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Audacity of Hope: Inside Report Aboard U.S. Ship's Dramatic Challenge to Greek Ban on Gaza Flotilla

Wed, 06 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman - Jul. 06 (News Report) - A French boat carrying eight people as part of the 10-ship Freedom Flotilla to the Gaza Strip has left Greek waters, defying a ban imposed by Greece under heavy pressure from Israel and the United States. The small boat is the first to elude Greek authorities after two ships were stopped since Friday. Carrying humanitarian cargo, the ships are trying to reach Gaza just over a year after Israeli forces killed nine people aboard the first Freedom Flotilla. Democracy Now!'s Aaron Maté was on board the U.S.-flagged ship, The Audacity of Hope, when it became the first flotilla ship to defy the ban and make a break for Gaza, only to be intercepted by Greek authorities in a dramatic standoff at sea. He filed this report.

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Ali Abunimah Responds To Israeli Claims That Gaza Flotilla Is A “Provocation”

Fri, 01 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman - Jul. 01 (News Report) - As the 400 international activists wait to set sail from Greece to Gaza on the Freedom Flotilla, Israeli media has been full of reports speculating about the activists' character and motivations for participating in the humanitarian aid mission. Israeli newspapers have charged that the flotilla is carrying sacks of chemicals on board because passengers plan to kill IDF soldiers. The reports come after Foreign Ministry officials informed Israeli cabinet ministers that there was no information about members of "terrorist groups" planning to take part in the flotilla. “Israel is trying to present the flotilla as a military threat, whereas nobody in the world believes that,” says our guest, Ali Abunimah, co-founder of The Electronic Intifada, “not even Israeli cabinet ministers.”

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Israeli Official Condemns Gaza Flotilla, Refuses to Deny Israeli Role in Sabotage of Boats

Fri, 01 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman - Jul. 01 (News Report) - Ido Aharoni, Consul General of Israel in New York, defends the Israeli government’s campaign against the flotilla claiming there is no need for humanitarian aid to be shipped to Gaza now that Egypt has opened the Rafah border crossing. Aharoni also refuses to deny Israel played a role in the sabotage of two boats in the flotilla and refuses to promise that Israeli officials will not arrest the Democracy Now! journalists on board the flotilla if Israeli intercepts the ship. “I can tell you the whole idea of the flotilla is unnecessary, and we have no interest in dealing with it, and hopefully the flotilla will not be on its way to Israel,” Aharoni said.

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U.S. Ship in Freedom Flotilla Leaves Greece Headed to Gaza, Despite Threats and Risk of Sabotage

Fri, 01 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman - Jul. 01 (News Report) - The U.S.-flagged ship "The Audacity of Hope" left a Greek port today bound for Gaza, but the status of the 10-boat flotilla remains uncertain. At least one boat has already pulled out due to sabotage, another is still being repaired. All 10 ships were supposed to set sail earlier this week but the Greek government — already facing a financial crisis and public uproar over austerity measures — blocked the ships’ departure under international pressure. On Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel is entitled to stop the flotilla as part of its “full right to operate against efforts to smuggle” weapons into Gaza. Democracy Now! Producer Aaron Maté and videographer Hany Massoud are in Greece covering the journey of “The Audacity of Hope.” They were there Thursday as it was publicly unveiled. They spoke with novelist Alice Walker, Holocaust survivor Hedy Epstein and others.

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Debunking the Israeli-US Effort to Thwart Gaza Freedom Flotilla: “We Are Committed to Non-Violence”

Thu, 30 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman - Jun. 30 (News Report) - U.S. citizens trying to sail to Gaza aboard U.S.-flagged ship “The Audacity of Hope” in the humanitarian flotilla are dealing with another challenge: their own government. The U.S. Department of State has warned U.S. passengers they could face "fines and incarceration" for taking part in the flotilla and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton appears to have given Israel the green light to use force.

