05.31.10
The Freedom Flotilla on Memorial Day
As Memorial Day approached, I had intended to spend a quiet day with my family crafting and contemplating the impacts of wars and being thankful for the relative security I have enjoyed throughout my life. But last night I was shocked to read that the Freedom Flotilla bound for Gaza was boarded by Israeli soldiers and several people died and others were injured. Just last week I had posted that I was kind of excited to hear that the Freedom Flotilla was on its way to send relief aid to the Gazans and hoped that all would be well and that no one would get hurt. I know that some people think that the Freedom Flotilla was just a front to send in aid to Hamas, but I don’t believe that. I do think that the flotilla was really carrying humanitarian aid and that the Palestinians in Gaza are really getting a bad deal at the hands of the Israelis. That is my suspicion as someone who does not live there, but who has tried to read about the situation there. So when I heard this news that there were deaths and injuries on the flotilla, I was upset and in disbelief. Disbelief because I really didn’t expect Israel would kill anyone. I had thought that either they would let the flotilla deposit their supplies OR they would turn the ships away, but not board and kill anyone.
The claim Israel is making that they wanted to inspect the ship cargo doesn’t explain their aggressive actions. Even if the flotilla refused to stop at Israeli requests, once the ship reached dock, it could have been inspected “before” anything was unloaded. It’s not like they could “sneak” 10,000 tonnes of materials in to Gaza without anyone noticing what they were unloading.
I didn’t want to comment right away about the incident because I didn’t feel that the full details were in, yet. As of last night the numbers believed dead fluctuated from 2 to 20 people and the numbers of injured were listed as dozens to 60. This morning more information has been trickling in, which has included video footage from a few angles and comments from peoples around the world. I still want to await more information, and in particular, I am interested to see how the U.S. reacts. I still feel sick with this news, but will reserve more comments as more info trickles in. One thing I do know is that now the memory of the Freedom Flotilla will be etched in my memory with the anniversary of every Memorial Day.
Marlakins
patti said,
June 1, 2010 at 11:54 pm
I don’t think it’s as “peaceful” as the news media would like you to believe. This is only one article. There are multiple others. In addition, humanitarian aid to Gaza is allowed to go through another port but they didn’t want to. The port name starts with an “A.” Assad maybe? Can’t remember exactly. They wanted this water way opened up to Hamas. Israel closed this waterway because they were being hit with rockets, etc. from this area of Gaza. They did not want arms being taken in via this waterway anymore. Not all things are what they seem……….
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=160993
patti said,
June 1, 2010 at 11:56 pm
Ashdod is the port name. http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Article.aspx?id=177145
Israel also attempted to contact the flotilla days prior to its arrival and it would not respond. they weren’t showing much good will either.
Administrator said,
June 2, 2010 at 9:50 am
Hi Patti:
Yes, I don’t fully trust the news outlets, either, but I still think that the Gazan civilians are suffering as a result of the Israeli and Egyptian blockade. It kinda reminds me of the Ukrainian genocide back in the 30s that was government implemented. Certainly not as severe, but serves as an example of how quickly people can suffer with curtailed supplies. I fully understand that Israel doesn’t want to supply Hamas, but the fact is that there are “civilians” there, too, who do need supplies such as water filtration systems and spare parts to keep their existing systems operational and proper energy access to at least complete their water filtration, etc. They’re not getting enough fresh food, either. According to the World Health Organization, one third of children under five and women of childbearing age are anaemic. And when they do get sick, and we know that happens easily with poor diet, they don’t have proper medical assistance because their supplies are also limited due to the blockade. They’re just not getting enough supplies in for the civilians. As a small example of what supply problems the Gazans have can be read at this article http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7545636.stm This has been going on for a long time now.
Regarding taking Israel up on the “offer” to distribute the goods, that was understandably rejected by the activists because it is Israel in the first place who are blocking and rationing the aid. There would be no guarantee that Israel would deliver all the supplies. Ensuring supplies reach the right hands is always the key and the tricky part of any humanitarian effort. A prime example is what happened in Somalia and Sudan. People who understand that insist upon delivering the goods themselves.
And no, I don’t think things are peaceful there, either. I don’t know what news you’re watching, or even what you’re referring to as peaceful, but I do think there is fault on “both” sides. What I think many people don’t take into account is that not all Jews are Zionists. There are many Jews who oppose the blockade of Gaza. One of the activists slated to go on the flotilla is a 80 something year old Holocaust survivor. Also, although many people and governments such as Egypt and Turkey aren’t in favor of Hamas due to the type of government they want, they still care about the “civilians” of Gaza. It’s the 1.5 million civilians that need the help and that’s what the out cry is for. That’s like the size of the population of Ireland. Consider if Ireland was cut off from the rest of the world and could do not trade in and out and how the people would suffer.
I can see that both parties acted questionably on the 6th boat, and there are conflicting accounts some of which say that the Israelis were firing at the boat before boarded. If that is the case, of course the activists wanted to act and prevent them from boarding. Who wouldn’t? But remember that the Israeli soldiers were supposed to be the “best” of their regime. They should have come better prepared to deal with the situation than to rappel down with a few trigger happy dudes. To say, “what did you expect a soldier to do” is laughable and an insult to properly trained military men. I mean come on, just thinking off the top of my head I would have told the crowd to clear the deck before rappelling down. They already claimed they had “suspicions” of the peaceful nature of the activists that’s why they wanted to inspect the ship in the first place, so they should have taken precautions.
