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ON WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, two ships quietly departed from the port of Fethiye in south-western Turkey en route to Gaza. Of the 27 passengers aboard the MV Saoirse and the Tahrir, 14 were Irish citizens.
The main aim of the mission, dubbed Freedom Waves to Gaza, was to show solidarity with the ordinary people of Gaza who have lost their basic freedoms as a result of a blockade imposed by Israel. While the Tahrir carried $30,000 worth of much-needed medical aid, our intention was not to bring “charity” to helpless victims, but to peacefully uphold the right of the Palestinian people to unimpeded access to international waters and air space, in accordance with international law and all United Nations resolutions. Our mission was thus above all symbolic: an affirmation of the proposition that the Palestinians of Gaza are entitled to the same fundamental human rights as other citizens around the world enjoy.
At 10:58 am (Irish time) on Friday, November 4th, those of us based in the shore team office in Dublin received an urgent call from the MV Saoirse informing us that Israeli warships were rapidly approaching. The call was abruptly cut off, and we were unable to re-establish communication. We subsequently learned that the boat was violently and dangerously boarded in international waters, and its passengers taken against their will to an Israeli prison.
Given the obvious risks involved, why did 27 people on two small boats voluntarily undertake this latest journey to Gaza? The Israeli government has suggested that they were troublemakers and publicity-seekers. The truth, however, is very different.
On September 30th, 46 civil society organisations in Gaza – among them organisations representing teachers, health service workers, women and children – issued an urgent call to “people of conscience worldwide” to sail to Gaza to highlight “the inhumanity of keeping of 1.5 million Gazans in an open-air prison.” They wrote: “the illegal closure of the Gaza Strip must end…do not forget that the blockade and the suffering continue in Gaza.”
We in the Irish Ship to Gaza campaign are part of a broad-based movement of concerned citizens seeking to respond to this call for international solidarity in the face of continuing inaction by our governments. In so doing we are inspired by a long history of non-violent, direct action against injustice, from Gandhi’s methods of non-violent resistance to British colonial rule in India to the American civil rights movement.
We are also inspired by contemporary popular movements, from the Arab Spring to the “Occupy” protest camps currently spreading around the world, in which large numbers of ordinary people have joined together to reclaim democratic control over the conditions of their existence.
Democracy, in this sense of the word, is not simply a system of electing a government, or the name of a particular set of political institutions. As the root meaning of the word – joining demos (the people) with kratia (power) – suggests, it refers to a state of affairs in which the people are empowered.
Israel’s policy of collective punishment of Gaza’s 1.6 million people, half of whom are children under the age of 16, flies in the face of such democratic aspirations. As Robert Naiman has recently observed: because of political decisions taken by a small number of politicians in Tel Aviv, Palestinians in Gaza are prevented from exporting their goods, travelling freely, farming their land, fishing their waters or importing construction materials to rebuild their homes and schools and hospitals following Israel’s savage aerial bombardment of the territory in December 2008.
As ever, the justification given is Israeli state “security”. But it is unclear how the security of people living in Israel is enhanced by creating a situation in which, according to Amnesty International, four out of five Gazans depend on external aid to survive.
This response also begs the question of Palestinian security and well-being. Every nation, and this includes the Palestinian nation, has the right to defend itself. But this does not give license to a state to subjugate a neighbouring populace or illegally occupy its territory, impose embargoes on access to humanitarian aid and ignore an abundance of United Nations resolutions without sanction.
International law is very clear on this point. The Israeli government cites the recently published Palmer Report to support its view that the blockade of Gaza is legal. But this was a political report written by and for politicians, one moreover which acknowledges that it was “not asked to make determinations of the legal issues” associated with the blockade.
Those charged with making such legal determinations have reached very different conclusions. In September 2010, the comprehensive and authoritative UN Human Rights Council Inquiry Report concluded that the Israeli blockade of Gaza is illegal, its policies there a form of collective punishment, and its interception of the first Freedom Flotilla both illegal and unjustified. The illegality of the blockade has been re-affirmed by numerous international law experts and a wide range of human rights organisations, including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the International Committee of the Red Cross. Most recently, on September 13th of this year, a group of five UN Special Rapporteurs for Human Rights declared that “the blockade of Gaza continues to violate international law.”
We in Irish Ship to Gaza understand and appreciate the fear many Israelis have that unless they are strong and absolutely secure, those who wish to do them harm will perpetrate a second Holocaust. But as history has shown time and time again, the pursuit of absolute security is illusory. It also exacts a terrible price: in the case of Palestine, the dispossession and subjugation of the Palestinian people, in excess of 6400 Palestinians killed by Israeli troops and more than 500 Israeli civilians and military personnel killed by Palestinians since September 2000, and the inexorable militarisation and brutalisation of Israeli society.
