All passengers

PEACE HEROES: The Martyrs of the Mavi Marmara

2010-06-06T16:47:32Z

Martyr: a person who is put to death or endures great suffering on behalf of any belief, principle, or cause.

By Cindy Sheehan

The Free Gaza Movement’s purpose is to break the siege of Gaza and get needed humanitarian aid into that concentration camp on the Mediterranean Sea. I have seen many Israelis blatantly lie in interviews that there is “no humanitarian crisis in Gaza.”

According to reputable NGO’s and other aid organizations: 4/5 of Gazans depend on outside humanitarian aid for survival; 70% are food insecure; there are less than 133 hospital beds for every 100,000 people (less than ¼ the capacity of Israel) with dozens of basic medicines unavailable; because of the profound lack of building materials, homes are being constructed from mud; power is severely limited and Gazans have been isolated from the entire world due to the enormous walls surrounding the region that contains 1.5 million people. Sounds like a humanitarian crisis to me—and indeed, to most people that aren’t easily fooled by Zionist propaganda.

Collective Punishment is the punishment of an entire group of people as a result of the behavior of one or more other individuals or groups and is strictly banned by the Geneva Conventions. This is exactly what the State of Israel is doing to the people of Gaza—with near impunity. Punishing the entire region of Gaza for Hamas is like everyone else in the world getting together to build a wall around the USA and starve us to death because George Bush was “elected,” not once, but twice.

The activists who sailed on the Freedom Flotilla that was brutally attacked by the IDF (Israel Defense Force) that resulted in the deaths of at least 9 people (several are still missing), were not terrorists or terrorist sympathizers—they are sympathetic with the plight of the people of Gaza and have been willing to face the wrath of a psychotically paranoid state to call attention to the blockade.

So many people have died in the struggle for peace and justice all over the world. One of the boats in the flotilla was named after courageous Rachel Corrie, a young American-Jewish peace activist who sacrificed her own life to prevent Palestinian homes from being destroyed by the State of Israel with US made bulldozers. Now, a ship is named after Rachel, and her legacy to free Palestinians from the wrath of an illegal and immoral occupation is still alive.

My own son, Casey, my hero, was also a victim of US Imperialism and arrogance. No matter how hard I struggle, I can’t bring him back, but I hope my efforts help to save other lives and Casey’s legacy lives through my efforts.

What happened to the Martyrs of the Mavi Marmara is beyond tragic—it’s unthinkable and was a shocking act—even for the State of Israel, but it did happen. Nothing can change the fact that at least nine people are dead that should still be here with us today. What is, is. So what do we do about it now?

The autopsy report on the nine confirmed deaths show that 30 bullets were taken from the nine bodies. That’s not self-defense, that’s targeted assassination. From such a negative event, a great positive has occurred—Israel, by this monstrous act, has shone its own spotlight on at least two things: 1) there is no end to its paranoia and its inappropriate and disproportionate reactions, and 2) its barbaric siege on Gaza.

To honor the deaths of the Martyrs of the Mavi Marmara, we must never allow their deaths to be in vain. The Free Gaza and Free Palestine movements must continue to show the courage of the martyrs who were willing to sacrifice even to the “last full measure of devotion” to make the world a better place for the suffering peoples of Gaza.

I stand in awe of such love and commitment as much I wish it wasn’t so, or didn’t have to be so.

Fintan Lane speaks of his harrowing experience

2010-06-04T02:47:43Z

Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign

Press Release – 3^rd June 2010, 1pm

Speaking from Istanbul, Dr Fintan Lane, of the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC), spoke of his experiences on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla which was attacked by Israeli forces on Monday and his time in Israeli detention. He said he was assaulted in custody, while three other Irish received severe beatings Dr. Lane is due to return to Ireland tomorrow afternoon where he will address a press conference in the City Centre.

Speaking from a hotel room in Istanbul, Dr Lane gave an update on the status of the Irish passengers who had been kidnapped by Israel on Monday. Dr Lane said: “I am currently in a hotel with Fiachra O Luian, both of us arrived here late last night. Fiachra was beaten up at the airport and has to go into hospital today for tests. Al Mahdi Al Harati suffered a diabetes related seizure on the plane and this, coming on top of a severe attack he received on board the Mavi Marmara, meant he had to be brought to hospital in Ankara last night.”

