Guardian: Gaza Freedom flotilla carried world-renowned names and veteran activists

[Poll_Blind]

From Guardian.co.uk:

The largest flotilla launched to challenge the Gaza blockade also carried the most passengers, well over 600 people, believed to include 27 from the UK. Internationally renowned names were on board, among them activists, authors, film-makers, politicians and journalists from Europe, the Middle East, the US and Canada.

Among the most famous is Henning Mankell, author of the best-selling Wallander series of crime novels. Mankell had been scheduled to speak to the Hay festival on Saturday night by live link from the boat, but the connection failed.

One of the best-known international activists is Huwaida Arraf, born in the US to an Israeli Arab father and Palestinian mother, co- founder in 2001 of the International Solidarity Movement, which campaigns against Israel's actions in the West Bank and Gaza. He was on the Challenger.

Also on board was the Nobel peace laureate Mairead Corrigan-Maguire, co-founder of Northern Ireland's Peace People and a veteran of the Gaza flotillas, who was briefly jailed last year when Israel intercepted and towed a flotilla.
--snip--

This article goes on forever, listing the huge number of politicians, dignitaries, activists, film-makers, authors, (as they mention) a Nobel peace laureate, three German Ministers of Parliament, and many others...including an incredible number of reporters.

And I'm pretty sure all of 'em can probably write, and will write and tell the world of their experiences, once their kidnappers release them.

PB

OnEdit: Link brazenly swiped from EFerrari- hat tip to them!

[grassfed]

1. Mankell is married to Ingmar Bergman's daughter

This is an indication of the social significance of Swedish pro-Palestinian activism.

[scarletwoman]

2. Sort of like, dog catches car -- then what?

Are there no rational minds left in the Israeli government?

[Poll_Blind]

5. Oh there are, absolutely. They just don't want to work out deals with the...

...ultra-rightwing Israeli political parties (Shas, Likud) and also, really, Israeli political parties that don't run on fear and terror and that sort of shit have been out of power since....sometime in the 70's, IIRC.

There are probably great, rational, compassionate minds in Israeli politics and probably even affiliated with the current conservative government. But they aren't allowed to bubble up very far in that environment.

Israel was by no means like the Israel of today. It's just when Labor started losing, when the right wing (in a sort of Reagan/Thatcher-esque wave of conservatism that swept in in the early 80's) started taking over and then cutting deals with nutzo revisionist religious Zionists and their ilk- that's when everything started to unravel.

So most of 'em seem to find jobs writing frustrated but spot-on columns deriding the state of affairs, unfortunately not being able to change much except to weep in horror as their beautiful sentiment of a country becomes a right-wing extremist shithole.

It's pretty messed up. We pay at least 3 Bln dollars a year to help them keep it all propped up, to the detriment of (at least) Left-leaning Jews everywhere.

PB

[grassfed]

3. International reaction to flotilla intervention (Reuters quotes)

International reaction to flotilla intervention

Mon May 31, 2:53 PM

(Reuters) - Israeli commandos stormed a convoy of Gaza-bound aid ships on Monday and more than 10 of the mostly international activists aboard were killed, provoking a diplomatic crisis.

Here is some international reaction to the incident:

WHITE HOUSE SPOKESMAN WILLIAM BURTON:

"The United States deeply regrets the loss of life and injuries sustained, and is currently working to understand the circumstances surrounding this tragedy," Burton said.

U.N. SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON:

Ban called for a full investigation and expressed shock at the incident. "It is vital that there is a full investigation to determine exactly how this bloodshed took place. I believe Israel must urgently provide a full explanation," he said.

PALESTINIAN PRESIDENT MAHMOUD ABBAS:

"What Israel has committed on board the Freedom Flotilla was a massacre," said Abbas who declared three days of official mourning for the dead.

TURKISH PRIME MINISTER TAYYIP ERDOGAN

Erdogan accused Israel of state terrorism. "This action, totally contrary to the principles of international law, is inhumane state terrorism. Nobody should think we will keep quiet in the face of this."

