flotilla: a torpedo, or harbour it?

From The  NYRBooks

Jim Hollander/epa/Corbis

The writer David Grossman, right, protesting with Palestinians and Israelis against the eviction of Palestinian families from the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah, April 9, 2010. From Peter Beinart’s essay “The Failure of the American Jewish Establishment” in The NYRB, May 12, 2010

WHICH FREEDOM? FOR WHOM? POVERTY AND WAR.

FACTS

Egypt has largely sealed its border with Gaza since Hamas took power in the area three years ago, making it an important partner for Israel in keeping tight control over the flow of goods into the territory.

Named the Freedom Flotilla, and led by the pro-Palestinian Free Gaza Movement (@freegazaorg) and a Turkish organization notorious for its Jihad inspiration, Insani Yardim Vakfi (or: IHH, lead  by Bulent Yildirim), the convoy of six cargo and passenger boats is PERHAPS the most ambitious attempt yet to break Israel’s three-year blockade of Gaza – in the dawn of May the 31st. For sure the most mediatised and PR effective.

It has clashed with IDF commandos, after refusal to change their destination harbour away from Gaza. 9 ppl were shot dead.

Now, the nyt has narrated how poor NGOs wanting to ship to Gaza since years, finally found the powerful and rich Turk IHH, capable to buy the Marmaris and easily finance all the Flotilla venture (from the usual Islam Charity-pro-Terror mechanism, and generous donations from the new Turkish bourgeoisie). It happens that IHH is an International of Terror:

“This research by the Danish Institute for International Studies details the part played by the IHH in Islamist terror in Afghanistan, Bosnia and Chechnya. According to the French magistrate Jean-Louis Bruguiere testifying at the Seattle trial of would-be al Qaeda Millenium bomber Ahmed Ressamin, the IHH had played ‘[a]n important role’ in the al Qaeda Millenium bomb plot targeting Los Angeles airport. It was also involved in weapons trafficking, and played in addition a key role in galvanizing anti-Western sentiment among Turkish Muslims in the lead-up to the 2003 war in Iraq.”  (by Noah  David Simon, June 4; aka @CriticalAnalyst)

THESIS 1

J Street. The “anti-Lobby” or beyond  Lobby, Obamian American Jews silent majority says:

http://jstreet.org/page/gaza-flotilla#onepager

J Street’s Position:

We call for

•. Lifting the unproductive blockade of humanitarian and construction materials into Gaza while supporting serious, effective security measures to prevent weapons and other terrorist supplies from entering.

•. The immediate release by Hamas of Corporal Gilad Shalit [ndr: in captivity 1141 days up to June 5, 2010] and Hamas’ renunciation of violence as a means of achieving the political goal of Palestinian freedom and independence.

•. An immediate, serious and dramatic effort, led by President Obama, to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and achieve a two-state solution now.

•. An outpouring of support from the American Jewish community and all those who care about preserving a Jewish, democratic, and safe Israel for immediate movement on the part of the state of Israel toward a diplomatic two-state resolution.

•. The leaders of all sides – Arabs, Palestinians and Israelis – to begin an honest conversation with their people about how this conflict will end and the compromises and sacrifices that will be necessary to avoid further generations of violence, bloodshed and terror.

Finally, we echo President Obama’s call for a two-state solution in Cairo one year ago this week:

“Too many tears have been shed. Too much blood has been shed. All of us have a responsibility to work for the day when the mothers of Israelis and Palestinians can see their children grow up without fear; when the Holy Land of the three great faiths is the place of peace that God intended it to be; when Jerusalem is a secure and lasting home for Jews and Christians and Muslims, and a place for all of the children of Abraham to mingle peacefully together as in the story of Isra, when Moses, Jesus, and Mohammed, peace be upon them, joined in prayer.”

THESIS 2

The queen of Jordania says: @QueenRaina #FreedomFlotilla

Fact 1: HEALTH–95% of Gaza’s water fails WHO standards leaving thousands of newborns at risk of poisoning. PLZ RT!

Fact 2: EDUCATION–1/3 of schools were destroyed during attack on Gaza in ’09; they still haven’t been rebuilt. PLZ RT!

Fact 3: POVERTY – 80% of people in Gaza live below the poverty line; 95% of private businesses have closed. PLZ RT!

Fact 4: NOURISHMENT – Two thirds of Gazans don’t know where their next meal’s coming from. PLZ RT!

A cut from her Twitter background:

THESIS 3

IDF on Sunday evening, June 6:

The following passengers on board the Mavi Marmara are known to be involved in terrorist activity. The Mavi Marmara attempted to break the maritime closure on the Gaza Strip on Monday, May 31^st 2010, and was boarded by Israel Navy forces.

