{"article":{"id":219032,"heading":"LA Jews for Peace support upcoming 'Free Gaza' sailing from Cyprus","author":"Rebecca Tobias","created":"2008-07-21 16:42:10","modified":"2008-08-02 10:22:30","last_modified":"Sat, 02 Aug 2008 17:22:30","article":"

Ship sponsored in part by Carter Center to challenge Israeli blockage of Gaza port:



\"Free Gaza\" initiative to try and enter Gaza by sea and open port

Date: 19 \/ 07 \/ 2008 Time: 14:58

www.maannews.net\/en\/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=30657

Bethlehem - Ma'an - A small shipping vessel will set sail for Gaza from

Cyprus on 5 August expecting to be illegally detained as it enters Gazan

waters.

The waters off the Gaza Strip are patrolled by Israeli naval vessels, and

Israel enforces a \"Fishing Limit\" that is 6 nautical miles (11.1 km) from

the Gaza shore. These restrictions on access and borders are enforced

despite the 2005 Israeli \"disengagement\" from the Gaza Strip.

There will be 60 people aboard the \"Free Gaza\" vessel including a Holocaust

survivor a survivor of the Palestinian Nakba, and members of the

international Palestinian diaspora.

The crew intends to travel into the Gaza strip, past the international

waters boundary, the 1996 Oslo accords boundary (20 nautical miles from the

Gaza coast), the 2002 Bertini agreement boundary (12 nautical miles and 22.2

km from the Gaza coast) and the current \"Fishing Limit\" imposed by the

Israeli navy since October 2006.

Legally, the group says there should be no problem passing each of these

lines since Israel disengaged from the Gaza strip in 2005 and should no

longer its control airspace and territorial waters.

The initiative hopes to draw attention to the continued de facto occupation

of Gaza. In an interview with Ma'an on Saturday, a spokesperson for the

group in Israel said that the crew expects to be stopped by the Israeli navy

shortly after they cross from international waters into Gazan territorial

waters, which according to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the

Sea, extend 12 nautical miles (22.2 km) from an area's shoreline.

While Israel has not signed the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, they

did sign the Bertini Agreement in August 2002 with the UN, which stated that

Gazan territory extended the full 12 nautical miles from the shore.

In June 2005, Israel unilaterally \"disengaged\" from Gaza and withdrew all

troops to the 1967 borders. In theory, Gazans control the entire Strip,

excluding approximately 650 meters along the eastern border which is called

a buffer and \"no go\" zone.

The trip organizers think one of four things will happen to the ship: it may

be stopped as it crosses or approaches the barrier marking the international

waters boundary, in which case the crew is prepared to stay on board for at

least two weeks in protest of the illegal halt of passage. The second

possibility envisioned by the organizers is that the ship will be allowed to

pass into the area, and will be stopped in the territorial waters. In this

eventuality the crew expects to be arrested, and the ship dragged to shore.

A third possibility is that the ship will be sunk by the navy.

The final option is that the ship actually makes it through to the Gaza port

near Gaza City in the north of the Strip.

According to Holocaust survivor and crew member Hedy Epstein, in the event

that they can get through to Gaza they will \"open the port, fish with the

fishermen, help in the clinics, and work in the schools.\"

What Epstein hopes to do on this journey is to \"remind the world that we

will not stand by and watch 1.5 million people suffer death by starvation

and disease.\"

Coordinator of the Popular Committee Against the Siege, Palestinian

Legislative Council member and lawyer Jamal Al-Khudari said that he hopes

the arrival of the ship in Gaza will mean an end to the siege. He emphasized

that the ship has a right to enter the local waters and Gazans have the

right to host their guests without Israeli intervention.

Opening a port in Gaza would allow residents to export agricultural

products, and gain control over the goods and material brought into the

region. Currently, all crossing points are controlled by Israel and Egypt.

The truce between Hamas and Israel was supposed to see the blockade and

restriction on essential goods lifted, but food, medical supplies, cement

and fuel are still only trickling in.

The ship was invited to Gaza by the Palestinian Red Crescent Society in the

Gaza Strip, the Palestinian Medical Relief Society, the Palestinian Centre

for Human Rights and the Gaza Community Mental Health Program, and support

for the initiative was provided in part from Carter Center in the US and

Archbishop Desmond Tutu.



If you are media, please email us to reserve a place on the boat or boats;

we intend to have satellite capabilities onboard; we will keep you posted on

dates and locations.

The Free Gaza Movement

405 Vista Heights Road

El Cerrito, CA 94530

www.freegaza.org

friendsofgaza@gmail.com<\/a>



### ### ###



--

Rebecca Tobias

Program Director

Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Ethics

Malibu, California

310-916-8888

www.RaoulWallenbergInstitute.org



And the work of generosity shall be peace; and the effect of generosity will be quietness and security forever.

