Thanks to your Help, The World is Watching Gaza
don bryant
I'm back from Athens, where I attempted to set sail to Gaza as a
passenger on The Audacity of Hope. After just 20 minutes at sea, Greek
commandos forced our boat back to port, where it continues to be held
by Greek authorities with six passengers still on board. While The
Audacity of Hope hasn't reached Gaza, we did reach major media outlets
in the United States and around the world, which put the collective
punishment of 1.6 million human beings in the headlines for weeks.
Just Foreign Policy was featured in CNN, The Christian Science
Monitor, Al Jazeera, The Nation, The Chicago Sun-Times, and dozens of
other media outlets around the world reporting on my participation in
the flotilla. Our press release on the members of Congress who asked
Secretary Clinton to "ensure the safety of all American citizens on
board The Audacity of Hope" was reported by the Jerusalem Post. [1]
We have also provided resources to counter common misconceptions about
the flotilla in our "Flotilla FAQ". [2] A recent article of mine
explains how the New York Times couldn't grasp that the Gaza Freedom
Flotilla was about freedom, not aid. [3] To build on the momentum the
flotilla generated to bring about a complete end to the blockade, we
need you to help us spread the word and counter the spin on the
flotilla.
Will you help Just Foreign Policy counter media spin and expand our
action network to end the blockade of Gaza? Here are three things you
can do:
1. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook
2. Read and share my article on New York Times coverage of the Flotilla
3. Read and share JFP's Flotilla FAQ
Just follow the link below:
http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/act/audacityofhope/followup
The flotilla even won a change in Israeli policy worth
celebrating-even if it was small relative to the need. The morning
after the participants on The Audacity of Hope arrived in Greece,
Israel authorized the long-awaited entry of construction materials
into Gaza for 1,200 new homes and 18 schools. [4]
Whether you donated to make Just Foreign Policy's participation in The
Audacity of Hope possible, signed our petition to Secretary Clinton,
helped take over the State Department's Facebook page, or called the
State Department to ask that the U.S. government press for the Greek
authorities to release the U.S. Boat, [5] it's supporters like you who
have, as our friends at Truthout put it, "bent that long arc of the
universe just a little bit tighter towards justice for the people of
Gaza–and us all." [6]
Thanks for all you do to end the blockade on Gaza,
Robert Naiman
Just Foreign Policy
Please support our work.
Your donation allows us to promote opportunities for Americans to
advocate for a just foreign policy.
http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/donate
References:
1) Round up of JFP news coverage throughout the flotilla can be found
at http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/news/media
2) "Flotilla FAQ: 10 Q and A's on the U.S. Boat to Gaza and JFP's work
to end the Blockade," Just Foreign Policy,
http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/flotillafaq
3) "Reading Ethan Bronner in Athens: How the New York Times Gets it
Right-and Very Wrong-on the Gaza Flotilla," Robert Naiman, Truthout,
7/9/2011, http://www.truth-out.org/new-york-times-jerusalem-bureau-chiefs-coy-analysis-gaza-flotilla/1310151721
4) "Israel approves Gaza Strip Construction of 1,200 New Homes," Josef
Federman, 6/21/11,
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/21/israel-gaza-strip-construction-approved-_n_881470.html
5) "Action Alert- July 12", U.S. Boat to Gaza, 7/12/11,
http://ustogaza.org/latest/action-alert-july-12th/ 6) "Flotilla
Passengers are Today's Freedom Riders," Staff Editorial, Truthout,
7/06/11, http://www.truth-out.org/flotilla-passengers-are-todays-freedom-riders/1309974005
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