There is another way. It follows a path well-trodden by peacemakers, and illuminated by an enduring tradition of social justice to which the Jewish people have contributed so much. It begins with an immediate end to an illegal, immoral and indiscriminate maritime blockade the scope of which extends well beyond any genuine security concerns.
As waves of popular democratic revolution sweep the globe, Israel must either acknowledge the legitimate democratic aspirations of the Palestinian people or find itself increasingly isolated and ultimately engulfed.
Laurence Davis is a coordinator of and spokesperson for the Irish Ship to Gaza campaign.
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It was a totally pointless exercise. A stupid infantile attempt at publicity that backfired. Few people apart from those that did not take part in this trip to Ashdod and got kicked out of Israel will even remember this. We can now start guessing if the next flotilla is bringing aid to Gaza for real or just acting the bollocks!
A brain-dead waste of resources!
The purpose of the ship was not to bring aid. This is explicitly stated, so why condemn the ship for what it did not try to do? The purpose was publicity – to publicise the siege of Gaza and the appalling effect it is having on over a million innocent people. What is wrong with doing that? The people of Gaza are not asking for aid, they are asking for the siege to be lifted. We should publicise this – and this is exactly what the ship was doing.
David it was a waste of resources. The stunt seemed to me personally like and ego trip for the participants.
Exactly. There is lots to do here in Ireland. Stop messing with others, go and occupy Dame street.
And what role will the wonderful democrats of Hamas play in the role of this democracy you seek to encourage?
Hamas won the first ever democratically conducted election in the Arab world, a result that the utterly anti-democratic West and its vassals refused to accept. It is quite possible that at the next elections Hamas will be voted out of power in a similar manner, and of course the hypocritical, racist West will have no problems accepting that. Either way, the democratic or undemocratic nature of Hamas is a mere red herring when the issue is the collective punishment – indeed persecution – of the ordinary people of Gaza, and indeed the rest of the illegally occupied Palestinian territories.
Despite massive condemnation from Queen Victoria. During the Irish famine in 1847 the Turkish people and Sultan Abdulmecid secretly sent three ships loaded with food and money to Ireland for the starving people. Alhtough a small gesture when compared to the scope of the Famine in Ireland, it was an unprecedented act of solidarity and understanding. When the Irish people attempt to emulate that act and help other afflicted people the majority of the Irish population hold their noses in the air and barnd them time wasters and worse. Anyone who condems the flotilla to Gaza and also calls themselves Irish at the same time for shame on you.
@Gary Setanta. Point is Gary, they, the Turks, brought help/food, not for publicity and didn’t do a dry run!!
Stunts like this stink of moral posturing, sooner be seen to do the right thing than actually do the right thing.
While the aid sent in 1847 is commendable, lets hope there is no emulation of the later Ottoman endeavours.
Well actually at the time the Crimean War was taking place which involved both the British and Ottoman Empires(now called Turkey), so it was very much probably a publicity stunt.
The fact is not that the Turks brought us food, no amount of food they could have brought would have been enough to feed the millions of people who were starving. The fact is that they undertook a mission of understanding and solidarity to show that they understood our suffering. As the Gaza flotilla`s do today.
I wonder why their compassion in understating the suffering in Ireland was not extended to the Armenians.
Gary: Don’t you think food and medical supplies would be more important than “understanding”? The flotilla showed up with no cargo knowing full well they wouldn’t make it to Gaza. They did it to draw attention to the situation, but in the end what have they really achieved?
@Matt Guckian you say what did they achieve? The fact that these articles are being printed, these discussions are taking place and the media coverage surrounding the hijacking of the Irish boat and subsequent kidnapping of Irish citizens in International waters, has helped to once again raise here in Ireland, and indeed worldwide, the inhuman and illegal siege of Gaza. Exposing Israeli war crimes, human rights abuses, murder, hijacking, kidnapping and other violations of International law is always a good thing.
The UN have said ‘…All humanitarian missions wishing to assist the Gaza population should do so through established procedures and the designated land crossings’
But given the fact there wasn’t one piece of aid on board, their cruise was nothing short of a holiday. Lets face it, the donations funded the boat, and their return fair funded by the Israeli tax payers.
All expenses mini-cruise?
Time wasters the lot of them.
Derren – maybe you think that spending time in Israeli prisons is a holiday. Maybe you think risking your life in order to publicise an inhumane siege is pleasure-seeking. TBH, wouldn’t much fancy going on holliers with you, then.
