Tweet
The 1,200-ton cargo vessel, MV Rachel Corrie, laden with a hold full of "much-needed reconstruction material, medical equipment, and school supplies, " has untied from a dock in Dundalk Ireland, and has now faced its bow toward the Straits of Gibraltar. It will be joined by seven other vessels, with their similar cargoes, and about 600 passengers, including some of the world’s leading peace and human rights activists.
Two navies, the two most powerful in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, are likely to get involved in the last leg of the voyage to the Gaza coast – The Turkish Navy and, of course, the Israeli Navy. Turkey’s Prime Minister, Tayyib Erdogan, recently expressed his support for “breaking the oppressive siege on the Gaza Strip…which is at the top of Turkey’s list of priorities." His belief that the blockade should be broken may be reinforced by the resolve of a proud government that was intentionally humiliated by Israeli diplomats back in January, "torpedoing" Turko-Israeli relations, as the web site Tikun Olam then put it.
Earlier in May, "John Ging, the Director of Operations of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in Gaza, …. called upon the international community to break the siege on the Gaza Strip by sending ships loaded with desperately needed supplies to the beleaguered territory. "We believe that Israel will not intercept these vessels because the sea is open, and human rights organizations have been successful in similar previous operations proving that breaking the siege of Gaza is possible."
But the Israeli Navy is training for a confrontation of a far larger scale than what they have crudely dealt with in past open attempts to break the illegal and cruel blockade:
ISRAEL IN TRAINING TO BLOCK FREEDOM FLOTILLA
May 13, 2010 by irishingaza
Bethlehem – Ma’an – Israel’s naval forces are allegedly in training to prepare to seize eight boats scheduled to dock in the Gaza Strip on 24 May from Europe, Arabic-language media reported on Wednesday.“About half of the Israeli naval forces will participate in an operation that was approved by the cabinet. [Israeli] Defense Minister Ehud Barak will supervise the operation,” an Israeli official told the Arabic-language satellite TV station Al-Hurra.
An Israeli security source told Ma’an that authorities will prevent the arrival of the boats “at any price.”
The Freedom Fleet is scheduled to set sail from the UK, Greece and Turkey. The European Free Gaza campaign said Israeli authorities informed them that the flotillas would be prevented from docking in Gaza.
The boats will be loaded with prefabricated homes, cement, and medicine and will be accompanied by 600 individuals in a bid to break the siege on Gaza.
On Sunday, Jamal Al-Khudari, head of Gaza’s Popular Committee Against the Siege, said Israeli threats to open fire at the boats reveal Israel’s weakness.
“Such threats reflect the occupation’s failure and embody state terrorism against peaceful individuals who come to support a people under siege and aggression,” a statement issued by Al-Khudari said.
Under international law, the activists attempting to dock in Gaza have the right to participate in breaking the siege, Al-Khudari added, saying the threats will not deter participants from arriving in Gaza.
The popular committee organizer said the group was coming well-equipped, and would be ready should the Israeli navy surround them for a long period of time.
The Freedom Flotilla announced plans in late April, saying a group of ships would depart from several corners of the Mediterranean and gather in international waters with the intent to deliver some 5,000 tons of building and medical supplies to the population under siege.
According to flotilla organizers, 600 activists will sail three cargo ships and five passenger boats for Gaza in what a statement called the “biggest internationally coordinated effort to directly challenge Israeli’s ongoing occupation, aggression, and violence against the Palestinian people.”
I’ll be following this story closely. I was informed last week, that some of the crew loading the MV Rachel Corrie, have been playing MP3s of The Skies Are Weeping as they work.
My heart, along with my music, is with all the hundreds of peace activists who are involved in this humanitarian effort.
25 Comments
Glad to hear your incredible music is an inspiration for the crew.
Thanks for the info on this . . . not getting any US msm play at all that I can tell.
This could be a HUGE catastrophe in the making.
And is it big enough to put Turkey at war with Israel if Israel is DUMP enough to attack this flotilla?
Rcc’d, of course.
I can’t imagine anyone could be stupid enough to actually fire shots when the inevitable confrontation happens just outside what the UN considers to be Palestinian territorial waters. Ramming and water cannons and destruction of video cameras – yes. Actual torpedoes or cannon – no.
I agree; destroying any video of the seizure will be the Israels’ top priority, as before.
I was moved by your composition when you first posted a link to it some time back. FYI, the work American Persephone by San Francisco composer Paul Crabtree, which juxtaposes Rachael Corrie’s story with the Persephone myth, is now available on CD. More here.
Right On, ET…! If you’re unable to be on board physically, at least you’re there spiritually…! ;-)
That’s great. Thanks for the link.
I emailed Paul a couple of years ago. There are some eery similarities between his composition and mine, which we wrote at about the same time, yet without knowledge of each others’ projects.
Great diary, ET – thanks for (once again) educating us!
Rec’d.
I’m sure that the idf navy will try to do to the MV Rachel Corrie what they did to the real one. Of course, their defense will be that it got in the way of the israeli ship and the whole problem couldn’t be helped. Tsk, tsk, too bad.
Well, I suppose that hrc and obamarahma will say nothing against an illegal blockade and assault in international or Palestinian water. It makes me so proud to watch our leadership roll over like a whipped dog for aipac and the likudniks and the rethugs.
Whatever happens to the flotilla, I really wish I could physically be there.
Recommended.
ET – do you have a link to hear/see “The Skies Are Weeping”? The link in the post above goes to a wiki entry.