Dr Lane continued: “Ken O’Keefe, the Irish-American passenger, suffered a severe beating at the hands of security officials at Tel Aviv airport before boarding, and his injuries were so bad that he had to be hospitalised in Tel Aviv – the Israelis are claiming this delay in his repatriation is for ‘technical reasons’, yet another Israeli lie. Finally, a number of passengers are still unaccounted for, among them the Libyan-Irishman Isam Bin Ali, who was due to be deported at 10am yesterday. No one I’ve spoken to knows where these people are, it is very worrying.”

Dr Lane also spoke about the Israeli attack and hijacking of his ship, and his time is captivity. He said: “When they boarded our boat, we resisted entirely peacefully. I sat on the floor and tried to reason with them, but the Israeli commandos physically attacked us. Fiachra was dragged around the ground and I had a gun pointed in my face by a screaming commando. His mania was so intense that I genuinely feared for my life. Others received beatings.”

“When they finally took over our ship, and forced us to dock in Ashdod, we refused to disembark. We sat down, linked arms and said that we had been illegally kidnapped and brought against our will to Israel. We were all forcibly removed from the boat and brought to interrogation rooms in the port. At this point, I refused to hand over my passport, restating my position that I would not cooperate with my illegal detention and was under no obligation to do so. I was then physically assaulted, my arms were painfully twisted behind my back for prolonged periods and my passport taken.”

“We were then transferred to the prison in Be’er Shevva – though were told we were in Tel Aviv by our captors – and held incommunicado until it was announced that we were all to be deported. It was only at that time that we finally met with the Irish Ambassador.”

”In prison I was told about events on the Mavi Marmara, people being shot, left to bleed to death, beaten and bitten by dogs. By all accounts it sounded like it was hell on that boat.”

Dr Lane will arrive back in Ireland this afternoon – he will be on a plane from Istanbul that leaves at 10.45am (local time) and is scheduled to arrived in Dublin at 1.20pm. When he arrives back in Ireland, there will be a welcoming committee at the airport, and Dr Lane will address a press conference in the City Centre later tomorrow. Full details of this welcoming committee and press conference will be circulated in a further press release.

In Turkey today, thousands attended the funerals of the 9 confirmed dead passengers – all of whom are Turkish, expect one who was an American of Turkish origin. In other news, South African has just announced that it is recalling its Ambassador to Israel over the Flotilla killings.

Testimonies from Passengers begin to come in

2010-06-03T05:44:26Z

We will begin to post testimonies of the Israeli attack from passengers as they come in. Here is one from Sweden.

In an interview with Sweden's largest news bureau TT, Mattias Gardell, professor of religion and spokesperson for Shiptogaza.se, said the Israelis shot live from the air, gave wounded no treatment. He said activists threw away Isreali weapons, and he fears activists drowned:

"- The Israelis committed premeditated murder. There were rangers with laser sights. Two people were killed by shots in the forehead, one was shot in the back of the head and one in the chest. Several of those killed were journalists. I saw one of the bodies and heard many corroborative testimonies, says Mattias Gardell on the phone from Istanbul.

- First came the special forces of silent boats. Then the defenders of our boat used fire hoses and made it impossible for the Israelis to come on board. Some soldiers were captured. An Uzi and a pistol were seized, emptied of ammunition and were thrown into the sea. We would by all means show that there was a peaceful campaign and that we did not have weapons, said Gardell.

- Then came the paratroopers in four helicopters and they shot sharply already from the time they were in the air, he says.

Gardell says that the attack was launched at exactly 04:10 local time on Monday and that 14 military vessels circled around Mavi Marmara.

- There were three large frigates, four ironclads and a host of small quiet boats for boarding. There was even a small submarine.

- I think the explanation for this massive assault on an unarmed convoy is that Israel wanted to practise pre-emptive strikes at sea, said Gardell.

The death toll could rise, he fears.