In the meantime, as even the UN admit, aid is not going through. Even if it were, the people of Gaza don’t want aid. They want an end to the siege. Who wouldn’t?
Don’t worry David! If you come on holiday with me you won’t be in prison. I have no intention to go illegally pleasure seeking.
There is poverty in Gaza, I don’t doubt that, but then there is likely to be a strain on any system where 70% of the populace are refugees.
They can direct their efforts legally thorough the appropriate channels and the people in Gaza will get the Aid. There are many land-crossings from Israel to Gaza with tonnes of aid. This is not a once-off like the annual summer cruise, this happens every day. Yes, even when these warriors return to their luxurious lifestyle and comfortable beds.
My advice would be to holiday legally, and book a 5* hotel if prison cells aren’t your thing. They decided to bust into a naval blockade head-on. Not the usual tactic of the average holidaymaker.
Well, it’s good that you admit they weren’t holiday-making. That’s a start.
Now, do you have a problem with the siege that stops people living normal lives?
In other words the question is not about aid (let’s ignore the fact – since you do – that insufficient quantities are let through) but about human rights that are denied by the siege. Basic rights you enjoy, and by the sound of it, are annoyed when people like the flotilla activists point out that Palestinians don’t enjoy, and should enjoy.
He has a point. The Israelis have this blockade in place because they claim these aid ships “could” be used to smuggle weapons. The people of Gaza need help!
Too either side of Israel and Palestine are two moderate, relatively respected countries – Turkey and Egypt. This problem is simple to solve. Working with either of those countries, why not set up a checkpoint for ships wanting to enter Palestine, say in Antioch in Turkey or Dumyat in Egypt, and allow a United Nations task force, agreed upon both sides, to perform strict searches of the boats? Much better solution than these constantly tense standoffs.
You weren’t carrying any aid???!! Outrageous! This a difficult and complex situation. You rightly highlight the unacceptable situation that the Palestinians are in but you should condemn the what Palestinian extremists have done as well, not just to Israelis, but also to the Palestinian people themselves – this rarely gets discussed.
You should not have sailed ‘in solidarity’ on a ship that was not carrying aid. This is not a game, people need aid urgently and the fastest way for it to be gotten to them must be found, whether we like to solution or not, we must get aid to the Palestinian people. The blockade may indeed be wrong and illegal but an empty ship acting in ‘solidarity’ does not put much needed aid into the hands of ordinary people who just want to survive and who need it now.
Yet it was these people who asked for the ship to come, and for solidarity not for aid. http://www.shiptogaza.se/en/om-oss/st%C3%B6duttalanden-2011/call-gaza-support-freedom-flotilla-ii
People want to survive. But they also want more than that. They want to live normal lives.
“You should not have sailed ‘in solidarity’ on a ship that was not carrying aid”. The author did not say they were not carrying aid but stated that the main purpose of to highlight the suffering of the population in Gaza and to express solidarity, just as the people in Gaza had sought. What aid a few ships of activists might bring to Gaza would in no way ameliorate the suffering of nearly 2 million under siege!!
A shameful piece of writting by Laurence Davis. Unbelievable how these ISPC supporters arguged so much a couple of weeks ago when some of us suggested that there was NO aid on board the Irish vessel, that it was simply a ridiculous publicity stunt. “How dare you even suggest such a terrible thing” ,they said. Now,finally, they admit it,but sadly with a long drawn out Israel bashing at the same time. (awaiting the thumbs down brigade).Sorry but it is true.These guys are embarrasing, two expensive trips, paid for by trusting Irish people and neither actually helped the Gazans in anyway what so ever. Heres the most embarrasing thing for you all to chump on, the Israelis themselves do more for the Gazans than this lot.
The cold heartedness of some in this country toward the State of Israel is most distressing and its time to give it a rest. It is seriously racist and unjust. The Jews were given their land,at the time it was barren and nothing grew there,pretty desolate actually. Nobody complained then at all (obviously they thought they wouldnt survive),but then they worked hard and made an unbelievable country,out of nothing. Then the world has a problem. Lets face it,a people who are the most persecuted in human history,a state the size of Lenister,a race that nearly became extinct time and time again but survived through sheer determination and will to live. Now in an effort to protect what they have and their home,the world turns their back. Whatever way you try to dress this up its shameful bashing of a nation that is doing what they can to survive.
Judaism is a race?
I thought it was a religion.
Ok, I’m being facetious here. Of course it’s a religion.
Naomi, did you know that if you convert to Judaism that any children you have in the future will be entitled to Israeli citizenship?
If Judaism is a race, then can I be black?