People are now arguing about what was done legally or illegally, but personally, the law of God is love. The Bible tells us there is no law against love. Bottom line is 1.5 million “civilians” were in need of necessary supplies including the ability or access to clean water. Regardless of their differences. Proverbs 25:21 states, “If your enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink:” This is the way of God, not a blockade of humanitarian supplies.
Marla
patti said,
June 2, 2010 at 11:14 pm
Here’s another good article about how Israel is getting aid into Gaza via different routes.
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=161833
Administrator said,
June 3, 2010 at 6:08 am
Hi Patti:
I don’t think anyone would deny that Israel is letting “some” supplies in. However, the problem with the WND article and why it is misleading is that although they list certain items that Israel allows in, they neglect to mention the population size of Gaza of 1.5 million and whether the amount allowed in is sufficient or not for that size. Therein lies the problem. The BBC article I provided http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7545636.stm is much better at briefly touching upon the various areas where the blockade has hurt the Palestinians. I.e. it discusses food, business, water and sewage, electricity, fuel, medical needs, etc.
Basically the Gazans are operating at about 60% or less in many areas as a result of the blockade. If you read the article it states that, “its 1.5m people have relied on less than a quarter of the volume of imported supplies they received in December 2005.” It also claims that, “Its food distribution has been suspended several times since June 2007 as a result of border closures or fuel shortages. ” Regarding power the article claims that, “Power cuts remain frequent. Research by Oxfam in April 2010 showed houses across Gaza without power for 35-60 hours a week.” Those power cuts don’t allow for enough time for proper water filtration cycles to complete, so a lot of their water is not properly treated. It goes on. It seems to me that they let in just enough so that they can claim that they let stuff in. If all they were concerned about is that Hamas didn’t get weapons, then why were so many things banned entry like light bulbs, candles, matches, books, musical instruments, crayons, clothing, shoes, mattresses, sheets, blankets, pasta, tea, coffee, chocolate, nuts, shampoo and conditioner? Other things had to be smuggled in via underground tunnels and such. And yes, they aren’t always consistent with what comes in as other links claim that each shipment is approved as a per case basis. I’ve read that it was only last month wood was allowed in for building. But again we don’t know how much and if by now the Gazans can afford to purchase much supplies with their economy damaged. When Gaza was under fire years ago and their infrastructure was damaged, no building supplies were allowed in so they have not been able to rebuild and repair damaged items since spare parts were also limited.
I came across this article which had various people giving their suggestions regarding the blockade. http://roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/06/01/rethinking-the-gaza-blockade/
There are a lot of comments flying around out there, some of who think the blockade should end (like the new British PM http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/flotilla-attack-completely-unacceptable-says-cameron-1989727.html), others who think the blockade should remain, but be loosened, and others who completely back the current modus operandi. I could see myself possibly falling in the second category of loosening the blockade for the civilians, but somehow blocking weapons. I feel almost hypocritical saying that, since I don’t think we should limit arms here, but I would rather the people at least have more supplies in to meet their needs.
Anyway, will quit here because obviously it’s a complicated situation and why there has been so much unrest there for so many years.
Marla
patti said,
June 5, 2010 at 10:11 pm
Aid not getting into Gaza isn’t necessarily because of Israel. As Israel releases the aid Hamas rejects and sorts through it and only gives to Hamas supporters. Thus, any Fatah supporters are left with nothing.
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,698766,00.html
Administrator said,
June 6, 2010 at 12:08 am
Hi Patti:
Yes, that’s exactly what I meant with my reference to Somalia and Sudan. They got a lot of humanitarian aid, but various factions would steal it from the people. That is why humanitarian aid groups want to deliver them themselves. The UN has discussed how they have been able to oversee that the little of what they were able to get in actually goes to where it’s supposed to go, so have been trying to persuade Israel that they can make sure Hamas doesn’t get their aid. But even the article you provided states,
Which makes sense because that way there is more free trade and less “rationing” out.
And even though it may be true that Hamas is rationing, that doesn’t mean Israel isn’t rationing, too. According to this article http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8654337.stm Israel rations the stuff “first” because they determine what goes in in the first place. Once it’s in, then Hamas probably rations more. Here’s another problem. . .
Humanitarian groups have been trying to get a “clear list” of what is allowed in so that they can help but Israel will not give a concrete list. An example is explained by Gisha’s director:
Israel is not innocent in this. And then there is the question of whether the blockade is even legal. They claim that they have pulled out of Gaza (no longer occupying), yet they still control their borders including air and sea and prohibit the entry and departure of people from the area at their discretion. They only have one hospital for their 1.5 million people and their doctors aren’t allowed to leave the area to go to conferences. They have to get their info from whatever they can glean from the internet. It’s all crazy and ruthless. And depending upon whether their blockade is legal also determines whether boarding those humanitarian ships were legal or not.
Marla