This link takes you through links to hear each separate movement of the seven-movement work.
How many Senators signed the letter penned by AIPAC to Obamarhama to insist on total support of Israel no matter what? Was it 80 percent?
76 Senators. 76%.
I don’t think anybody here really realizes how anti Gaza Bibi is. I would not be the least suprised to see Israeli commandos board those ships in international waters, arrest the crews and organizers, and scuttle the ships and cargo.
And if they do, the cash transfer from the US treasury to the Israeli treasury will still occur EXACTLY as scheduled. And as long as THAT is true, nobody has any leverage on Israel.
The only country that can in any way moderate Israels behavior is America and we’re not able to take the steps to do it. There are enough congresscritters who are dependent on jewish votes to retain their seats that anything beyond a Sternly Worded Letter won’t fly.
Boxturtle (And that SWL will make multiple references to our deep committment to Israels security)
Update – Monday 8:00 a.m. Alaska time:
A ninth ship – from Ireland – appears to be joining the flotilla:
And the rightwing portion of the Israeli press is beating a jingoist drum, sprinkling their articles with assertions that any assistance to anyone in Gaza is some sort of a deal with Hamas:
Comments to the above article are somewhat startling:
thanks ET
The comments shouldn’t shock you, that’s the way most of Israel really feels.
There are a few lonely voices for coexistance out there in the wilderness, but darn few.
Every time Israel tightens the screws, the Palistinians hate them that much more. Every time a rocket is launched from Gaza, the Israeli’s hate the Palistinians that much more.
I wouldn’t be on those ships unless there was an American military escort. I think Israel might well sink them.
They only thing that might stop them is the Turkish involvement. They do value their good relations with the Turks and there’s no Jewish lobby in Turkey to keep the lawmakers in line.
Boxturtle (The Israelis have always been our friends…and they sure take advantage of it!)
No different from Xtian Fundie’s and their white’s only venom. Sad but frightening.
Um, that’s some sweeping generalizations (not wholly untrue by any means, I concur with the ideas but not the numbers perhaps) in your comment, but let me add only this to the present equation at hand regarding this flotilla. And I offer it as a means of hope for this situation, for the flotilla, for Palistinean’s.
Steve Gilliard (bless his big bloggy heart) once posted (loosely recalled): “In Middle East politics there’s one standard that supercedes all others with regards to regional issues-You Don’t Fuck With The Turks.”
His point being, politically/militarily you don’t fuck with the Turks and Israel is crazy to do so in this instance (in my view). This shit is how a major war breaks out.
Not all Israeli’s are Likudniks, not all American Jews support Likud/AIPAC or Mossad. Not all progs/libs are ignorant of the depth of the problems USA has as a result of its relationship with Israel as it stands.
But yes, our politicians are responsible for enabling and continuing a foreign nation to wield control over our foreign policy(s). And they do so because it’s lucrative and generates HUGE amounts of money thru the war machine, which is all used to keep not a BALANCE in the ME, but to create a huge IMBALANCE that favors Israel.
For that matter, the Turks do it, too . . . ;-) See the history of Sybil Edmonds . . . .
Depressing as hell, all of it anymore, any way I look at it . . . .
I have heard from quite a few people who have spent a great deal of time in Israel that racist thinking is common place. Have had a few direct encounters with Jewish students in Columbus at Ohio State who were so radical and truly racist.
some Israeli soldiers who were clearly bothered by what took place in the Gaza
Breaking the Silence/ Cast Lead…testimonies
http://www.shovrimshtika.org/oferet/video_e.asp
anyone hear or see any coverage of this on our MSM outlets please report. CNN, Faux, MSNBC. Of course we all know not to hold our breath on this. Silence
Very true. Even more so given that I know few Israeli’s personally and that analysis is the distilled opinions of two aging computer engineers.
In a fight between Israel and Turkey, I don’t give the Turks much chance. But I consider a shooting war between Israel and Turkey unlikely. I think Turkey would limit themselves to diplomatic reprisals, even if Israel sunk the ships.
But as I said, Israel values it’s good relations with Turkey. I’d like to think Israel values good relations more than a few boatloads of relief suppliies. We valued our good relations with most of the world until they disagreed with Bush on Iraq II. Bibi is every bit as aggressive as Bush and he’s got people just a nutso as Cheney around him.
True, not all Israelis are Likudniks. But even the laborites are against most of the things needed for peace. And there are parties in the government further to the right than Likud.
Boxturtle (Imagine if the Tea Party held Cabinet seats…)
My limited impression is like America in the 1910-1920 or so time frame. They don’t think they’re racist, it’s just that it’s so OBVIOUS to them that the Arab is not as advanced as the rest of the world. And they are genuinely confused that the rest of the world can’t see it. I get “just come over and live next to one for a month” from one of my Israeli friends when I point out the obvious contradictions or compare it to the anti-semitism that so bothers him.
A “moderate” Israeli is one who agrees that Arabs are inferior, just feels they should be treated better.
An Israeli leftist (some of them, anyway) will see them as equals, but enemies. They’d just like the war to end. But you don’t hear many of them discussing “terratorial compromise” on the subject of Jereusalam.
Boxturtle (And until we’re willing to cut off the moeny flow, nothing will change)
A racist generally never thinks they are a “racist”
When any group of cultural, ethnic, or religious beliefs are based on your “special” or “chosen” and that some alleged god told you this. When you are told in your religious books or verses (Deuteronomy) that it is perfectly acceptable to treat others less than “your people” there is going to be trouble