Isaiah 32:17

<\/p>\n","contact":"","link":"www.LaJewsforPeace.org","address":"","phone":"","parent_id":0,"mime_type":"text\/plain","summary":"","numcomment":18,"fileurl":"\/uploads\/","filesize":null,"article_url":"\/news\/2008\/07\/219032.php"},"attachments":[],"comments":[{"id":219033,"heading":"God bless you all","article":"This demonstrates awesome courage.\r\nThe human spirit is our grace.\r\nOur pride our prayers.\r\nMay the light shine\r\nThank you.","author":"dessert rain","parent_id":219032,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2008-07-21 21:14:07","modified":"2008-07-21 21:14:07","fileurl":""},{"id":219054,"heading":"they deserve NO praise, just scorn","article":"Um, if Zionists were not murderous thieves of Palestinian farmland, orchards, graizing lands, there would be no need to send the palestinians the means to stay alive.\r\n\r\nBut these guys tell us that it is the Zionist's blockade of aid to Palestinians in Gaza that is the "conflict". Wow, way to sideline the real deal. ","author":"PrionPartyy","parent_id":219032,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2008-07-23 23:38:43","modified":"2008-07-23 23:38:43","fileurl":""},{"id":219058,"heading":"way to go","article":"Sure, when this important high profile and critical voice from the Jewish community, to address publicly the crimes of zionism in this heroic attempt to bring light to this misery and horror, speaks out; we have a pointless attack directed towards them.\r\nGood going, just what we need to reach rational dialogue. Not.\r\n\r\nType the answer in English: What is four plus one? five\r\n","author":"pointless attack","parent_id":219032,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2008-07-24 10:34:17","modified":"2008-07-24 10:34:17","fileurl":""},{"id":219063,"heading":"too bad","article":"Of course the zionist lobby needs to deny the exposed facade of 'Jewishness' as these later-day nazis cannot stand the light and heat of discovery.\r\nAll their pretence of being 'Jewish' is another betrayal similar to the days when they fed their 'fellow' Jews to the nazi death machine.\r\nSee:\r\nLenni Brenner: 51 Documents: Zionist Collaboration with the Nazis\r\nThese asshole will lie about EVERYTHING.\r\n\r\n","author":"Zionists-Nazis in drag","parent_id":219032,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2008-07-24 18:42:29","modified":"2008-07-24 18:42:29","fileurl":""},{"id":219069,"heading":"r u a zionazi?","article":"In constant denial finding yourself trapped in ridiculous inversions of reality to justify the theme of racism that zionism represents?\r\nTry the miricle cure of honesty!\r\nLenni Brenner a world renouned historian, versus say some lunitic who cites absolutly nothing but the typical zionist dung thrown at any attempt to pull the curtain of zionist lies away from the terror and pogrom of murder towards the people of occupied Palestine.\r\n[shrug]\r\nso what else is new?\r\nType the answer in English: What is one plus two? three\r\n","author":"fun times at the Zionazi Lobby","parent_id":219032,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2008-07-24 20:21:13","modified":"2008-08-02 10:13:37","fileurl":""},{"id":219086,"heading":"silly zionazi","article":"The lunitic still has nothing but zionist [ un cited, un supported etc ] dung.\r\nLenni Brenner versus the same psychopathic zionist chump.\r\nUnable to provide any kind of proof from a reputable source that this world renound historian was 'KGB'.\r\nThese liars are pathetic;\r\n51 Documents was a masterful work exposing the zionist\/nazi working team.\r\nAll these assholes have is dung.\r\n\r\nType the answer in English: What is three plus three? six\r\n","author":"silly zionazi","parent_id":219032,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2008-07-25 16:19:26","modified":"2008-07-25 16:19:26","fileurl":""},{"id":219128,"heading":""Palestinian nationalism is a failed experiment.","article":"Who will be the first to have the courage to publically state that "Palestinian nationalism is a failed experiment." "Palestinianism", the political construct that stands for the proposition that the Moslem inhabitants of pre-state Israel are a unified nationality with aspirations towards national self determination, has been shown over and over again to simply not work. It has done nothing for the "Palestinian" peoples` lives. It has acted to un-naturally chill the natural patterns of "Palestinian" emigration to more prosperous country where,as individuals, they could have a reasonable famiy lifeand opportunities instead of being used as cannon fodder for the asprations of Arab Leaders who want to "fight the Jews to the last "Palestinian"life". ","author":""Palestinian nationalism is a failed exp","parent_id":219032,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2008-07-29 14:31:50","modified":"2008-07-29 14:31:50","fileurl":""},{"id":219131,"heading":"gee, a zionist perspective","article":"As I've stated so many times before...