Did you know that 80% of the Jewish people in the world today are not actually Arab, but are European (Ashkenazi (yeah, I see the irony in the name)), and are not actually descendants of the tribes of Israel?
Ask yourself this; Why are people of European descent entitled to land in the Middle East, based purely on their religious beliefs?
Jerusalem is a holy place for the three major Abrahamic religions, but Muslims and Christians cannot claim citizenship based on their religious beliefs. Why is that?
There is absolutely no doubt that Jews have been persecuted throughout history, but they will not find peace by persecuting Palestinians. Their continued land grabbing and the blockade will just serve to turn an entire generation of Palestinians against them.
@Terry
Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Qutar, Bahrain and Kuwait were all part of the same Ottoman Empire that was carved up,are you saying that they have no right to exist?
Terry,I did not bring up religion,so why are you? Im just speaking of historical fact thats all. Bringing religious faith into it is not the point.
naomi, religious faith is the entire point. if this part of the world was free from the poison of faith imagine how much better the world would be. while they enslave themselves with this filth the jews and muslims deserve all they get. the real injustice is that innocent kids are bred into this cycle of hate
and terry thanks to political correctness crazy philosophies are given race status
“Unbelievable how these ISPC supporters arguged so much a couple of weeks ago when some of us suggested that there was NO aid on board the Irish vessel.”
Yes it’s completely unbelievable, so unbelievable that you’d swear it didn’t happen…
ISTG were completely honest about this being a ship which was going to attempt to break the blockade in solidarity with the people of Gaza, just as the people of Gaza want. Why are you trying to pretend they were dishonest?
“The Jews were given their land,at the time it was barren and nothing grew there,pretty desolate actually. Nobody complained then at all (obviously they thought they wouldnt survive),but then they worked hard and made an unbelievable country,out of nothing. Then the world has a problem. Lets face it,a people who are the most persecuted in human history,a state the size of Lenister… Now in an effort to protect what they have and their home,the world turns their back.”
Palestine was ethnically cleansed to make way for the Israeli state, might want to base your research on something better than this;
@Morbeg you write “Palestine was ethnically cleansed to make way for the Israeli state” – if Palestine was ethnically cleansed then how comes there are MILLIONS of Palestinians living there?…what rubbish… – I think YOU might want to base your research – or should I rather say start doing some research, some reading…just something – just start from something small!
Anyone who saw the images of charred children’s bodies when Israel rained white phosphorous on the city of Gaza in 2008 will have concluded that Israel is a lawless state – no different from the Syrian regime. Palestinians have been struggling against their own obliteration for over 60 years, however, making their oppression one of the longest and therefore most tragic in modern times. As a Palestinian who has been speaking about this issue ad nauseam for years now, I feel that people who otherwise appear intelligent but who cannot recognize the Israeli state for the monster that it is, are people who might be harboring racist feelings towards Arabs and Muslims. I suspect that most admirers of the Israeli state, deep down, simply identify with the whiter, largely European, citizens of Israel, and it is this racism that blinds them from seeing the truth.
Decency prevents me from posting links to photos of Israeli babies with their throats cut.
You don’t seem to have a clue as the the ethnic makes up of Israel and I repeat that there are no such people as Palestinians,they are Arabs.
So you think supporters of Israel are motivated by racism! If opponents of Israel are accused of anti-semitism (a charge to be avoided except in the clearest cases) they get very touchy indeed. You can’t have it every way.
The blockade of Gaza is in place to stop weapons being smuggled into Gaza. Israel is realistic to fear this, because they keep discovering weapons that have been smuggled in by various means. If you lived in Sderot, Ashdod, Ashkelon, even Rehovot and Ness Ziona you would understand. It is stupid to make historical comparisons to Ireland, for the people of Israel the security threat is NOW. You would understand if you’re close family had been massacred by someone breaking into their house. Jews are not into politics – they just want to live. They don’t want the people who live in Gaza to suffer but it’s hard when terrorists hide behind civilians and train their children to commit suicide for the sake of murdering Jews. Irish people have never gone through anything like this. Imagine saving the life of a child who grows up to be a suicide bomber. Israelis know what that feels like. There is no point in pretending you understand the situation when you don’t. (I lived there for 19 years and I do).
Ruth the blockade is not about preventing weapons getting in.
When Israel and the United States were reacting to Hamas’s election victory in Gaza in January 2006, long-time Israeli government adviser Dov Weisglass stated:
“The idea is to put the Palestinians on a diet, but not to make them die of hunger.” (‘Hamas readies for government, Israel prepares sanctions’, Agence France Presse, February 16, 2006)
http://www.medialens.org/alerts/10/101117_put_the_palestinians.php
“Israel has been forced to reveal what Palestinians and other observers on the ground have known for a long time: that the blockade of Gaza is state policy intended to inflict collective punishment, not to bolster Israeli “security”.