ARAB LEAGUE CHIEF AMR MOUSSA:

Moussa called for an emergency meeting to discuss what the body that groups 22 Arab states described as Israel's "terrorist act."

SAUDI ARABIAN CABINET:

"This attack is an act of hostility that reflects inhumane practices that defy the whole world ... and the insistence to starve the Palestinian people .. and kill innocent people."

IRANIAN PRESIDENT MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD:

"The inhuman acts of the Zionist regime against Palestinians and preventing humanitarian aid to the Gaza people does not show the strength of the Zionist regime but shows its weakness," Ahmadinejad told state broadcaster IRIB. "All these acts indicate the end of the heinous and fake regime and will bring it closer to the end of its existence."

LEBANESE PRIME MINISTER SAAD AL-HARIRI:

Hariri said Israel's move was a "crazy step" that risked inflaming conflict in the region.

EGYPTIAN PRESIDENT HOSNI MUBARAK:

"President Hosni Mubarak condemns Israel's excessive and unjustified use of force against innocent civilians," state news agency MENA said, adding that Mubarak stressed Egypt's support of Gaza's Palestinians.

FRENCH PRESIDENT NICOLAS SARKOZY:

"The President of the Republic expresses his profound emotion in the face of the tragic consequences of the Israeli military operation," Sarkozy's office said. "He condemns the disproportionate use of force and addresses his condolences to the families of the victims."

ITALIAN FOREIGN MINISTER FRANCO FRATTINI:

"I deplore in the strongest terms the killing of civilians. This is certainly a grave act."

BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY WILLIAM HAGUE:

"I deplore the loss of life during the interception of the Gaza Flotilla...We have consistently advised against attempting to access Gaza in this way, because of the risks involved. But at the same time, there is a clear need for Israel to act with restraint and in line with international obligations..."

GERMAN GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN ULRICH WILHELM:

"The German government is shocked by events in the international waters by Gaza..."

"Every German government supports unconditionally Israel's right to self defense," said Wilhelm, but added that Israeli actions should correspond to what he described as the "basic principle" of proportionality.

EUROPEAN UNION

"High Representative Catherine Ashton expresses her deep regret at the news of loss of life and violence and extends her sympathies to families of the dead and wounded," said a spokesman for Ashton, the EU's foreign policy chief.

"On behalf of the European Union she demands a full enquiry about the circumstances in which this happened...The continued policy of closure is unacceptable and politically counter-productive. She calls for an immediate, sustained and unconditional opening of the crossing for the flow of humanitarian aid, commercial goods and persons to and from Gaza."

NORWEGIAN PRIME MINISTER JENS STOLTENBERG:

"This underlines that the blockade of Gaza should be ended as soon as possible," Stoltenberg told reporters. "This type of military action is unacceptable. The shootings must be investigated and documented. It is clear that this is a use of force against civilians."

SPANISH SECRETARY OF STATE DIEGO LOPEZ GARRIDO:

"Spain unequivocally condemns the Israeli attack on the humanitarian flotilla and it does so as a country and as the acting president of the EU Council. Spain has summoned the Israeli ambassador to ask him for explanations of the attack.

DUTCH FOREIGN MINISTER MAXIME VERHAGEN:

"I want the Israeli ambassador in The Hague to provide clarification today on this," Verhagen said in a statement. "The Netherlands wants an investigation specifically into how this could have happened."

GREEK DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER DIMITRIS DROUTSAS:

"There is no excuse. The level of violence cannot be excused ... we condemn it and this is exactly the message I conveyed this morning to the Israeli ambassador.

"Israel must provide us with all the information demanded and (guarantee) the safety of the Greek citizens.

THE VATICAN:

"This is a very painful fact, in particular because of the loss of human lives," said chief Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi. He said the Vatican was against violence "from whatever side it comes."

Int'l Reaction to Flotilla Attack

[scarletwoman]

6. Great post - truly deserves its own thread. Thank you. nt

[grassfed]

8. I used up my posts --

please post as it's own thread.

