Brief this evening. Shortly will be off to a demo in front of the Greek Embassy to protest its part in delaying the flotilla to Gaza. The demo undoubtedly will not change the course of things. But sitting on one’s hands won’t either. We have to at least try. And the Greeks should know that there are Israelis who do not agree with their government’s policies.
Most of what the newspapers on-line are publishing about the Gaza flotilla is not new. And the Today in Palestine compilation for July 1, 2011 (always a day late) is not yet in the works. Hope to receive it when I return from the demo.
Meanwhile, there are 3 items below.
Item 1 by Rachel Giora, who is very active in the bds movement, explains how bds will ‘free both the oppressed and the oppressor. Please distribute this item widely. I realize that for some of you this piece is a duplicate. I apologize, but better to have it twice than not at all.
Items 2 and 3 are both about the flotilla. In item 3 the participants say that they do not intend to give up. Let’s hope that they do indeed get to Gaza.
All the best,
Dorothy
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1, [forwarded by Racheli]
BDS will free both the oppressed, and the oppressor
On June 27, the bill “to protect the state of Israel from damage caused by boycott” was approved by the Knesset’s Constitution, Law and Justice Committee for second and third readings in the plenum. The bill passed its first reading in the Knesset plenum on March 7, 2011, despite severe criticism from governmental ministries, the legal advisor of the Ministry of Justice, and leading civil society organizations. Regardless, Israel is determined to resist international pressure even at the cost of extreme penalties for legitimate, non-violent means used by citizens to protest government policies, such as the refusal of Israeli artists to perform in a theatre located in an Israeli settlement in the occupied Palestinian territory. The bill will become law when its second and third readings take place early in July.
This legislation together with a long series of bills, some already enacted, aim to intimidate critics and silence protest. In March 2010, the Israeli parliament enacted the Nakba law allowing the State to revoke government funding for groups that mark Israeli Arabs’ Day of Destruction (Nakba). These measures of political repression show that Israel is willing to go to a great length in undermining basic rights and freedoms such as the freedom of expression and association, wracking havoc on its civil society and Palestinian minority.
To meet with retribution and attempts at repression, resistance need not be violent. And when it unites people, it cannot be silenced. Exemplary in this respect is the feminist revolution. It has been liberating women as well as men everywhere, without bloodshed. In the same spirit of solidarity and non-violent resistance, the Palestinian civil society called in July 2005 for boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel “until it complies with international law and universal principles of human rights.” The effect of this call has been immense and is still growing, so much so that Israel can no longer turn a blind eye to it. Israeli leaders acknowledge that the boycott movement against Israel is effective. Defense Minister Ehud Barak warned of “a political tsunami” against Israel and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu considered boycotting the Mideast Quartet meeting for fear of international pressure.
Indeed, the Palestinian nonviolent struggle made its mark and global solidarity with the Palestinians is soaring while Israel’s international status is plummeting. The EU is considering sanctions against Israel. The UN singled out Israel for human rights abuse Several South American and Latin American states already recognized Palestinian independence and this trend is now on the rise in Europe. According to a recent BBC poll surveying 27 countries, Israel is grouped with Iran and North Korea as “the world’s least popular countries” and viewed as having a negative influence in the world. According to an ICM European poll carried out in January 2011, European public opinion is swaying against Israel. This may suggest that the international community is approaching the point of finally having enough of Israel’s entrenched policies of occupation and settlement.
Rather than addressing and redressing the real issues Israel is now targeting peace activists and human rights defenders, suggesting they are to blame for Israel’s loss of legitimacy. The incarceration of Palestinian popular struggle leaders Abdullah Abu Rahmah and Bassam Tamimi and of Israeli activist Jonathan Pollak are just a few instances, clearly indicating a move towards severe harassment of activists engaged in popular protest. Those who raise their voice against government policies are denounced as enemies of the state. At the same time, it is worth noting that Israelis of all walks of life responded to the boycott prohibition bill with disdain and anger. Over 50 Israeli civil society organizations, headed by the Coalition of Women for Peace, have signed an urgent appeal to the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee of the Knesset calling the committee to halt the legislative proceedings of the Boycott Prohibition bill. Israel Prize laureates and eminent cultural icons protested the bill, describing it as suicidal. Israel, they have stated, is acting like a criminal state. Israel’s international isolation is now recognized by some prominent Israelis to be a result of misguided, “hysterical” even, actions of a reckless government willing to further sacrifice its commitment to democracy for a commitment to maintaining the occupation.
Outlawing boycotts against Israel and similar measures of repression will not turn the tide. These are rightfully perceived as pathetic and desperate attempts at silencing legitimate dissent. The intensifying pressure of the international community should support the resolve of Israeli and international civil society to continue resisting occupation policies. It should eventually force Israel to come to its senses. As Reverend Samuel Kyles, speaking on the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, said: “You can kill the dreamer…but you cannot kill the dream.” The Palestinian struggle for freedom and justice, like the feminist movement, is bound to redeem both the oppressed and the oppressor; may they free themselves from slavery and the enslaver from tyranny.