An Israeli human rights group has won a legal battle to compel the Israeli government to release three important documents. These outline state policy for permitting the transfer of goods into Gaza prior to the May 31 attack on the peace flotilla in which nine people were killed by Israeli forces. The group, Gisha – Legal Center for Freedom of Movement, is demanding Israeli transparency. Meanwhile, Israel refuses to release documents on the current version of blockade policy which was “eased” after international condemnation following the flotilla attack.
The released documents, whose existence Israel had denied for eighteen months, reveal that the state approved “a policy of deliberate reduction” of basic goods, including food and fuel, in the Gaza Strip. Gisha Director Sari Bashi explains:
“Instead of considering security concerns, on the one hand, and the rights and needs of civilians living in Gaza, on the other, Israel banned glucose for biscuits and the fuel needed for regular supply of electricity – paralyzing normal life in Gaza and impairing the moral character of the State of Israel. I am sorry to say that major elements of this policy are still in place.” (Gisha: Legal Center for Freedom of Movement, ‘Due to Gisha’s Petition: Israel Reveals Documents related to the Gaza Closure Policy’, October 21, 2010; http://www.gisha.org/index.php ?intLanguage=2&intItemId=1904&intSiteSN=113)
As Saeed Bannoura of the International Middle East Media Center reports, the Israeli government imposed a deliberate policy:
“in which the dietary needs for the population of Gaza are chillingly calculated, and the amounts of food let in by the Israeli government measured to remain just enough to keep the population alive at a near-starvation level. This documents the statement made by a number of Israeli officials that they are ‘putting the people of Gaza on a diet’.” (Saeed Bannoura, ‘Israeli government documents show deliberate policy to keep Gazans at near-starvation levels’, International Middle East Media Center, November 6, 2010 21:32; http://www.imemc.org/article/59843)
Bannoura adds:
“This release of documents also severely undermines Israel’s oft-made claim that the siege is ‘for security reasons’, as it documents a deliberate and systematic policy of collective punishment of the entire population of Gaza.”
When Israel and the United States were reacting to Hamas’s election victory in Gaza in January 2006, long-time Israeli government adviser Dov Weisglass stated:
“The idea is to put the Palestinians on a diet, but not to make them die of hunger.” (‘Hamas readies for government, Israel prepares sanctions’, Agence France Presse, February 16, 2006)
The released documents contain actual equations used by the Israeli government to calculate the exact amounts of food, fuel and other necessities needed to do exactly that. (‘Submitted to Gisha in the framework of a Freedom of Information Act Petition, AP 2744/09 Gisha v. Defense Ministry’, Appendices B, C and D;http://gisha.org/UserFiles/File/HiddenMessages/ DefenseMinistryDocumentsRevealedFOIAPetition.pdf)
The policy is all the more disturbing, indeed repellent, given that almost half the people of Gaza are children under the age of eighteen. One might reasonably conclude that Israel has deliberately forced the undernourishment of hundreds of thousands of children in direct violation of international law and the Fourth Geneva Convention.. “
And if the idea was to stop weapons getting in, why does Israel prevent all exports from Gaza?
If you read the Israeli governments own documents ( http://www.gisha.org/UserFiles/File/HiddenMessages/DefenseMinistryDocumentsRevealedFOIAPetition.pdf ) you will see the lists of what they will allow in and the amounts.
Go to http://www.gisha.org and you will find a host of Israeli government documents relating to the blockade (not hearsay as you suggest)
If a foodstuff is deemed by Israel to be safe to let in to Gaza, why limit the amount of that foodstuff?
Also, they knew there were no weapons on board, and even if Israel was that stupid to think there was, when they had searched the boats and found no weapons why did they not allow the boat proceed? Because the blockade of Gaza has nothing to do with preventing weapons getting in as Israels own documents prove.
Weapons get to Gaza through the tunnels from Egypt. The fact is that the Palestinians have every right to resist the criminal occupation of their territories (and Gaza still qualifies as occupied under international humanitarian law), and to do so gun in hand if necessary (whether this is wise or not is an entirely different matter). If you oppose the arming of the Palestinians to resist their brutal persecutors, then you should also oppose the arming of the rogue Israeli state that persecutes them. The simple reality is that the siege of Gaza is illegal – the Palmer Report, forever cited by Israel and its fellow-travellers, is an irrelevancy as it had no remit to make a judgement as to the siege’s legality, and anyway has been definitively superseded by September’s UN report that explicitly refuted it and declared the siege illegal. If Israel wishes to stop armed resistance to its belligerence, then it should simply end the belligerence.