[scarletwoman]

11. Not sure I understand. There aren't any limits on the number of posts you can make.

[grassfed]

17. i think you can only post 3 OPs a day

[scarletwoman]

18. Oh dear. No, that's totally not true. There was a 3 OP restriction during the primaries, but only in

the GD-P forum. And that restriction was dropped once the primaries were over.

There haven't been any limits on the number of OPs you can post since June 2008. And as I said, it was only in the one forum -- GD-P -- none of the other forums have ever been restricted.

I'm so sorry you've had that mistaken impression all this time! Hope this liberates you! :)

sw

[Poll_Blind]

7. Wow, thank you for posting that!

It is amazing the outpouring from the world on this.

PB

[loudsue]

13. You can really tell which countries are kissing Israel's butt...

It's almost as if they called ahead to ask if it was ok to criticize.

I hope the Israeli people are able to get this bunch of rightwing crazies out of their government after this. It's as if Cheney & Rumsfeld have taken over Israel.

[laughingliberal]

4. K & R nt

[Ned Bro]

9. Oops!

Did it again! :banghead:

[UndertheOcean]

10. Thanks for posting !

[EFerrari]

12. I swiped it from grassfed!

lol

:hi:

[Poll_Blind]

14. Ha ha ha! That's awesome!

:rofl:

And another hat-tip to Grassfed!

PB

[EFerrari]

15. grassfed has been on top of the very best links all afternoon.

:)

[Catherina]

16. Ann Wright , retired US Colonel was on that ship

Here's her picture


Ann Wright is one of three State Department officials who publicly resigned in direct protest of the March 2003 invasion of Iraq.





Veterans For Peace's Response to Armed Attack on Aid Flotilla

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 31, 2010
1:08 PM
CONTACT: Veterans for Peace
Mike Ferner 419-729-7273
Dennis Lane 314-306-0024


Veterans For Peace's Response to Armed Attack on Aid Flotilla

VFP member Ret. Colonel Ann Wright is one of the members of the Flotilla

WASHINGTON - May 31 - The world is reacting in righteous outrage at this moment to Israel's high seas attack on an international aid flotilla, reportedly killing up to 20 people escorting tons of humanitarian aid to Gaza in an effort to break Israel's three-year blockade. "Made in the U.S.A." is stamped on the weapons commandos used to kill and wound the international peace activists.

We are saddened and we are angry. At least one of our own members, retired Army Col., Ann Wright, is among the 700 people aboard the boats attacked in the middle of the night. But we cannot say we are very surprised. Palestinians die quietly and unnoticed every day in Gaza, the world's largest open air prison, as a result of Israel's blockade and violent repression.

Veterans For Peace Board Member, Cherie Eichholz, traveled to Gaza in May and had this to say about the situation in Gaza, "Surrounded by a massive wall and a naval blockade, Gazans are imprisoned, suffering without the most basic of necessities, including enough food and safe drinking water. The situation on the ground is grave."

Another Board Member, Elliott Adams, also traveled to Gaza in May said, "On our Memorial Day we veterans are presented with the ugly specter of US citizens having their lives threatened and being held captive in an act of piracy. Making it more painful, this is being done with US weapons. While the people of Gaza cry out for basic humanitarian needs, a neighboring nation is willing to kill to deny them basic life support."

Many of our 7,000 members in over 100 chapters are already organizing or will soon join the protests being organized across the U.S. We urge our members to use every nonviolent tactic available in the streets and in local Congressional offices to protest this attack. At the same time we demand Congress cut off U.S. military aid to Israel which has totaled over 32 billion dollars since 1997.

For interviews about what life is like in Gaza, please contact Cherie Eichholz at 206-227-6095 or Elliott Adams at 518-441-2697.


.###
Veterans For Peace is a national organization founded in 1985. It is structured around a national office in Saint Louis, MO and comprised of members across the country organized in chapters or as at-large members. The organization includes men and women veterans of all eras and duty stations including from the Spanish Civil War (1936-39), World War II, the Korean, Vietnam, Gulf and current Iraq wars as well as other conflicts. Our collective experience tells us wars are easy to start and hard to stop and that those hurt are often the innocent. Thus, other means of problem solving are necessary.