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Exclusive Tour of Gaza-Bound U.S. Ship, Audacity of Hope; Saboteurs Damage Other Ships in Flotilla

Thu, 30 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman - Jun. 30 (News Report) - Organizers of the humanitarian flotilla to the Gaza Strip say another one of their ships has been sabotaged. The engine of an Irish ship docked in Turkey was reportedly so badly damaged it would have sunk in the middle of the ocean, threatening the lives of the passengers on board. It’s at least the second flotilla vessel to be targeted this week following damage to a Greek-Swedish ship docked in a port near Athens.

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The Audacity of Hope: U.S. Peace Activists to Sail to Gaza in Humanitarian Flotilla

Mon, 20 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman - Jun. 20 (News Report) - Dozens of Americans hope to set sail this week on a U.S.-flagged ship, “The Audacity of Hope,” as part of an international flotilla which aims to challenge Israel’s embargo of the Gaza Strip. Palestinian solidarity activists are setting sail from a number of ports just over a year after Israeli forces killed nine activists on an aid boat called the Mavi Marmara, which was part of the first such international flotilla. Israel says it will again use force to stop the aid flotilla from reaching Gaza. We speak with passengers of the U.S. boat, New York labor attorney Richard Levy and peace activist, Kathy Kelly. Levy says the flotilla’s challenge to Israel’s embargo is legal, and that it is the blockade that is illegal. “It is a violation of the Geneva accords to occupy a country as has been done here through the control of all its borders, and then block supplies, block people from moving in and out,” says Levy.

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Trapped in Gaza: Rafah Crossing Closed to Palestinians Soon After Egyptian Pledge to Reopen It

Tue, 07 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Sharif Abdel Kouddous, Nicole Salazar - Jun. 07 (News Report) - In the Gaza Strip, the Hamas government has asked Egypt to drop restrictions on the Rafah border crossing, just days after the checkpoint opened last week. In a major policy shift, Egypt’s transition government had unsealed the Rafah border after years of closure under ousted Egyptian president, Hosni Mubarak. But less than a week later, Egypt imposed a cap of 400 people per day, turning back busloads of people that had been cleared for passage. On Saturday, the border was sealed completely, causing angry Palestinians to storm the gates in protests. Democracy Now!’s Sharif Abdel Kouddous and Nicole Salazar were one of the few teams of foreign journalists to witness the scene at the Rafah border

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Associated Press Deconstructed | Examining AP's reporting on Israel-Palestine

Sat, 09 Apr 2011 00:00:00 -0700

IsraelPalestineNews.wordpress.com - Apr. 09 (News Analysis) - Since most newspapers don't have their own reporters in Israel or the Palestinian Territories, they obtain their news on this region from wire services. AP is usually the only global wire service taken by U.S. newspapers. Although AP is a cooperative, which means that it is "owned" by all the news organizations that use its news, in reality there is almost no oversight of its work. Editors around the country simply accept its reporting at face value.

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Israel Prepares Major Offensive against Gaza: Hopes of Gaza Cast in Lead

Sun, 09 Jan 2011 00:00:00 -0800

Global Research - By Prof Richard Falk - Jan. 09 (News Report) - The influential Israeli journalist, Ron Ren-Yishai, writes on December 29, 2010, of the likely prospect of a new major IDF attack, quoting senior Israeli military officers as saying "It's not a question of if, but rather of when," a view that that is shared, according to Ren-Yishai, by "government ministers, Knesset members and municipal heads in the Gaza region". The bloody-minded Israeli Chief of Staff, Lt. General Gabi Ashkenazi, reinforces this expectation by his recent assertion that, "as long as Gilad Shalit is still in captivity, the mission is not complete". He adds with unconscious irony, "we have not lost our right of self-defence". More accurate would be the assertion, "we have not given up our right to wage aggressive war or to commit crimes against humanity". And what of the more than 10,000 Palestinians, including children under the age of 10, being held in Israeli prisons throughout occupied Palestine?

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Israel's Actions Could Have US Military Base Implications

Wed, 23 Jun 2010 00:00:00 -0700

truth-out.org - By Michael Gass - Jun. 23 (News Analysis) - On May 31, 2010, when Israeli warships boarded the inbound flotilla carrying aid to Gaza in international waters, firing on activists, it was not the first time Israel had taken unilateral action without regard for the consequences to the United States - or to their own interests properly defined.read more

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Is the Gaza Blockade Backfiring?