Raymond Deane, Would you care to identify the trolls to whom you refer?
Thank you for the very illuminating and humane article. There is no doubt that there is security fear in Israel. After all Israel is a racist colonial state and like the racist colonizers in America and Australia, it lives in fear of retaliation because of the violence it has committed and because of the projection of its own violence into its victims. Israelis live in constant fear because their leadership does not seek just reconciliation and peace with Palestinians and the populations of the region; they seek unbridled power and expansion. As many of my Israeli friends have told me, they are inculcated with fear and racist hatred and militarism from early age, brainwashed from early age to hate the Palestinians and to regard them as subhuman and dangerous. In that, Israel mirrors its patron, the US, which has historically mobilised its population for its wars of aggression under an umbrella of fear and insecurity. The enemy changes, it is illusive, but fear is constant. Israeli population itself is a victim if this racist colonialist agenda.
And he stashed away quite a few bob when he was at it !! It would be very interesting to hear what Gazans really think of Arafat if they were free to express their true opinion on him, Uncle Mort.
It’s easy for you to ask how much security Israel needs?you don’t live there or experience the daily threat of rockets landing in your neighborhood. Hamas have demonstrated their unwillingness to stop violence and the direct result of this is the blockade.
Until Hamas stop there will continue to be a blockade and both sides will suffer.
This flotilla scenario is only a Way for fantastical egoists to get on the news and undermine the sovereign authority of Israel.
Petra, attacks on Israel from Gaza pale into insignificance in terms of quantity and lives lost compared to that the ongoing murderous attacks by Israel on the small Gaza strip. On Sunday Israeli bombers injured the French Consul and his daughter, and caused his wife to miscarriage, during a bombing raid on a Police station in Gaza. One person was killed. These sort of attacks occur on a daily basis, killing and wounding Palestinian civilians
In light of Israels determination to continue committing on a daily and weekly basis appalling human rights violations, violations of International law and brutal War Crimes, and coupled with this latest hijacking and kidnapping of Irish citizens, surely it is time that the government break off all diplomatic links with Israel, shut their embassy down and send the Ambassador and the rest of his staff with a one way ticket on the next plane out of Ireland!
PR stunt by anti semites.
Palestinians are semites. Please stop before you embarrass yourself anymore.
Hah!
You obviously have no idea what you’re talking about.
Perhaps Laurence and his mates might like to bring a big box of nothing to the oppressed people of Syria , just to prove a point
Didn’t think so
Where do the Arabs get their rockets from?
The blockade of Gaza is not to stop weapons going through. Israeli officials admit this – it is, as one says ‘to put Palestinians on a diet’, to punish Palestinians for their resistance to Israeli occupation. Israeli apologists here could at least admit what Israeli officials are proud to claim.
And again – the people of Gaza have not asked for aid. They have asked for the siege to be lifted. They want to be in a situation where they don’t need aid. They want to live normal lives, to be able to come and go freely. For that, this illegal siege that denies them the basics of life needs to be lifted. I’m amazed that any decent person thinks it is acceptable to cage a million and a half people, and they would sneer at the Ship to Gaza’s efforts to bring this inhumane siege to world attention.
Abuse people who tell me I don’t exist and my family don’t exist and we weren’t thrown out of our homes? Yes, you bet I will. P*** off.
Any chance of making statement about: Israelis targeted by Kassam rockets and suicide bombers; Tibetans; Burmese; Haitans; South Sudanese; Cubans; Koreans; Bielorussians; Nigerian Christians killed because of religion; Egyptian Kopts targeted by mobs and fleeing country; Pakistani Christians killed for questionable blasphemy; Jews attacked in France and Sweden (even in Dublin synagogues must have tight security)? No? Really?
This is actually beyond parody.
Gah, couldn’t help myself.
I thought u were limiting ur replies, Niall !!!!! I have that Dolly Parton song on in the background ……
Honourable exception ;)
Haha – just clicked on Uncle Mort which lead to a “protected” twitter account with no followers and no followees. You guys need to put in a little more work into your fake accounts.
How dare you call ME a liar,you are claiming to be a member of a non-existent race. The term Palestinian refers to Arabs displaced by Arabs and then abandoned by their own.Even the PLO admit to this.
Get a grip, Claudia. Your childish replies are annoying. If u are going to argue your point, please do so intelligently.
