Boats sailing to break the Gaza blockade now
don bryant
This news is breaking: At this moment, two boats are in international
waters in the Mediterranean heading to Gaza. One boat, the "Saoirse"
from Ireland, includes parliamentarians among its passengers. The
other, the "Tahrir", carries representatives from Canada, the U.S.,
Australia, and Palestine.
The U.S. Representative on the "Tahrir", Kit Kittredge, was a
passenger on the U.S. Boat to Gaza, The Audacity of Hope mission in
Athens in July. A journalist from Democracy Now is also on the
"Tahrir". Civil society organizations in Gaza await their arrival, and
look forward to the delivery of letters collected from thousands of
U.S. supporters in the "To Gaza With Love" campaign.
There have been three attempts in the last year and a half alone to
break the siege of Gaza. The world knows about the terrible outcome in
May, 2010. Earlier this summer, Jewish Voice for Peace watched along
with everyone else as the US boat to Gaza set sail, with several of
our members aboard. And we were as dismayed as everyone else when the
boats were turned back by Greece at Israel's and the United States'
behest. But we knew the movement would continue, and today it has!
Please stay tuned as we await the outcome of this important human
rights mission.
We need your help to make this mission a success. Please take these
actions immediately.
*Check for updates:* *www.ustogaza.org* [ https://ustogaza.org ],
*www.tahrir.ca * [ http://www.tahrir.ca ]and *watch or listen to
Democracy Now for coverage from the Tahrir.* [ http://democracynow.org
]
*
Call the State Department:*
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton 202-647-5291
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Daniel Shapiro 011-972-3-519-7575
Office of Israel/Palestinian Affairs Paul Sutphin 202-647-3672
Office of Consular Affairs, Kim Richter 202-647-8308
*and President Obama:* 202-456-1414, or *email him here.* [
http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact ]
*
Talking points for calls/emails:*
Gaza has been under siege since mid-2006, depriving 1.6 million people
of their liberty and basic human rights. Although the siege has been
condemned by the United Nations, the Red Cross, and many national
governments, little has been done to ease the plight of these
civilians. Civil society has had to act where governments would not.
Two ships with 27 passengers from 5 countries are sailing to Gaza to
confront the Israeli naval blockade, and to bring medical supplies and
letters of support.
As Americans, who give Israel $3 billion in military aid every year,
we are demanding our government insist Israel permit the ships' safe
passage and end its illegal blockade of Gaza. There are many
alternatives for Israel to ensure its security without subjecting 1.6
million people to collective punishment.
Please forward this breaking news far and wide.
For Freedom,
Rebecca Vilkomerson, Executive Director
Jewish Voice for Peace
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