The American Muslim (TAM)

Audacity of Hope - Freedom Flotilla II

Posted Jun 21, 2011

Audacity of Hope - Freedom Flotilla II

by Sheila Musaji

A few days ago I attended a gathering to say goodbye to my friend Hedy Epstein as she leaves to join the other passengers who will attempt to break the naval blockade of Gaza, and enter Gaza by sea on the Audacity of Hope. To explain why she was joining the flotilla, Hedy told the New York Times: “The American Jewish community and Israel both say that they speak for all Jews. They don’t speak for me. They don’t speak for the Jews in this country who are going to be on the U.S. boat, and the many others standing behind us.”

I was particularly impressed with Hedy’s bravery in attempting this difficult voyage at her age (86), and because she is quite fearful about the Israeli’s threat to use attack dogs against the passengers this year. Hedy is an incredible example of the true meaning of courage.

The Audacity of Hope is one of 10 boats that will be part of

Freedom Flotilla II - Staying Human

, set to sail on June 21st. It is named after the title of a book by President Obama. The boats will carry humanitarian aid and essential building materials. The American boat will be joined by boats from Canada (the Tahrir), Ireland (the Saoirse) , Britain, Norway, Greece, Italy (the Stefano Chiarini), Scotland (the Discovery II), Germany, Sweden, Spain, France, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. The first ship scheduled to leave for Gaza is the Freedom Flotilla II, a German ship departing Hamburg on June 19, with journalist Peter Wolter and Swiss writer Henning Mankell aboard.

This year the passengers on the American ship will include in addition to Hedy, passengers from every corner of the U.S., including Pulitzer Prize-winning author Alice Walker (“The Color Purple”). This year also, a quarter of the passengers are Jewish.

Four women Nobel Peace Laureates have sent an open letter calling on United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to support the safe passage of the Freedom Flotilla II. The flotilla will be bringing much-needed humanitarian supplies to the people of Gaza in late June. Mairead Maguire, Jody Williams, Shirin Ebadi, and Rigoberta Menchú Tum have asked the Secretary General to “support the people of Gaza with two key actions. First, by appointing a representative to inspect and seal the cargo of the boats of the Freedom Flotilla II—thus assuring the Israeli government that the boats are carrying humanitarian supplies…” and to “call on all governments to support the safe passage of the Freedom Flotilla II.”

On TAM we followed the previous Gaza flotilla attempts and the Israeli response. Last year, nine people in a flotilla of six boats were killed when Israeli commandos boarded the Mavi Marmara, a Turkish boat in international waters off the coast of Gaza. The Israelis claimed that their commandos were attacked and struck back in self-defense, the passengers, and the evidence showed the Israeli claim to be untrue.

The same Mavi Marmara was to have been part of this year’s flotilla, but it was recently announced that it would not be able to sail because repairs to the damage from last years voyage have still not been completed.

The Christian Science Monitor reports that The Israeli government asked that the Israeli navy be prepared well in advance this time. The Jerusalem Post reports that the navy has been training with the air force, with a close eye on lessons from last year’s operation. A senior naval officer told the Post that Israel had prepared several “surprises” for the flotilla ships and that they would use force to “neutralize” the ships and attacks if necessary. Haaretz reports that Israel has mobilized reserve forces in expectation of a large number of vessels and the need for reinforcements. It has also held “takeover drills” and upped its intelligence-gathering efforts on the flotilla.

Hillary Clinton issued a strong warning to the passengers of the Audacity of Hope not to participate. She said Well, we do not believe that the flotilla is a necessary or useful effort to try to assist the people of Gaza. Just this week, the Israeli Government approved a significant commitment to housing in Gaza. There will be construction materials entering Gaza and we think that it’s not helpful for there to be flotillas that try to provoke actions by entering into Israeli waters and creating a situation in which the Israelis have the right to defend themselves. Ali Abunimah explains all of the problems with this statement here

Philip Weiss reports that six members of Congress signed on to a letter crafted by Rep. Dennis Kucinich calling on Secretary Clinton to “work with the Israeli government to ensure the safety of the U.S. citizens on board” the U.S. Boat to Gaza, the Audacity of Hope. In addition to Rep. Kucinich, signers included: Rep. William Lacy Clay, Sam Farr, Bob Filner, Eleanor Holmes Norton, and Barbara Lee.

I have to wonder why Andre Carson and Keith Ellison’s signatures are not on this letter.

We will attempt to follow this years Freedom Flotilla as events unfold.

UPDATE 6/25/2011

Max Blumenthal reports that Anti-Flotilla video fraud linked to PM Netanyahu’s office, official Israeli hasbara agents. As the new Free Gaza flotilla prepares to sail to Gaza, a suspicious video has emerged by an unknown “gay rights activist” claiming that he was rejected by the flotilla activists because of his sexuality. Blumenthal exposes this latest attempt to discredit the flotilla activists.

UPDATE 7/1/2011

The Huffington Post reports that “American protesters on a boat bound for the Gaza Strip were escorted back to shore Friday, as Greece announced it was banning vessels heading to Gaza from leaving Greek ports.”

UPDATE 7/6/2011

The Flotilla is still being prevented from leaving Greece. The Captain of the Audacity of Hope remains in jail. Hedy is doing well, and sending out Twitter updates at http://twitter.com/#!/hedyepstein