Update: Gaza mercy mission delayed by fault on ship, ship headed to Crete. Press Release below.
Prof. Donald Downs (University of Wisconsin-Madison) used to like to shock his classroom during his administrative law classes and say words to the effect that the press "got" Nixon.
[Free Gaza Cyprus Press Conference August 4, 2008]
A reasonable position, but one that misses the irony that ultimately Nixon was made to account by Congress and the legal system for his lawlessness and militarism, as should occur in a democracy.
The fact that the press to a certain extent held Nixon accountable in its editorial product by stating some facts is trivial.
We have less rule-of-law and reformist forces at work in our society today than the early 1970s; perhaps because the ferment of the American public opposing lawlessness and violence is a shadow of 35 years ago.
Free Gaza
American militarism and lawlessness are arguably worse today that these diseases were 35 years ago.
And nowhere is this more true than in the US-supported Israeli program “intended to isolate the democratically-elected government of Palestine and break its power to resist Israeli attempts to impose an apartheid regime over the entire country… ,” as Jeff Halper puts it in CounterPunch).
But we do see American direct action confronting US-Israeli militarism, reported in the British press (BBC and so on) and in Israel (Haaretz), but not in the American corporate mass media, yet.
The the California-based Free Gaza Movement has set sail, perhaps yesterday (departure date is secret) from Cyprus to Gaza in defiance of the illegal Israeli blockade of the occupied territory.
The objective of the Free Gaza Movement: Bringing medical supplies, including "a cargo of 200 hearing aids which are destined for children in Gaza whose hearing has been damaged by explosions and sonic booms," reports the BBC [first BBC dispatch below]. These Free Gaza people are fiendish indeed.
"The project is intended to awaken the conscience of the nations of the world, who have turned their backs on a people whose human rights, welfare and very existence are being sacrificed to political expediency. Follow our progress ... and help break the siege of Gaza. ... Palestinian and Israeli civilians will sail to Gaza to challenge Israeli control and isolation of the 1.4 million Palestinians who live there," reads the Free Gaza newsletter. "... We've tried to enter Palestine by land. We've tried to arrive by air. Now we're getting serious. We're taking a ship."
The departure date is secret, but we will be informed with dispatches that Free Gaza will be sending from the open sea to an e-mail list that many supporters are signed on to.
And a BBCreporter in on board, so hopefully this will keep Israel from shooting up the boats: Would be a bad PR move.
Yet one cannot help but wonder if these atrocities occurring in the occupied territories were covered by the American corporate mass media, the press, if the US-supported Israeli military would be able to get away with the war crimes and obscenities they are committing against innocent people, including 1,000s of children. Watch the Death in Gaza documentary, though it is understated.
Activists ... planning to sail from Cyprus to Gaza in defiance of an Israeli blockade of the territory. The BBC's Rachid Sekkai will be on board and sends his first diary entry.
About 45 people are here in the port of Larnaca in Cyprus, preparing to sail south to Gaza. [The ships have presumably left by today.]
The group includes Americans, Palestinians and Israelis among the 15 nationalities represented.
President of the Free Gaza Movement, Greta Berlin explains the mission.
"This is a non-violent resistance project to challenge Israel's siege of Gaza. Israel claims that Gaza is no longer occupied, yet Israeli forces control Gaza by land, sea and air".
Israel imposed an economic blockade on Gaza after Hamas forces violently seized control from Fatah in June 2007. The squeeze is also aimed at stopping militants firing rockets at southern Israel.
No Israeli authorisation
The organisers' plan is to enter Gaza from international waters without Israel's authorisation, to recognise Palestinian control over its own borders.
Two wooden boats, Free Gaza and Liberty, will also carry a cargo of 200 hearing aids which are destined for children in Gaza whose hearing has been damaged by explosions and sonic booms.
Lauren Booth, sister-in-law of the former British Prime Minister Tony Blair who is now an international envoy to the Middle East, tells me she is travelling as both supporter and reporter.
"I dearly want to go to Gaza again to support the Palestinians and to show the world the reality of what's going on there".