Tue, 22 Jun 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Miller-McCune - By Vince Beiser - Jun. 22 (Special Report) - The flotilla debacle aside, Israel's effort to strangle Hamas is fighting some tough historical headwinds.

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NYT, WaPo Misremember Gaza War

Mon, 21 Jun 2010 00:00:00 -0700

FAIR - Jun. 21 (News Analysis) - In the aftermath of Israel's May 31 raid on the Gaza humanitarian aid flotilla that killed nine activists, the Washington Post and New York Times have propagated an inaccurate historical context that serves to bolster Israeli claims.

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Palestine Aid Conference Lost Amid Flotilla Fallout

Mon, 14 Jun 2010 00:00:00 -0700

TruthOut - By Allen McDuffee - Jun. 14 (News Report) - Amid the days of turmoil surrounding the Israeli raid on the aid flotilla headed for Gaza in which nine died, thousands of corporate investors and international donors, including US Middle East envoy George Mitchell, gathered at the Palestine Investment Conference (PIC) to bolster the Palestinian economy. The conference, which took place June 2-3 read more

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EXCLUSIVE: New Video Smuggled Out From Mavi Marmara of Israel's Deadly Assault on Gaza Aid Flotilla

Thu, 10 Jun 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman, Iara Lee - Jun. 10 (Special Report) - In a Democracy Now! exclusive we bring you a sneak preview of previously unseen raw footage from the Mavi Marmara that will be formally released at a press conference at the United Nations later in the day. The footage shows the mood and the activities on board the Mavi Marmara in the time leading up to the attack, and the immediate reaction of the passengers during the attack. We are joined by filmmaker and activist Iara Lee, one of the few Americans on the Mavi Marmara ship. Her equipment was confiscated but she managed to smuggle out an hour's worth of footage.

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Obama Calls for New Approach on Gaza Blockade

Wed, 09 Jun 2010 00:00:00 -0700

readersupportednews.org - By Erica Werner, Beth Fouhy, Darlene Superville, Tom Raum - Jun. 09 (News) - Obama called for narrowly tailoring Israel's broad blockade on goods entering the Gaza Strip so that arms are kept out, but not items needed for the Palestinians' daily life and economic development. Erica Werner, Associated Press

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Israel Rejects Call for International Probe into Attack on Gaza Flotilla

Mon, 07 Jun 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman - Jun. 07 (News) - While international condemnation of Israel continues, inside Israel the mood is quite different. An Israeli parliamentary panel recommended today that the Knesset revoke the privileges of Israeli Arab lawmaker Hanin Zoabi for participating in last week’s Gaza-bound aid flotilla. Right-wing demonstrators targeted a peace protest in Tel Aviv Saturday and reportedly attacked veteran Israeli activist, the eighty-six-year-old Uri Avnery.

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Blinding the Witnesses

Sun, 06 Jun 2010 00:00:00 -0700

naomiklein.org - By Naomi Klein - Jun. 06 (News Report) - Like many of us around the world, Henochowicz, a 21-year-old Cooper Union art student, joined protests on Monday against Israel’s outrageous attack on the humanitarian flotilla. But unfortunately, the protest Emily attended was in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, and like so many protests in the West Bank, it was violently attacked by the IDF. According to a report from the International Solidarity Movement, Emily was “hit in the face with a tear gas projectile fired directly at her by an Israeli soldier during the demonstration at Qalandiya checkpoint today.” Sören Johanssen, a Swedish activist standing beside Henochowicz, reported that, “They fired many canisters at us in rapid succession. One landed on either side of Emily, then the third one hit her in the face.”

