[ 08/06/2010 - 05:40 PM ]
STOCKHOLM, (PIC)-- The organization of "Jews for a Just Peace in the Middle East" in Europe and "Jews for Justice for Palestinians" in Britain have announced their intention to send a ship loaded with aid to the Gaza Strip in an effort to break the Israeli siege imposed on the enclave. The aid vessel is expected to set sail in the second half of July.
According to organizers, the ship will carry gifts from schoolchildren in Europe, in addition to medicine and medical equipment. The ship will also be covered by television stations worldwide. Organizers said that the main objective of the ship is to "break the siege on Gaza. This collective punishment on the civilian population is unlawful."
Lutz Edith, one of the organizers of the ship, said, "Israel has shown the world its brutality and heinousness when it attacked the Freedom Flotilla."
Another aid convoy from Algeria will set out on Wednesday towards Gaza, after the Guidance and Reform Society, which organized the convoy, obtained a license from the Egyptian embassy in Algeria, which also approved of granting visas to the delegation accompanying the convoy, after a wait of nearly one week.
The embassy delayed in granting the license requiring the organizers to provide correspondence from the Algerian Foreign Ministry. Organizers made it clear to the embassy that their work is independent of official authorities, and after a long wait, the embassy finally approved. The delegation, which consists of 13 members, including journalists, businessmen and politicians, will travel tomorrow after following procedures for obtaining a license to cross to Gaza when it reaches Cairo.
Jewish Flotilla to Break Gaza Siege
by Aviel Magnezi – YNet – Israel
German Jewish group prepares flotilla to protest Israel’s blockade on Gaza. ‘Activists frightened, but not by Hamas,’ member of organization saysThe German-Jewish organization Jewish Voice for Peace in the Middle East is preparing a Jewish flotilla to the Gaza Strip. “We intend to leave around July,” a member of the organization, Kate Leitrer, said to Ynet. “We have one small craft so far, in which there will be between 12 and 16 people, mostly Jews.”
Leitrer, herself Jewish, said there was great interest in joining. “Getting another boat means more expenses, and we’re discussing this possibility,” she said. “Because of limited space, there will be school equipment, candy, and mainly musical equipment, and there’ll be musicians aboard who’ll teach the children of Gaza. They need to see that Jews are not what how they are drawn in their eyes.”
Leitrer also claimed that Israel acted criminally in its lethal raid on the Gaza flotilla last Monday.
“The head of UNRRA (United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration) appealed to the world to send ships due to the shortage of important supplies in Gaza,” she said. “By stopping the flotilla, Israel acted criminally. Israel must not act like pirates.”
The activists are frightened, she said, but not by Hamas.
“Jews have been to Gaza in the past, and they were treated in a friendly manner,” Leitrer continued. “We have also talked with them recently, and they are very keen for us to come. We are frightened by what happened on the Marmara, but if you are committed to do good things, you have to act. People were also killed in the fight against fascism.”
She rejected Israel’s fears that weapons would be smuggled into Gaza on the aid boats.
“We haven’t heard there were weapons on the last flotilla, and people were shot and killed there,” she said. “We have contacted Israel figures and told them they are welcome to carry out searches on the boats, but we ask to be allowed to continue to Gaza. These are Gazan waters, and Israel must not control them.”
‘Open a window to Gaza’
Edith Lutz, a German Jewish member of the organization, said to Ynet the vessel is already anchored in Mediterranean waters, and that the organization had received many requests from Jews and non-Jews to take part in the flotilla.
“We began in Germany,” she said, “but many have called us from England, Sweden and the US. There may also be another boat accompanying us, mainly carrying reporters.”
Lutz explained that the Jewish flotilla aims to convey a message: Lift the siege.
“Our vessel can open a window between Israel and Gaza residents,” she said. “Two years ago I took part in the Free Gaza flotilla and wore a Magen David (Star of David), and the kids said, ‘Look, she’s Jewish,’ and they all accepted me very well. When we met (Hamas leader) Ismail Haniyeh and they told him about me, he turned to me and said they have nothing against Jews or Israel, only against the occupation.”
Uprooted Palestinian
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