[E-rundbrief] Info 771 - Rb 131 - Gaza-Peace-Boat Nr. 4

[Matthias Reichl]

E-Rundbrief - Info 771 - Rundbrief 131 - Matthias Reichl:
Friedensboote nach Gaza fahren weiter; Free Gaza: 'Free Gaza' Ship to 
Break Through Israeli Blockade for the Fourth Time; Gush Shalom 
(Israel): We can sail to Tahiti - but not to Gaza!

Bad Ischl, 8.12.2008

Begegnungszentrum für aktive Gewaltlosigkeit

www.begegnungszentrum.at

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Friedensboote nach Gaza fahren weiter

Die im August gestartete Initiative "Peace-Boats to Gaza" ist weiter 
erfolgreich. Wir berichteten im E-Rundbrief Info 730 über die erste 
riskante Bootsfahrt mit Hilfsgütern und Aktivisten aus Europa und 
Nordamerika von Larnaka (Zypern) nach Gaza. Trotz der Drohungen durch 
israelische Militärs lenkte Israels Außenministerium ein. Inzwischen 
sind es schon drei Schiffe, die gelandet und wieder (mit ausreisenden 
Palästinensern) zurückgekehrt sind.

Evangelos Pissias, Professor aus Athen, als einer der Hauptorganisatoren 
berichtete mir in einem Radiointerview im Oktober beim Österreichischen 
Sozialforum darüber (Audio-File im CBA-Archiv: 
http://cba.fro.at/show.php?lang=de&eintrag_id=11326). Dieser Tage gibt 
es erste Anzeichen, dass auch aus der arabischen Welt Hilfe in das von 
Israel total isolierte Gaza-Gebiet kommen soll. Am 8.12.08 startete das 
vierte Schiff mit Hilfslieferungen und Aktivisten - u.a. auch aus dem 
Golfstaat Qatar.

Drei der Friedensaktivisten - eine US-Amerikanerin, ein Schotte und ein 
Italiener - die seit August als Beobachter und Helfer in Gaza geblieben 
sind, wurden am 21.11.2008 gemeinsam mit palästinensischen Fischern in 
deren Booten von der israelischen Küstenwache verhaftet und sollen 
deportiert werden. Die Fischer wurden zwar freigelassen, jedoch die 
Boote nicht zurückgegeben. (Amy Goodmans Interview findet ihr in unserem 
Homepage-Archiv, Info 758; weitere Infos bei www.freegaza.org, 
www.gazamussleben.at und www.nahostfriede.at.)

Der israelische Friedensaktivist und Journalist Uri Avnery hat in seinem 
wöchentlichen Artikel unter "Our Obama" seine Hoffnungen auf einen 
positiven Einfluss des Präsidentenwechsels auf die Weltpolitik 
ausgedrückt (siehe E-Rundbrief Info 752 und www.avnery.de). Andere 
Experten befürchten, dass die mächtige Israel-Lobby in den USA wie 
bisher erheblichen Druck auf Obama, seine Berater und auf seine 
Außenministerin Hillary Clinton ausübt. Übrigens hat diese Lobby auch - 
zum Glück vergeblich - versucht, die Ernennung von Jean Ziegler zum 
UN-Kommissar gegen den Hunger in der Welt und - Anfang 2008 - zum 
Berater im UN-Menschenrechtsrat zu verhindern.

Matthias Reichl

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'Free Gaza' Ship to Break Through Israeli Blockade for the Fourth Time

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  Date : 12-08-2008

(LARNACA, 8 December 2008) - The Free Gaza Movement announced today that 
it would send a delegation from Cyprus to Gaza aboard their 
blockade-busting ship, the Dignity, at 11pm, Monday, 8 December. The 
Free Gaza Movement has successfully challenged the siege on three 
previous occasions this year, landing missions in Gaza in August, 
October, and November. Free Gaza ships are the first to dock in Gaza 
Port in over 41 years.

Israel maintains absolute control over Gaza's borders and airspace, and 
has imposed an increasingly brutal blockade on its 1.5 million civilians 
for over two years, drastically increasing poverty and malnutrition 
rates.  Over 700 students are currently trapped in Gaza, while Israel 
denies their right to attend universities abroad.

