HomeHOPE FLEET

The Free Gaza Movement will again challenge Israel's illegal closure of the Gaza Strip and collective punishment of its civilian population by sailing the HOPE FLEET, a flotilla of passenger and cargo ships, to Gaza at the end of June 2009 - to be followed by freedom riders this summer. We are turning to you, our friends & supporters, to help make Hope come alive.

Our small yet committed group has already made five successful voyages to Gaza, delivering needed human rights workers & humanitarian supplies, and helping to lessen Gaza's terrible isolation from the world. We are confident that with the universal outrage over Israel’s massacres in Gaza, we will be able to send a flotilla of ships to shatter the siege and deliver a message of international hope and solidarity to the people of Palestine.

Israeli policies of racism, ethnic cleansing and the brutal military occupation of Palestine demand determined & direct action to overcome them. When our governments fail to act, we - the citizens of the world - must stand up and make our voices heard. Article 13 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights grants all people the right to leave and return to their own country - a right that Israel summarily denies Palestinians.

We are looking for ships wishing to join the Hope Fleet and sail to Gaza in late June, and we are looking for high-profile people, including parliamentarians and celebrities, who want to join us and demand that a besieged Gaza cannot forever remain an open-air prison with no access to the world. The Free Gaza Movement will continue to challenge Israel's brutal policies. We will go to Gaza again, and again, and again, until the Israeli siege is broken and the people of Gaza have access to the rest of the world.

If you are interested in joining or supporting this action, please email Iristulip [at] gmail.com. We will begin collecting names and information as we ready for this historic voyage. With your help, we will make the HOPE FLEET a reality!

Free Gaza needs your help to prepare next mission to Gaza

Written by Free Gaza Team | 25 July 2009
Posted in HOPE FLEET

Dear friends,

As part of our Summer of Hope campaign, the Free Gaza Movement was planning to make 3 boat voyages to Gaza this summer, one in June, one in July and one in August. On our July and August voyages we had planned to take into Gaza all of the books that you have sent us as part of our Right to Read campaign (see below for update).

Due to Israel's hijacking of our boat, the Spirit of Humanity last month, we have had to change our plans. No, we are not backing down. Now, more than ever, we believe it's critical to continue these missions, and demonstrate the power of the international civilian community to stand up to cruelty, human rights abuses, and oppression. If we let Israel's attack on our last mission stop us, we will be giving in to the violence that is perpetrated 100-fold against the occupied Palestinian people. The risks that we take by getting on these boats are nothing compared to the existential threats that Palestinians face every day of their lives. But to make this next voyage happen, we need your help urgently! We need to raise a substantial sum of money and engage in considerable outreach over the next few weeks in order to be able to send the next mission before the weather changes and the Mediterranean Sea starts becoming unpredictable.

[Audio] Debate in the UK House of Commons about Spirit

Written by Free Gaza Team | 23 July 2009
Posted in HOPE FLEET

13th June 2009

"The interception of the ship The Spirit of Humanity"

debate called By Emily Thornberry, Labour Member of Parliament for Islington South, London. Emily is the constituency MP for Alex Harrison, one of the British passengers on board the Spirit of Humanity.
Emily introduced the debate, raising a number of questions relating to the illegality of Israel?s actions in relation to the Spirit, its passengers and crew and towards the population of the Gaza Strip.
The Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Ivan Lewis) responds on behalf of the British Government.

Full audio attached (click on read-more)