Americans join Gaza flotilla

[bemildred]

NEW YORK — A group of Americans hopes to break Israel’s naval blockade of the Gaza Strip in the coming days when it joins a flotilla of ships sailing with aid to the Palestinian territory.

Nearly half of the 36 Americans who will sail on the US-flagged boat, called the Audacity of Hope, attended a news conference yesterday announcing that they would fly to Athens to prepare for the journey. The ship draws its name from the title of President Obama’s second book.

Activists describe Israeli restrictions on Gaza’s 1.5 million residents as a human rights violation. But Israel says its blockade stops weapons from reaching Iran-backed Hamas militants.

Nine activists died in a botched Israeli commando operation on a Turkish ship during a similar flotilla last year. Each side accused the other of starting the violence.

http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2011/06/21/americans_join_flotilla_to_break_gaza_blockade/

[shira]

1. The Hamas - Oops, Gaza - Flotilla

...

So, let's be clear. The flotilla participants, whether they acknowledge it or not, are handmaidens of a terrorist regime. That regime, not Israel, is responsible for the conditions in Gaza, which may not be enviable, but are a far cry from the dire picture of starvation and stunted growth painted by the hyperbolic spokesmen.

...

The flotilla participants claim their mission is nothing more than humanitarian, but, in reality, it serves the interests of a regime that espouses terrorism, peddles anti-Semitism, and praises the memory of Osama Bin Laden.

To portray themselves as the new wave of Freedom Riders is to trample grotesquely on the legacy of America's civil rights struggle and rewrite history. Orwell's Ministry of Truth is back.

http://blogs.jpost.com/content/hamas-oops-gaza-flotilla

[shira]

2. To a Gaza Flotilla Participant

You recently wrote in The Huffington Post that you plan to join the flotilla headed for Gaza next month.

You stated that the goal is to "break the blockade of Gaza," and support the "right of self-determination" for the Palestinians there.

You asserted that "everyone on the boat is committed to nonviolence," referring self-importantly to the participants as "well-known American peace activists."

Allow me a few questions....

<snip>

After all, doesn't it speak volumes if the only flotilla you deem worth joining is headed for Gaza, where the publicly declared goal of the regime in power is "to fight the Jews and kill them" and "obliterate" Israel?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-harris/to-a-gaza-flotilla-partic_b_862736.html