In a statement released by Drs. Jonathan Rosenhead Mike Cushman, of the 
London School of Economics, the academics stated that they were pleased 
to be traveling to Gaza aboard the Dignity, and that, "This siege is an 
affront to any idea of academic freedom or human rights. We, working for 
a British university, have the freedom to teach and study, this must be 
a universal right, not at the discretion of an occupying power. How can 
anyone justify preventing young people from fulfilling their potential 
and learning how to serve their community more fully?"

In addition to the British academics, this fourth voyage will include a 
British surgeon traveling to Gaza to volunteer in local hospitals for 
the next several weeks, as well as international human rights workers 
and journalists. The ship will also be carrying in one ton of medical 
supplies and high-protein baby formula. In recent days, Israel has 
forcibly intervened to prevent other such missions from reaching Gaza.

Lubna Masarwa, one of the Free Gaza organizers, stated that, "Gaza 
doesn't need charity. What Gaza needs is sustained political action 
aimed at overcoming this vicious siege. We have no intention of turning 
around, and so we're confident that we will reach Gaza. We are unarmed 
civilians carrying desperately needed supplies to other unarmed 
civilians. It would be obscene for Israel to use violence to stop us."

The passengers on board the Dignity this Monday will include:

. British academics on a fact-finding mission to document the 
devastating affects Israel's siege has had on the educational sector in Gaza
. A British surgeon traveling to Gaza to volunteer in local hospitals 
for the next several weeks
. A Palestinian man who has been denied the right to return to his 
family in Gaza
. International human rights workers
. International journalists from Al-Jazeera TV and McClatchy Newspapers

http://www.freegaza.org/index.php?module=latest_news&id=41cadce39691c2458068c725561a1e25&offset=

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We can sail to Tahiti - but not to Gaza!

07/12/08

Gush Shalom (Israel)

Teddy Katz and Adam Keller, members of Gush Shalom, were among dozens of 
Jewish and Arab peace activists whose sailing to Gaza was prevented this 
morning by the police raid on the port of Jaffa. "An Israeli citizen can 
board a boat and sail away for Greece or Italy, or even to America or 
Tahiti, for any imaginable destination. Only one destination is utterly 
forbidden -- the Port of Gaza, a few hours' sailing away. Even the 
sailing of a boat carrying to Gaza a cargo of vital life-saving 
medicines is considered a criminal offence in the Israel of late 2008. 
This is a manifestly unreasonable and anti-democratic situation" said 
Katz to a large crowd gathered on the Jaffa Port wharf, from where the 
police had dragged by force the boat in which they had intended to sail 
to Gaza.

"Since 2005 we are being repeatedly told that the State of Israel had 
'disengaged' from Gaza, than what is the Israeli Navy doing blockading 
the shores of Gaza? What is the Israeli Police doing on board a 
Gaza-bound boat? It is not Israel's business who sails to or from Gaza, 
as it is not the Palestinians' business which ships sail to Haifa or 
Ashdod" said Keller.

"This morning the media published about 215 Qassam missiles shot on 
Israel in the past month. There was no reference to the fact that these 
missiles are in fact the gift of the government of Israel to its 
citizens in Sderot, Ashkelon and the communities of Gaza Border. It is 
the government of Israel which took the decision to violate the 
cease-fire which held for five months, to carry out a whole series of 
invasions into the Gaza Strip resulting in the death of twenty 
Palestinians, and in this way cause the shooting of missiles into the 
southern part of the country. The cease-fire must be resumed forthwith, 
in order to give once again quiet both sides of the Gaza border. The 
shameful siege, pushing the Gaza inhabitants to suffering and terrible 
poverty on the edge of starvation must be ended forthwith.

Contact: Adam Keller: adam at gush-shalom.org

http://zope.gush-shalom.org/home/en/channels/press_releases/1228665474/


-- 

Matthias Reichl, Pressesprecher/ press speaker,
Begegnungszentrum fuer aktive Gewaltlosigkeit
Center for Encounter and active Non-Violence
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