violence against citizens who are obviously peaceful demonstrators.

Isn’t nonviolent protest one of the tenets of activism for American liberals and progressives?

Help Us Transmit This Story

 Add to Your Blogger Account
 Put it On Facebook
 Tweet this post
 Print it from your printer
 Email and a collection of other outlets
 Try even more services

Open Letter to President Obama by Ray McGovern

Salem-News

For the passengers and crew of 'The Audacity of Hope' to Gaza.

(NEW YORK CITY) - This is an open letter by Ray McGovern for the passengers and crew of “The Audacity of Hope” to Gaza.

Dear Mr. President:

Your speech on the Middle East earlier today emboldens us to claim your protection as we set out to put flesh on your rhetoric. Fifty of your fellow citizens will be sailing on “The Audacity of Hope” to Gaza next month.

You spoke eloquently today about “times in the course of history when the action of ordinary citizens spark movements for change because they speak to a longing for freedom that has been building up for years.” And you lamented “failure to speak to the broader aspirations of ordinary people.”

We, the passengers and crew of “The Audacity of Hope,” sailing to Gaza in June together with the International Flotilla 2011, represent ordinary Americans determined to speak to the aspirations of the 1.5 ordinary Gazans yearning to be free. We will be delivering thousands of letters of support from other ordinary Americans who are persuaded, as Dr. King put it, that “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

We write you for assurance of your support and protection as we try to embody your rhetoric. You emphasized that “the United States supports a set of universal rights,” and that this U.S. support is “not a secondary interest.” It is, rather, “a top priority that must be translated into concrete actions.”

Bold words. With respect to the situation in Gaza, though, perhaps you will agree that it hardly suffices to bemoan the fate of one “Palestinian who lost three daughters to Israeli shells in Gaza,” who, as you put it, has a “right to feel angry.”

That Palestinian and his dead daughters are four, but 1,400 Gazans were killed by Israeli forces in December 1998-January 1999 — and 1.5 million Gazans remain deprived of the universal rights of which you spoke. Gaza is a sequestered, crowded open-air prison, in which Israel keeps inmates at a subsistence level of existence. This amounts to the kind of collective punishment banned by international law and is enforced by an equally illegal blockade.

We have long been puzzled that you choose to exempt Gazans from your concern about universal rights, and have tired of waiting for a cogent explanation. So we ask you to look upon our voyage to Gaza as our attempt to implement your rhetoric about what ordinary citizens can do — not only to “speak” but also to act to meet the broader aspirations of the ordinary people of Gaza.

Tomorrow, you will have an opportunity to inform Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of our intention to sail to Gaza next month. You have probably already been briefed on Israel’s far-flung diplomatic offensive to prevent our boat and the other boats of the international flotilla from embarking for Gaza. Indeed, the Israelis may be emboldened by your lack of response to the killing of nine passengers, including an American citizen, on the 2010 relief flotilla. This year you have a golden opportunity to speak up for us beforehand. We expect you to use it.

And please do not try to pretend that $3 billion of our taxes — our annual gift to Israel — cannot be translated into the kind of leverage that will spare “The Legacy of Hope” from harm at the hands of the “Israeli Defense Forces.”

Finally, allow us to suggest talking points not likely to be included in your briefing papers. These points transcend rhetoric, and spring from a faith heritage you share with Netanyahu. They deal with the doing of justice, the preoccupation of the prophets of the Judeo-Christian tradition:

Before your meeting, have a look at what Isaiah says about “proclaiming liberty to captives and release to prisoners” and how Jesus of Nazareth repeats that, word for word, eight centuries later. Think about it, and be prepared to put justice above politics.

Please let us know how the discussion goes.

Yours truly,

Ray McGovern (for the “ordinary” citizens on “The Audacity of Hope”)