And btw, I bet there is no such person as “Uncle Mort”. How much are you getting paid? … Obviously not enough judging by the low-grade quality of your lies.
Quelle surprise.
I’m still confused about Fintan Lane’s allegations that he was physically abused by Israelis whilst being taken off the boat. Allegedly, the Irish embassy in Tel Aviv was informed of this but this wasn’t reflected in a subsequent statement from the Tánaiste who said the MV Saoirse folk had no complaints about their treatment.
Will the flotillistas be raising this issue with the Department of Foreign Affairs?
I’ve got precisely zero interest in getting into this again, have already said more than enough on the topic. But, I was just reading a couple of interesting articles in Foreign Affairs, in a section titled “Israel Under Siege” – say no more. Thought this one was worth sharing:
“The greatest danger to Israel comes not from without — in the form of Palestinian intransigence — but from within. The ongoing occupation of the territories is destroying Israel’s values and viability. It breeds an aggressive, intolerant ethnic nationalism and causes political gridlock, empowering an ultrareligious underclass that refuses to contribute and lives off the state.”
http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/136593/ronald-r-krebs/israels-bunker-mentality
Thanks for cfr prooganda. Would take the word of Brian Cowan over these chappies
Petra, if CFR is biased, it’s biased in favour of Israel. This piece was carried in a section titled “Israel Under Siege”, not “Palestine Under Siege”. I would treat it with circumspection also, for that very reason, but I think it’s an interesting perspective, take it or leave it.
As Norman Finkelstein would say: you are a moral imbecile.
The Irish Ship to Gaza folk were referring to it here as an “aid ship” and spoke of it bringing “humanitarian support”.
http://irishshiptogaza.org/?p=807
In the light of the above article, is this not errmm….. misleading?
“two moderate, relatively respected countries – Turkey and Egypt.”
Is this the same moderate Turkey that in 1974 invaded Cyprus?
An invasion in which 5,600 Greek Cypriots were killed and over 160,000 residents fled their homes.
UN Security Council Resolutions 367, 541, and 550 and UN Resolutions 3212 and 1987/19 condemned the invasion and called for the withdrawal of Turkish troops. They are still there.
As for Egypt,some 14000 Africans crossed the border into Israel in 2010 seeking a better life.They were the ones who escaped by enslaved in Egypt and even worse,being killed for their organs in which there is a thriving market in Cairo [See UN and CNN for more]
Quoting UN resolutions only draws attention to Israels attitude to them. The only UN resolution Israel quotes is the one that recognises the state of Israel. After that they thumb their nose at the UN. Doesn’t anybody remember Israels use of Phospor shells on the civilian population of Gaza? Nobody condones Hamas violence but Israel just does what it wants , when it wants.
I’m sorry now but if you’re going to be using examples like that then it would be impossible to do business in the UN with any country bar Ireland, the Scandinavians, Uruguay and Canada. If your trying to make the argument that Turkey and Egypt arent respected members of the international community then I have to say your completely wrong. Turkey invaded Cyprus in direct response to the Greek military dictatorship invading the country 4 days previously with the view to uniting the independent nation with Greece. What you are talking about in Egypt has much more do to with poverty. If you are going to try make an argument, at least try use facts that are relevant to the topic being discussed ;)
@Val,you may have overlooked that it was you who mentioned Turkey and Egypt in the first instance and I am merely drawing attention the the fact that both of those countries have blood on their hands and are not as moderate as you would have us believe.We will leave the abominable treatment of the Kurds by the Turks for another day.
The Turks are trying to draw attention away from their own transgressions by facilitating these stunts. I mention Egypt in that people are are risking murder ,rape and being used for spare parts in crossing that country to get to Israel where none of these things will happen to them.
On reflection my mention of the UN is,like that organisation itself,an irrelevance
In that case I did say “relatively moderate”. Obviously both have their problems but Turkey for one thing is a secular democracy (a rarity in this region) and has shown a willingness to get on with Arab nations, Europe and significantly for a majority Muslim nation, Israel. The point you raise about Egypt are a non-starter in my opinion. What I was talking about was a situation where you would have a section of a port, cut off from the rest of the area by security where they would pull in, be held in a holding area, the ships would be searched thoroughly and be sent on their way once the search was complete. They wouldnt be travelling across the country in danger of being raped or killed or loosing organs. It holds accountability because if any weapons were found, it would be known where they came from.
The present situation can’t continue. This is different from the issue of statehood which by and large has been created by politicians. Ordinary people on the streets of Palestinian areas are dying from lack of food, water and medical supplies, this is the simplest method of getting help to them.
When you speak about the issue ad nauseam do you always resort to personal abuse?