- Many were severely injured by the attack and were treated in such a way that the damage was aggravated. They were tied on deck, some had hoods over their heads in the worst Guantanamo style. Some were bleeding and one was shot in the back but got no help, he says.

"And there are people who are missing, and it worries me a lot. People were thrown, and threw themselves, into the sea in the attack"

According to Gardell, there is no doubt that the Israelis were aware that the convoy was peaceful and unarmed. The vessels were inspected in accordance with all applicable rules for passengers and cargo before they left Greece and Turkey.

"Everything was filmed. The Turkish aid organization IHH wanted to show that everything really went right. And I really want to emphasize that it completely was a peaceful, humanitarian intervention, which consisted of generators, prefabricated houses and schools, tröskmaskiner and more," he says.

After they are landed, the activists were placed in collection camps with prison discipline.

- We had to constantly remind the Israelis that we were not prisoners. We were accused of illegal entry into Israel, although we have been kidnapped out of international waters, said Gardell.

- Now we are tired. We mourn the dead and think of their relatives. We are dirty and have not been sleeping. We have no other clothes. The Israelis cut our clothes apart and smashed cameras and computers, says Mattias Gardell."

Here's the article in Swedish, at daily DN.se:
tiny.cc/urkzk

GERMANY

2010-05-28T12:15:04Z

Annette Groth 56
Berlin, Germany

Annette Groth is a Member of Parliament in the German Bundestag and Human Rights Policy Spokeswoman for the LEFT Party Parliamentary Group.
She serves on the Human Rights and Humanitarian Aid Committee, as well on the Economic Cooperation and Development Committee.
From 1992 to 1997 she worked as Education Officer with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Geneva. From 1997 to 1999 she was Director of the Ecumenical Coalition on Third World Tourism (ECTWT) and Editor of the quarterly journal CONTOURS in Barbados.
She is a member of the NGO attac, and chair of the German-Greek Parliamentary Friendship Group of the Bundestag.

Inge D.M. Höger 59
Herford, Germany

Inge Höger is a Member of Parliament in the German Bundestag, serving on the Defence and Health Committees.
She has been active in trade unions, and social and women's movements her entire life. She is the political spokesperson for the LEFT party.

Matthias Jochheim 61
Frankfurt, Germany

Matthias is a physician and psychotherapist. He is Deputy chair of IPPNW Germany, International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War <www.ippnw.de>.

Norman Paech 72
Hamburg, Germany

Prof. Dr. Norman Paech is a LEFT Member of Parliament in Germany's Bundestag, as well as Professor of Public Law at the University of Economics and Political Science (HWP) in Hamburg. He is a member of the advisory council of International Association of Lawyers against Nuclear Armament (IALANA), of International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War" (IPPNW) and Attac, as well as a member of the International Association of Democratic Lawyers (IADL), and of the Auschwitz Komitee.

PALESTINE

2010-05-28T12:07:40Z

Lubna Masarwa (32)

Lubna Masarwa is a Palestinian activist, who works as a community organizer for Al Quds University focusing on educational rights for the thousands of Palestinian children in East Jerusalem who have no schools.
She also works with the community of East Jerusalem in their struggle against the Israeli government’s policy of ethnic cleansing Palestinian families through home demolitions and forced displacement.
Until recently, as the Alternative Information Center (AIC) coordinator for the political/social movement in Palestine, she supported grassroots community members and activists in their efforts to mobilize resistance to the Occupation. In order to promote leadership among young Palestinian women, she directs a “Girls for Leadership” program in Jerusalem.
Lubna was on the maiden voyage of the DIGNITY in October, 2008, then came back two more times to be one of the delegation leaders.
She was on board the SPIRIT in June 2009 when it was hijacked and its passengers kidnapped and thrown into prison in Israel.

Huwaida Arraf (33)
Ramallah, Palestine / Washington D.C. / Detroit, MI

Huwaida Arraf, JD, is a Palestinian with American and Israeli citizenship. She received her Juris Doctor from the American University Washington College of Law, where she focused her studies on international human rights and humanitarian law.
In 2001 Huwaida co-founded the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), which has twice been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. Huwaida is co-author of the book “Peace Under Fire: Israel, Palestine, and the International Solidarity Movement.”
From 2007 – 2008 Huwaida taught in a human rights law clinic at Al-Quds University in Jerusalem, the first legal clinic in the Arab World.