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Israel Fired On Gaza-Bound Ship Before Boarding (VIDEO)

Fri, 04 Jun 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Huffington Post - Jun. 04 (News Report) - A reporter and producer for the Arabic news organization Al Jazeera who was on board the Gaza-bound aid flotilla during Monday's deadly raid gave a firsthand account of the grisly scene aboard the ship to the network Thursday. According to Jamal ElShayyal's account of the raid, the Israeli military had fired on the Mavi Marmara before boarding the ship. "It was evident there was definitely fire from the air, because one of the people who was killed was clearly shot from above -- he was shot, the bullet targeted him at the top of his head," ElShayyal said. "There was also fire coming from the sea as well." This account differs from the one given by the Israeli military. The reporter also describes being mistreated by officials alongside other civilians before his Thursday release.

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As Obama Refuses to Condemn Flotilla Assault, Survivors Recount Shootings, Beatings Aboard Mavi Marmara

Fri, 04 Jun 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman - Jun. 04 (News) - While the Obama administration has refused to condemn the Israeli flotilla raid outright, survivors of the assault continue to challenge Israeli military claims that soldiers acted in self-defense after rappelling onto the lead vessel, the Mavi Marmara. We speak to two passengers who were aboard the ship: Kevin Neish of the Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid and Kevin Ovenden of Viva Palestina.

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Flotilla Passengers Huwaida Arraf of Free Gaza Movement and Retired Army Col. Ann Wright Respond to Israeli Claims on Deadly Assault

Thu, 03 Jun 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman, Juan Gonzalez - Jun. 03 (News Report) - Huwaida Arraf, chairperson of the Free Gaza Movement, and retired U.S. Col. Ann Wright were on the flotilla when it was attacked. They join us to describe the assault and their subsequent detention in Israeli prison. We also speak to Sawsan Zaher, a staff attorney at Adalah, the Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, who interviewed many of the activists in detention.

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Israel's Explanation for Deadly Gaza Aid Attack "Full of Holes as a Window Screen" - Former U.S. Ambassador Edward Peck

Wed, 02 Jun 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Sharif Abdel Kouddous - Jun. 02 (News Analysis) - Former U.S. Ambassador Edward Peck was on the Gaza aid flotilla that came under attack by Israeli forces. At least nine people were killed and dozens wounded. Peck says Israel's explanation for the attack is "twisting the truth" and is "as full of holes as a window screen."

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Flotillas and the Wars of Public Opinion

Tue, 01 Jun 2010 00:00:00 -0700

stratfor.com - By George Friedman - Jun. 01 (News Analysis) - A logical Israeli response would have been avoiding falling into the provocation trap and suffering the political repercussions the Turkish NGO was trying to trigger. Instead, the Israelis decided to make a show of force. The Israelis appear to have reasoned that backing down would demonstrate weakness and encourage further flotillas to Gaza, unraveling the Israeli position vis-à-vis Hamas. In this thinking, a violent interception was a superior strategy to accommodation regardless of political consequences. Thus, the Israelis accepted the bait and were provoked.

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Obama Responds Tepidly to Middle-East Meltdown, But Not Every Democrat Is So Cautious

Tue, 01 Jun 2010 00:00:00 -0700

The Nation - By John Nichols - Jun. 01 (News) - The incident has stirred an international outcry—and a call from Turkey, the country from which the ship sailed, for a United Nations response. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, accused Israel of committing "inhumane state terror" after the attack on a ship carrying 600 aid workers and activists with the Free Gaza movement, including Nobel Peace Prize winner Máiread Corrigan-Maguire, as "inhumane state terror.”

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Israelis Kill 3, Injure Dozens in Assault on Gaza Ship Convoy Carrying Humanitarian Aid

Mon, 31 May 2010 00:00:00 -0700

palestinelibre - May. 31 (News) - Solidarity activists aboard one of six relief vessels traveling to Gaza with humanitarian report that they have been attacked by Israeli forces, with three of their human rights volunteers killed and roughly 30 injured. The assault comes in the wake of the flotilla being surrounded earlier today by three Israeli warships in international waters, roughly 70 miles away from the Israeli coast. The Flotilla moved further west, deeper into international waters to avoid any conflict with Israeli navy vessels, but had been concerned all night that Israeli forces would send small inflatable military boats towards the flotilla and attempt to attack and board the humanitarian vessels.

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