You have a lovely turn of phrase Claudia, do all Arab women have this gift/
To quote a line from the article ‘In so doing we are inspired by a long history of non-violent, direct action against injustice, from Gandhi’s methods of non-violent resistance to British colonial rule in India to the American civil rights movement.’ it’s such a pity the rulers of Gaza do not subscribe to this philosophy.
The people who organise these flotillas, should be trying to stop Hamas from firing rockets into Israel to help ordinary palestinians, this is the only way the blocade will be lifted. the palestinians need to rise up against terrorists organisitions like Hamas and free themselves. the sooner people in the west support this as a solution the sooner we might have resolution. Its time to stop blaming Isreal for defending it’s people against fanatics who would destroy it the first chance they get.
While I see – and on some level agree with – your point, I would imagine it is far easier to drum up support for a group who promise to “end [what they see as] oppression” rather than to have them surrender their own mediocre defences while the guys next door (Israel) have nukes and bio-weapons..
I mean, if someone moved in next door to you and started building an extension without planning permission that ended up in your back yard – but they had a big gun, you would probably prefer to keep that big stick handy to protect yourself, because they certainly have that upper hand. But then again, you knew all the neighbours first, and they would all be on your side.. Especially if calling the Gards did nothing for you..
It’s a very complex problem, getting either side to stand down will never be easy. As far as Israel are concerned the whole Arab world is against them, and as far as the Arab world are concerned there’s all these non native people flooding into the middle east, building a military fortress that keeps expanding..
Of course Israel have a right to defend themselves, anyone does.. But everyone seems to have different views on where the line between defence and attack lies.
Either side could accuse each other of terrorism. That, I think is down to perspective and which point in history you start at. But if neither side can sit down and speak as humans, leaving race and religion to the side, peace may never come to the Middle East..
Karl, how was hijacking this boat in International waters and kidnapping Irish citizens “defending its people”?
How was murdering nine civilians on the Mavi Marmara in Ineternational waters last year “Defending its people”?
How is preventing Gaza from exporting any goods “defending its people”?
How was slaughtering in the region of 1400 people during their so called “Operation Cast Lead”, including hundreds of children “defending its people”?
How is limiting the amount of foodstuff that can be brought into Gaza “defending its people”?
Gerry Sligo
Grow a brain or read a history book.. Those lads on both sides have being at it for donkeys years we just need to stay out of it, the natural human cycle would resolve itself
Resorting to sexism, are we? Hahaha. This Palestinian woman is getting offline now – pleasure chatting with you Mr. Shin Bet operative. Don’t work too hard now…
Goodness me ,my new pal Claudia seems to be reluctant to discuss Arafat and his merry men or perhaps ‘she’ has just run out of insults
Israel was invented by Jewish lobbyists in London and Washington D.C. after the second world war.
The land was taken from the then inhabitants.
Laurence, your ego is bigger than your cause, you don’t really care about gaza, you care about your ego. If you truly cared you’d figure out a way of getting aid in
So Israel’s trolls have a new propaganda ploy, probably issued this morning by the Embassy: drone on and on about the “egos” of those who risk their lives in international waters to bring the world’s attention to the endless persecution of the people of Gaza, and those who write explaining the motives for their actions. Presumably those who sit in their armchairs and applaud the crimes of a vicious, racist state are totally selfless?
Maybe Mort is Baz or one of his acolytes?
http://twitter.com/?photo_id=1#!/GerryCasey/status/137612824053690370/photo/1
Are you another Arab woman Gerry?
PS Gerry,your girlfriend Claudia seems to be hiding behind a protected Facebook account, an on-line burqua ?
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The Arabs in Gaza are being used by Iran and abused by its agency Hamas. There is plenty of money in Gaza as can be seen by the 5 star hotels and shopping malls.maybe the Arabs could be nice to each other and share it out
@ Terry,the whole Middle East as we know it was once the Ottoman Empire,how come the Saudis got all the oil and the Jews only rock and sand?
Because Moses went left when he should have went right.
this farce is the biggest pr success the israelis ever had
Funny how the “Goldstone Report” for the UNHRC isn’t called the “Goldstone Report” any more. I presume it’s because Judge Goldstone changed his mind about key conclusions afterwards. And didn’t Mary Robinson refuse to participate in the Goldstone inquiry because it was biased from the start?
A simple answer to the question about Mary Robinson: no, she didn’t.
Why did she refuse?
The Gaza Strip, the largest Concentration Camp in the world…….
I think you’ve proved a point Laurence , don’t know if its the one you wanted to prove though…
You really can’t make shit like this up….
have your say