Nader El Sakka (58)
Hamburg, Germany

Nader is a Palestinian born in Gaza and currently living in Germany.
He is President of the Palestinian Community of Hamburg.

POLAND/UK

2010-05-28T11:16:56Z

Ewa Jasiewicz (31)
London, UK / Otwock, Poland

Ewa Jasiewicz is an experienced journalist, community and union organizer, and solidarity worker.
Her articles have appeared in The Independent, The Guardian, Le Monde Diplomatique, Red Pepper, and Z Net, among others.
She worked with the ISM in Palestine, and with Voices in the Wilderness in Iraq. Ewa was on the third trip into Gaza in December, 2008 and is one of the two Free Gaza coordinators.
She witnessed the horror of Israel’s Cast Lead operation in Gaza.
She recently published a book about her experiences.

GREECE

2010-05-28T11:14:38Z

Giorgos Klontzas (39)
Agios Nikolaos, Greece

George Klontzas is a professional diver and sailor. He was captain of the Liberty on the first voyage in August 2008, and captain of the Spirit of Humanity in January 2009

UK

2010-05-28T11:02:19Z

Alex Harrison (32)
London, UK

Alex Harrison is a solidarity worker living between London and the Middle East.
She lived and worked in Balata, Nablus in the West Bank during the intifada. When she tried to visit family in Palestine in 2006 and 2008, the Israeli authorities denied her entry.
Alex was on board the Spirit of Humanity (8th Voyage) when Israeli forces hijacked the boat and abducted the passengers.
She is determined to return to Palestine and plans to work do long-term human rights monitoring in Gaza.

Theresa McDermott (43)
Edinburgh, Scotland

Theresa McDermott is a postal logistics worker from Edinburgh. She spent a month in Palestine in 2004 with the ISM, and has served as crew on several Free Gaza voyages, including the first trip in 2008, as well as aboard the Spirit in July 2009, when it was highjacked by Israeli naval forces.

Denis Healey (55)

Denis has been involved with boats for 45 years, beginning with small fishing boats in Portsmouth.
He has been captain of the Dignity on several successful voyages to Gaza, and was captain of the Spirit when it was highjacked by Israeli Naval forces in July 2009.
Denis learned to sail while at school and has been part of the sea ever since. He's a certified yachtmaster and has also worked on heavy marine equipment from yachts to large dredgers.

IRELAND

2010-05-28T10:55:55Z

Caoimhe Butterly 31

Caoimhe Butterly is an Irish human rights activist & the Free Gaza Movement's Gaza coordinator.
She has worked on human rights observation projects and with NGOs in Zimbabwe, Chiapas, Guatemala, Lebanon, Iraq (Voices in the Wilderness) Haiti and Palestine.
Caoimhe lived in the Jenin refugee camp for a year in 2002 before being shot by Israeli soldiers, then deported.
She has worked with human rights organizations, social movements, NGOs, prisoner rights campaigns and as a volunteer on ambulance services during the massacres in Gaza in December and January, and was a witness to war crimes and white phosphorous attacks, Caoimhe went to Gaza on the second trip in October 2008, then stayed as one of the two Free Gaza coordinators there. She was also on board the DIGNITY when it was attacked in December 2008

Mairead Maguire 66 Belfast, Ireland Mairead Maguire is a Nobel Peace Laureate (l976) and Co-founder of Peace People, Northern Ireland. She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her work for peace and a nonviolent solution to the Ethnic/political conflict in Northern Ireland. Mairead has travelled many times to the occupied territories of Palestine to support the nonviolent peoples’ movement for Human Rights, International Law,and Self Determination of the Palestinian people. Maguire was shot with a plastic bullet whilst participating with Palestinians/Israelis/Internationals in a peaceful protest March to the Wall in Bilin, in April, 2007. Mairead went on the maiden Voyage of Dignity in October, 2008, the second successful voyage for the Free Gaza Movement. She was also on Board ‘Spirit’ when Israel hijacked the Boat in International Waters, taking all 2l humanitarian passengers to Israel, where they were arrested, detained for a week in an Israeli prison and then deported.