Rachel Giora is a Professor of Linguistics at Tel Aviv University and a member ofBOYCOTT! Supporting the Palestinian BDS call from within.
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2. NY Times,
July 1, 2011
Stuck in Dock, Flotilla Activists See the Hand of Israel
ATHENS — With the propeller shafts of two ships mysteriously damaged, the Greek authorities holding other vessels in port on government orders and an American boat turned back by the Greek coast guard on Friday just 20 minutes off the coast, the international flotilla to Gaza has stalled.
Organizers say they see the long arm of Israel behind their improbable woes, and while Israeli officials have dismissed such accusations as so much conspiracy mongering, they have declined to deny them outright.
One year after Israeli commandos killed nine Turkish activists aboard the Mavi Marmara during another flotilla, organizers had hoped once again to challenge the naval blockade of the Gaza Strip off its coast. It appears increasingly unlikely, however, that the eight boats now preparing to sail will ever be able or allowed to leave port.
Echoing a majority view among participants here, Johnny Leo Johansen, a ponytailed Norwegian photographer and activist, put it this way: “It’s like they’ve moved the blockade from Gaza to Greece.” On Friday the coast guard stopped the American boat in the flotilla, The Audacity of Hope, about one mile out to sea, quashing the initial excitement of the passengers, who were surprised to have been allowed to leave the harbor at all.
“We could see the handwriting on the wall, that they were going to try to shut down all the ports across the Mediterranean,” said Ann Wright, the lead organizer of the American boat.
After a complaint about improper documentation filed by an Israeli advocacy group, the boat had been held in port outside Athens on police orders. Inspectors visited it a week ago Friday, but the results of their inspection had yet to be provided. Without them, the ship could not legally set sail.
The Greek Ministry of Citizen Protection decreed Friday that all vessels in Greek ports were prohibited from sailing toward “the maritime area of Gaza.” No explanation was given, and ministry officials could not be reached for further comment.
The Americans decided to leave just the same. After chasing them down, a smiling, youthful coast guard captain leaned out his window and requested the ship’s inspection papers. Passengers leaned over the upper-deck railing of the American boat, chanting, “Let us sail to Gaza!” Others held a cardboard sign asking, “Is it Poseidon or Netanyahu?” (That is, a passenger explained, “Who is the king of the Aegean?”)
“The probability that the Greek government has already made a decision to not let us out of the port is probably quite high, I would think,” Ms. Wright said earlier this week. “It’s not surprising, in a way, that the Greek government has succumbed to the pressure.”
The Israeli government, she noted, has held cabinet meetings on the subject of the flotilla, and several rounds of military exercises have been conducted in preparation for a confrontation. “I’m shocked that they would be spending so much time, money, energy,” Ms. Wright added, but in some ways, she has been pleased by the Israeli attention. “We couldn’t have dreamed for a better thing. Usually, governments don’t cooperate with us this way!”
On Thursday, Irish organizers announced that they had pulled their Turkish-docked ship from the flotilla after the crew discovered damage to the propeller shaft, the result of what they assume to have been sabotage by divers. Organizers said that the damage was discovered on a trial run, but that otherwise the vessel might have sunk at sea.
Activists discovered nearly identical damage to a Greek-Swedish-Norwegian passenger boat this week. That boat is now grounded for repairs.
Three boats with passengers principally from Canada, Spain and the Netherlands were awaiting clearance to sail Friday. All of the ships have ostensibly met the requirements of the Greek authorities, according to Adam Shapiro, a flotilla organizer and spokesman. But on Thursday, harbor officials barred a French boat from refueling, he said, an indication that Greek officials might find justifications for retaining the other ships in port.
As of Friday morning, after more than a week in ports across Greece, not a single ship had explicit clearance from the Greek authorities to set sail, and it remains unclear when more ships might sail, or what an eventual flotilla might resemble. “We’re going to do something,” Mr. Shapiro vowed. Still, he added, “It seems we’re already doing something, given the kind of response we’ve gotten.”
Asked about activists’ suggestions that Israel was behind the apparent sabotage, Mark Regev, a spokesman for the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said, “These activists are not renowned for being an objective source of information.” He added: “These people have a tendency to blame Israel, to see Israel’s hand behind every calamity. And of course that cannot be true.” But when asked to deny their claims more categorically, he declined.
Israeli officials acknowledge that they have been seeking to head off the flotilla, not just because they consider it an attempt to besmirch the country’s name and policies but because they believe the entire endeavor is largely organized and inspired by radical Islamists behind the scenes who are seeking a violent encounter with Israeli forces.