\r\nAny cult that puts quotation marks around a people while not even having a valid excuse for ethnic 'Jewishness'.....\r\n\r\nTom Segev, "An Invention Called 'the Jewish People'"\r\nDissecting the Politics and Culture of Capitalism ... An Invention Called "the Jewish People" by Tom Segev ... Tom Segev, an Israeli historian, is the author ...\r\nmrzine.monthlyreview.org\/segev120308.html \r\n\r\nand the repeated rants without basis in reality kinda cinches the notion that zionists are dangerous psychopaths who don't care about the consequences that befall others; especially Jews.\r\nthanks for making this so clear.\r\n\r\nType the answer in English: What is five plus five? ten\r\n","author":"silly zionazi","parent_id":219032,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2008-07-29 17:04:21","modified":"2008-07-29 17:04:21","fileurl":""},{"id":219183,"heading":"tucherb","article":"May you find success","author":"tucherb","parent_id":219032,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2008-08-01 11:22:50","modified":"2008-08-01 11:22:50","fileurl":""},{"id":219187,"heading":"yup, dangerous psychopaths alright","article":"what the rest of the world refuses to admit about Islam. From Hamas' Christian Convert: I've Left a Society that Sanctifies Terror:\r\n\r\n Masab, son of West Bank Hamas leader and MP Sheikh Hassan Yousef, has become a Christian. He says, "You Jews should be aware: You will never, but never have peace with Hamas. Islam, as the ideology that guides them, will not allow them to achieve a peace agreement with the Jews. They believe that tradition says that the Prophet Mohammed fought against the Jews and that therefore they must continue to fight them to the death." "An entire society sanctifies death and the suicide terrorists. In Palestinian culture a suicide terrorist becomes a hero, a martyr. Sheikhs tell their students about the 'heroism of the shaheeds.'"","author":"yup, dangerous pyschopaths alright","parent_id":219032,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2008-08-01 13:27:55","modified":"2008-08-01 13:27:55","fileurl":""},{"id":219189,"heading":"notice anything?","article":"notice the previous post:\r\n\r\nyup, dangerous psychopaths alright\r\nby yup, dangerous pyschopaths alright Thursday, Jul. 31, 2008 at 9:27 AM \r\n\r\nDid you notice that the afore mentioned entry has no primary references?\r\nLike it was fabricated?\r\nDid you also notice the total inability of the zionists to confront any of the points addressed except with *other* unreferened fabrications or insults?\r\n[ please see for yourself; scroll up ]\r\n\r\nAside from the indoctrinated psychopaths in the zionist lobby, most people are waking up to the tragic plight of the occupied people of Palestine from these psychopathic racists.\r\ngee, what does that tell you?\r\n\r\n\r\n","author":"notice anything?","parent_id":219032,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2008-08-01 13:47:29","modified":"2008-08-01 13:47:29","fileurl":""},{"id":219190,"heading":"why was this hidden?","article":" AND WHY DOES THE MATH QUESTION KEEP CHANGING?\r\nCENSORING ME BEHIND THE COVER OF 'OPEN PUBLISHING'?\r\nWHO IS DOING THIS?\r\nIS IT LA IMC?\r\n51 Documents by Lenni Brenner. \r\nA light into the dark corridors of zionist \/ nazi collaboration. \r\nSince the psychopathic Zionazi Lobby has nothing but empty insults and lies to counter these historical agreements between the 3rd Riech and the founders of 'Isreal' what does anyone expect? \r\nI hope the Jewish community [ people that follow the true faith of Judaism as in the Ten Commandments etc. ] can see the nature of the kind of mentality that the zionists represent and the deadly racism that turned the Jews of Europe into the death camps in which the zionists actually profited from the slave labor. Then these assholes have the sickening hypocrisy to use this betrayel as a peg to hang their pogroms upon. \r\nThe zionists are the real enemy of Jews as they hide under the made up faith they exploit so shamelessly. \r\nThey are a cancer. \r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nTo convince us that you're a human being and not a spambot, please answer the following math question. \r\nType the answer in English: What is four plus four? EIGHT\r\n\r\nPS. TO THE ZIONAZI WHO IS AT THE CONTROLS...\r\nDON'T FUCK WITH ME.\r\n","author":"LA CENSORING","parent_id":219032,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2008-08-01 14:03:08","modified":"2008-08-01 14:03:08","fileurl":""},{"id":219213,"heading":"Wish I could be with you","article":"I was yacht sailing captain in the area, 30 years ago, saw the destroyed harbor of Jaffa, visited Cyprus often, sailed to Tel Aviv yacht harbor, Alexandria, Turkish coast. This event is wonderful, it reminds me of the salty Mediterranean sea. I wish you all great good success, open up the Caza, free the people!, ","author":"Alexander Baldal","parent_id":219032,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2008-08-02 10:22:30","modified":"2008-08-02 10:22:30","fileurl":""}]}