Holocaust survivor Hedy Epstein is making the journey - at the age of 83 - for humanitarian reasons.
"We intend to open the port, fish with the fishermen, and work in the schools".
Danger
The organisers have been open about the risks involved in making such a trip.
Greta Berlin says if the first boat is stopped or attacked by Israeli forces, the passengers will use non-violent resistance, and the second vessel will follow "no matter what".
Greta Berlin says if the first boat is stopped or attacked by Israeli forces, the passengers will use non-violent resistance, and the second vessel will follow "no matter what".
Our pre-trip training has included lessons on how to behave if things don't go to plan.
The departure date is a secret for our own safety. All we know so far is that the journey is meant to take 20 hours.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SS Free Gaza and SS Liberty Arrive in Chania, Crete,
SS Free Gaza and SS Liberty Arrive in Chania, Crete,
Saturday, 9 August at 21:00 p.m.
For further information, contact:
For further information, contact:
Nicosia/Lefkosia, Cyprus, August 7. - The Free Gaza Movement announced today that their boats, destined to break the Israelis' siege of Gaza, will arrive in Chania, Crete, on Saturday, August 9, at 9 p.m. and that a press conference will be held to welcome their arrival.
"Internationals are gathering across the world – in Beijing and Cyprus – with the common dream of peace and justice for everyone."
Human rights activists Lauren Booth, journalist, (sister in law of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair), Huwaida Arraf (a Palestinian-American residing in Ramallah, Palestine), and Jeff Halper (an Israeli Jew who was nominated for the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize for opposing demolitions of Palestinian homes) will be available at the press conference for interviews.
"This will be the first time that our two boats will be publicly displayed and photographers are welcome to come, take photos and post their images." said Paul Larudee, on board the boats sailing toward Chania.
The Free Gaza Movement is endorsed by an impressive array of international groups and personalities including South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Former Prime Minister of Lebanon Dr. Salim Al-Hoss.
For additional information, http://www.freegaza.org/
We are a week late, but we are more determined than ever to go to Gaza. By now, almost half of the people are on board or traveling to the boats, and those of us left in Cyprus are finishing up our training, working on banners and trying to control our impatience.
When we called the people of Gaza to tell them we would arrive a week late, their reply was, "Don't worry. We know you are coming. And we are waiting," a testament to their confidence that 40 Internationals, two small boats, and tremendous media attention can somehow defeat the Israeli Navy.Some of the survivors of the USS Liberty have written to us and asked us to be on one of their programs tomorrow night. They wrote this request of us:
What is the possibility of you and the crew of the SS Liberty throwing 34 long stemmed roses into the sea as a memorial to the 34 Americans who were killed aboard the USS LIberty? We will pay for the roses or whatever else you have in mind. I guarantee you our newspaper American Free Press will give a HUGE spread in the paper for it. The survivors of the LIberty and their familes would be eternally grateful to you and your ship mates for this gesture as no one has ever done anything like this before.
What is the possibility of you and the crew of the SS Liberty throwing 34 long stemmed roses into the sea as a memorial to the 34 Americans who were killed aboard the USS LIberty? We will pay for the roses or whatever else you have in mind. I guarantee you our newspaper American Free Press will give a HUGE spread in the paper for it. The survivors of the LIberty and their familes would be eternally grateful to you and your ship mates for this gesture as no one has ever done anything like this before.
Another wrote:
I am one of the survivors of the USS Liberty. A very tired man who woke up somewhat when I heard of the SS Liberty. I was the petty officer in charge of the body recovery and identification, and I remember it almost like it was yesterday.
May God Be With You
So, when we leave Cyprus next week, we hope to have a ceremony for all of those Americans killed by the Israelis on board the ship in 1967.
The media attention has been intense in Europe, people calling constantly asking for interviews. If you GOOGLE Free Gaza, Cyprus, you will see dozens of stories about us and the boats and the response from here. So many angels have stepped in to help, from offering us their homes, feeding us, and driving us around to media appointments. One man called us today and told us that he would loan us the money to cover our expenses for the boats and the equipment, because, "You are making history."
Greta Berlin, The Free Gaza Movement
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