Yvonne Ridley and Gaza activists
[web]https://www.presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=6 ... id=3510302[/web]
I hadn't realised she was involved in this, but it's good to see. I wonder if her sister would have the integrity (or the spare time away from the corporate speaking circuit) to give a toss?
I hadn't realised she was involved in this, but it's good to see. I wonder if her sister would have the integrity (or the spare time away from the corporate speaking circuit) to give a toss?
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Here's a phone-in from her to Galloway's '[comment]' show on Press TV.
Here's a phone-in from her to Galloway's '[comment]' show on Press TV.
audio and video at https://www.democracynow.org/2008/8/22/f ... _sail_from 9m3s in“Free Gaza” Boats Set Sail from Cyprus to Break Israeli Blockade
Two converted fishing boats set sail from Cyprus today carrying more than 40 activists and humanitarian workers who are part of the Free Gaza movement that is trying to break the Israeli blockade on the Gaza Strip.
The boats — the Liberty and Free Gaza–left the southern port of Larnaca this morning for the estimated 30-hour trip. Israel has warned the activists to steer clear of Gaza which it says is “the subject of an Israeli Navy advisory notice” that warns off foreign vessels from the “designated maritime zone.”
The Israeli foreign ministry said in an open letter to the participants, “We assume that your intentions are good but, in fact, the result of your action is that you are supporting the regime of a terrorist organization in Gaza.”
We are joined now by one of the activists at sea on the boat Liberty. Huwaida Arraf is a human rights activist and co-founder of the International Solidarity Movement. She teaches Human Rights Law at Al Quds University in Jerusalem. Welcome to Democracy Now.
We are also joined on the other boat, Free Gaza, by Lauren Booth she is a journalist and broadcaster and is the sister-in-law of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Jeff Halper is also on the boat Free Gaza. He is an Israeli professor of anthropology and coordinator of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions.
Huwaida Arraf, human rights activist and co-founder of the International Solidarity Movement. She teaches Human Rights Law at Al-Quds University in Jerusalem. She is on the boat Liberty.
Lauren Booth, journalist and broadcaster. She is the sister-in-law of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. She is on the Free Gaza boat.
Jeff Halper, Israeli professor of anthropology and coordinator of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions. He is on the Free Gaza boat.
FREE GAZA BOATS ARRIVE IN GAZA
GAZA (23 August 2008) - Two small boats, the SS Free Gaza and the SS Liberty, successfully landed in Gaza early this evening, breaking the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip.
The boats were crewed by a determined group of international human rights workers from the Free Gaza Movement. They had spent two years organizing the effort, raising money by giving small presentations at churches, mosques, synagogues, and in the homes of family, friends, and supporters.
They left Cyprus on Thursday morning, sailing over 350 kilometers through choppy seas. They made the journey despite threats that the Israeli government would use force to stop them. They continued sailing although they lost almost all communications and navigation systems due to outside jamming by some unknown party. They arrived in Gaza to the cheers and joyful tears of hundreds of Palestinians who came out to the beaches to welcome them.
Two small boats, 42 determined human rights workers, one simple message: "The world has not forgotten the people of this land. Today, we are all from Gaza."
Tonight, the cheering will be heard as far away as Tel Aviv and Washington D.C.
###
QUOTES FOR PUBLICATION
"We recognize that we're two, humble boats, but what we've accomplished is to show that average people from around the world can mobilize to create change. We do not have to stay silent in the face of injustice. Reaching Gaza today, there is such a sense of hope, and hope is what mobilizes people everywhere."
--Huwaida Arraf.
Huwaida is Palestinian-American, and also a citizen of Israel. She's a human rights activist and co-founder of the International Solidarity Movement. In 2007 she received her Juris Doctor from American University in Washington D.C. Currently she teaches Human Rights and Humanitarian Law at Al Quds University in Jerusalem. Huwaida sailed to Gaza aboard the SS Liberty.
"We're the first ones in 41 years to enter Gaza freely - but we won't be the last. We welcome the world to join us and see what we're seeing."
--Paul Larudee, Ph.D.
Paul is a cofounder of the Free Gaza Movement and a San Francisco Bay Area activist on the issue of justice in Palestine. He sailed to Gaza aboard the SS Liberty.
"What we've done shows that people can do what governments should have done. If people stand up against injustice, we can truly be the conscience of the world."
--Jeff Halper, Ph.D.
Jeff is an Israeli professor of anthropology and coordinator of the Israeli
Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD), a non-violent Israeli peace and human rights organization that resists the Israeli occupation on the ground. In 2006, the American Friends Service Committee nominated Jeff to receive the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize with Palestinian intellectual and activist Ghassan Andoni. Jeff sailed to Gaza aboard the SS Free Gaza.-- Greta BerlinMedia Team
www.freegaza.org
www.anis-online.de/office/events/FreeGazaSong.htm
www.flickr.com/photos/29205195@N02/
hopefully galloway will mention this on his show tonight
Israel fires at aid ship destined for Gaza
Israeli warships have stopped a Lebanese ship carrying humanitarian supplies to the Gaza Strip, about 20 miles off the territory's coast.
The ship carrying 60 tons of medicine, food, toys and books, was intercepted as it sailed towards Gaza from Cyprus on Wednesday afternoon, said the Lebanese aid coordinator, Maan Bashur.
"The Brotherhood Ship was fired on by an Israeli military boat 32 kilometers off the coast of Gaza and they were asked to divert course," said Bashour, adding that it remains in the water near the coast of Gaza, Haaretz reported.
The ship with nine people on board left the port city of Tripoli in northern Lebanon early on Tuesday. It was organized by the Palestinian National Committee in cooperation with Free Gaza Movement.
Earlier in January, another ship carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza was halted by the Israeli navy and forced to board in the southern Lebanese port of Tyre.
Gaza has been under a tight blockade for at least 19 months.
Israeli warships have stopped a Lebanese ship carrying humanitarian supplies to the Gaza Strip, about 20 miles off the territory's coast.
The ship carrying 60 tons of medicine, food, toys and books, was intercepted as it sailed towards Gaza from Cyprus on Wednesday afternoon, said the Lebanese aid coordinator, Maan Bashur.
"The Brotherhood Ship was fired on by an Israeli military boat 32 kilometers off the coast of Gaza and they were asked to divert course," said Bashour, adding that it remains in the water near the coast of Gaza, Haaretz reported.
The ship with nine people on board left the port city of Tripoli in northern Lebanon early on Tuesday. It was organized by the Palestinian National Committee in cooperation with Free Gaza Movement.
Earlier in January, another ship carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza was halted by the Israeli navy and forced to board in the southern Lebanese port of Tyre.
Gaza has been under a tight blockade for at least 19 months.