Denis Halliday
(Ireland) was UN Assistant Secretary-General from

Humanitarian Programme in Iraq to support the Iraqi people struggling1994-98. Appointed by SG Boutros Ghali, he served as ASG UN Human Resources Management in New York and in mid 1997 to end 1998 as Head, under the genocidal impact of UN Sanctions.

Prior to that, as a development manager, Halliday served UNDP from 1964-94 in Iran, New York Hqts, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Indonesia, Samoa, New York again and finally as head of the UNDP Regional Office in Thailand.

Since resigning from the UN in 1998, Halliday has delivered numerous parliamentary briefings, provided extensive media inputs and has given public/university lectures on Iraq, human rights, and the UN, in particular its reform. He was a visiting professor at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania and teaches/speaks inter alia at universities in Ireland, Canada, UK and USA.

Halliday is a graduate of TCD, has an honorary Phd, was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize and was awarded the UK Gandhi Peace Prize.
He is 69 and lives in Manhattan, NYC and Connemara, Ireland.

Mark Daly 37
Kerry, Ireland

Mark Daly is an Irish Senator. He is a Member of Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Seanad Spokesman on Overseas Development, the Deputy Government Spokesman on Innovation, and the Coordinator for the National Forum on Europe.

Shane Dillon (36)
Dublin, Ireland

Shane is an Irish Seafarer. He has served as Chief Officer on Irish and Briish merchant ships, and is now based in Dublin.

Fiachra O Luain 28
Carndonagh, Ireland

Fiachra Ó Luain is an Irish Peace Activist. Fiachra was an independent candidate in the 2009 European election.
One of the first people to identify and protest the illegal use of Shannon Airport in the build up to the aggressions against Afghanistan and Iraq; he won his courtcase regarding a blockade of Trident Submarine base.
He was compelled to become a EU candidate upon watching the massacres of Israel’s ‘Operation Cast Lead’, he hopes to help build new consensus in Europe and the Americas about the gravity of the situation in Gaza

USA

2010-05-28T10:51:09Z

Greta Berlin
USA

A cofounder of the Free Gaza Movement, Greta Berlin since the early 1960s has advocated for justice for the Palestinian people.
She is the mother of two Palestinian/American children, whose father was born and raised in Safad, Palestine.
She has been an outspoken advocate for the rights of Palestinians and has spoken and written extensively about what she has witnessed during her three trips to the Occupied West Bank.
When not working with Palestinians, Greta has spent 30 years teaching engineers and scientists how to design and deliver presentations.
She has been in the West Bank three times since 2003 and was wounded by Israeli gunfire in July 2003 while trying to pull down the gate in the fence at Anin, just outside of Jenin.

Hedy Epstein (86)
St. Louis, Missouri, USA

Hedy was born in Freiburg, Germany on 8/15/1924, the only child of Ella & Hugo Wachenheimer. She lived in Kippenheim, 30 km north of Freiburg, where her father's side of the family had lived for generations. She left Germany at 14, in1939, on a Kindertransport (children\'s transport), to London, England - one of almost 10,000 mostly Jewish children.
Both her parents, as well as other family members, perished in Auschwitz in 1942. In July 1945, she returned to Germany to work for the American government, first with the U.S. Civil Censorship Division and then as a research analyst at the Nuremberg trial of the Nazi doctors who performed medical experiments on concentration camp inmates.
In May 1945, she arrived in the United States and quickly became involved in peace and social justice issues.
Since 2003, she has visited Israeli-occupied West Bank five times to witness the effects of Israel's occupation.

Katherine Elliott Sheetz (63)
Woods Hole, Mass., USA

Kathy Sheetz, 63, is a Registered Nurse with a master's degree in sustainable development.
She has worked on human rights, health and food security, most often in Haiti.

David Schermerhorn (80)
Deer Harbor, Washington State, USA

David is a commercial film producer and is 80 years young. He was part of the crew of the Free Gaza on its maiden voyage to Gaza in August 2008. He is an explorer, adventurer and has traveled around the world on boats.