On Thursday, Mr. Netanyahu said in a speech, “Sometimes, we not only need to deflect our enemies’ physical attacks, but also deflect the attack on our right to protect ourselves.” Speaking at the Israeli Air Force flight school graduation ceremony, Mr. Netanyahu thanked world leaders who in recent days had spoken out and acted “against the provocation flotilla.” He commended the Greek prime minister, George Papandreou, who he said had been closely cooperating with Israel in coordinating moves related to the flotilla.
On Friday, the Israeli Army told journalists that Tarek Hamud, 32, a son-in-law of Khaled Meshal, the Damascus-based head of Hamas, was with the flotilla in Athens, playing a leading role in its organization. Mr. Hamud leads the Palestinian Association of Hamas, according to Lt. Col. Avital Leibovich, a military spokeswoman.
Flotilla activists denied any links to radical or terrorist organizations and said they had never even heard of Mr. Hamud. Izzat al-Risheq, a spokesman for Hamas in Damascus, said Mr. Hamud “has nothing to do with the flotilla in any way. He is in his house right now in Damascus. This is a lie by the Israeli Army aimed at getting people to oppose this humane mission.”
Hamas denies having any role in the flotilla.
Ethan Bronner contributed reporting from Jerusalem.
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3. Ynet,
July 02, 2011
Strong Resolve
‘Audacity of Hope’ passangers Photo: AFP
Gaza flotilla activists determined to set sail
Despite setbacks, sail organizers refuse to give up. ‘We are determined to reach Gaza one way or the other – This ain’t over,’ says passenger. Meanwhile, Foreign Ministry denies accusations that Israel sabotaged boats, calling them ‘ridiculous, paranoid’
Despite the mysterious sabotage, and Greece’s announcement that it will not allow ships to sail to the Gaza Strip from its ports, the flotilla activists are as determined as ever to break the naval blockade.
“We won’t stay here,” Dror Feiler, who plans to sail to the Palestinian enclave onboard the “Juliano” vessel that is docking in Greece, told Ynet on Saturday.
“We are determined to get to Gaza one way or the other. This ship is called the Audacity of Hope – this ain’t over yet,” added Free Gaza activist Greta Berlin.
On Friday, the “Audacity of Hope” set sail from the port in Greece en-route to Gaza, but was stopped shortly after by the Greek Coast Guard and diverted to a military dockyard.
Left-wing activist Yonatan Shapira, one of the ship’s crewmembers, told Ynet that while local authorities claim the ship was not fit to sail, “the Greek government has bigger bosses that were pressuring it.
Greek commandos take over ship
“I heard that someone called the Greek Embassy in the United States to protest the halting of the ship and was told by embassy employees that the Americans instructed them to do it,” said Shapira.
‘Yearning to sail’
The Greek authorities on Friday announced that “the departure of ships carrying Greek and foreign flags from ports in Greece to the waters surrounding Gaza has been banned.”
Hamas has denounced the decision, saying it was in contradiction with international law and customs, and urging the European Union to step in.
“We will do whatever we can to leave,” said Shapira, “I know everyone here are yearning for it to happen.”
Coast Guard escorting ship back to port (Photo: Reuters)
Commenting on the taking over of the ship, Shapira said, “Commando soldiers wearing masks and armed with automatic weapons encircled us on Coast Guard ships, aimed their weapons at us and told us it was for our own safety.
“It was one big farce,” he noted, adding that the activists continued to dance, play and talk to the commandos through the megaphone.
“I told them to think about the fact that the majority, if not the entire Greek nation supports us and wants us to sail to Gaza,” he said.
‘Greece sold its soul to Israel, US’
Meanwhile, Feiler said that repair work has been completed on the “Juliano” vessel, which according to the flotilla organizers was sabotaged by Israel.
“Today we’ll put it back in the water and continue our preparations,” he said, adding that he is not scared of clashing with the Greek army.
“I’m not afraid of the Israeli commando, so why would I be scared about the Greek commando? If they want to stop us, they can. We don’t have the capabilities of a state, we are not an army,” he added.
“Greece sold its body to the banks and its soul to Israel and the United States,” Feiler noted angrily, “I don’t think – I know that Israel and US pressure caused this.”
Feiler called on the government of Israel to allow the flotilla activists to reach Gaza. “We aren’t carrying any dangerous items,” he stressed. “Removing the blockade will help Israel stop the radicalization of the Palestinians and release the pressure cooker that is called the Gaza Strip,” he said.
On Saturday, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Yigal Palmor denied claims according to which Israel sabotaged two of the Gaza-bound flotilla ships slated to sail from Turkey and Greece.
“These are ridiculous, paranoid accusations. The organizers didn’t do the minimum required in order to prove that there was indeed sabotage; they didn’t even file a complaint with the police. They live in a James Bond movie,” Palmor noted.
The Foreign Ministry spokesperson added that Israel was verifying reports claiming Israel’s ambassador to Ireland was called in for clarification at the Dublin Foreign Ministry following suspicion that Israel sabotaged the Irish ship “Saoirse.”
Boaz Fyler and Elior Levy contributed to this report