Fatimah Mahmadi (born 1979), is a United States resident of Iranian origin, and an active member of the organization “Viva Palestine”, she attempted to smuggle forbidden electronic components into the Gaza Strip.

Ken O’Keefe (Born 1969), an American and British citizen, is a radical anti-Israel activist and operative of the Hamas Terror organization. He attempted to enter the Gaza Strip in order to form and train a commando unit for the Palestinian terror organization.

Hassan Iynasi (born 1982), a Turkish citizen and activist  in a Turkish charity organization, is known of providing financial support to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad Terror organization.

Hussein Urosh, a Turkish citizen and activist in the IHH organization, was on his way to the Gaza Strip in order to assist in smuggling Al-Qaeda operatives via Turkey into the Strip.

Ahmad Umimon (born 1959), is a French citizen of Moroccan origin, and an operative of the Hamas Terrorist organization.

Some links

IN ITALIAN, from one of the  Alexander Langer fb groups:

Enzo Arcangeli. ALEX LANGER ci ha lasciato il 3 luglio 1995

Nella guerra mediatica su “Flotilla”, manifestazioni … ecco alcune fonti che mantengono la calma: tra i giornali anche (non solo) Guardian, Haaretz e Nyt. Gli ebrei US di http://twitter.com/NYJewishWee k e J Street (http://twitter.com/jstreetdotorg; http://www.jstreet.org/); più pro-Palestina le europee European Jews for a Just Peace (EJJP) e Jews For Justice For Palestinians (JFJFP). Schierate ma sempre femminili e simpatiche @QueenRayna e @Tzipi_Livni. Almeno dai tweeties, @Jew4Palestine non convince AFFATTO: manca il ruolo PREZIOSO schiacciandosi verso l’estremismo Jihad. Meglio firmarsi Socialists4Palestine o “PincoPallino” allora. ALEX E’ VIVO E LOTTA IN MEZZO A NOI, x fortuna. Mancano certamente fonti arabe o islamiche moderate in questa lista (per mia incompletezza): da aggiungere.

> e.g., the American Islamic Congress

– brava gente che si mobilitò 1 anno fa nel boicottaggio a Nokia e Siemens pro-libertari Iraniani; ma al momento tace su Flotilla, dovendo – poveretti – leccarsi le ferite del tremendo effetto del soldato US “sleeper cell” che ha fatto una strage.

ANCORA IN ITALIANO. Il film consigliato, per l’argomento e lo spirito Langeriano di “SALTARE I MURI” (il titolo di una gran bella trasmissione di radio 3 su Alex, con MOLTE TESTIMONIANZE DIRETTE: andata in onda negli ultimi 2 weekend, con 4 emissioni dentro la serie “). Del film, si è parlato im breve

sabato 5 giugno alle 4.20 pm a PIAZZA VERDI, radio 3:

“Due i film che presenterà Marco Bacci: “Humpday” di Lynn Shelton e “Il tempo che ci rimane“ di Elia Suleiman. “

Nel 2°, un Buster Keaton palestinese. Film di grandissimo impegno che:

– rompe le ctg., i muri israele\palestina, impegno civile\disimpegno;

– veicola il messaggio: qui non siamo nei Balcani, niente vendetta per generazioni e generazioni; c’è una grandissima civilizzazione, il dolore per gli effetti della guerra. Il padre del protagonista faceva la guerra agli ebrei vestito da dandy. Memoria di 40 anni di una famiaglia araba colta e  riccca.

Finally, some real fun with the satirical twitters:@FakeIsraelMFA @IsraelGlobalPR @HamasGlobalPR. And every day new ones in the “X”globalPR telenovela: @iranglobalpr @talibanglobalpr .

E.g., amongst many tweeties tonight, 5 June:

FakeIsraelMFA:

As we did not wish to hurt anyone, we sent the Israel Ballet to board and commandeer the Rachel Corrie to Ashdod. #Flotilla

nonnoenzo:

@FakeIsraelMFA: we sent the Israel Ballet 2 board & commandeer the Rachel Corrie. #Flotilla \is this the boarding video? http://bit.ly/b1PkLn

IsraelGlobalPR:

Israel wishes to thank Ireland and the Freedom Flotilla for the continued supply of construction materials for Israeli settlements

PHOTOS:

1) Sadness and Islamism in a pro-Palestina demo (the so-called Viola People, born in the no-B day late last year, championed them in Italy).

2) The 2 Flotilla bosses, potential giver and receiver, S&D; Gaza leader Ismail Haniyeh and Bülent Yildirim, the president of IHH, in January.