The Aftermath of the Flotilla

Anne Baltzer

Last night marked one week since Israel's attack in international waters on the Mavi Marmara Turkish humanitarian ship bound for Gaza, killing nine. One by one, the hundreds of witnesses aboard the vessels have been returning home to tell their stories after being stripped of any and all footage. By confiscating all non-military evidence of the incident, Israel has been able to successfully dominate the narrative, at least in the US where news of the attack had begun to dwindle by the time witnesses were released. One wonders, if Israel is conveying the whole story of what happened that night, why eliminate every single other piece of documentation? What does Israel have to hide?
According to hundreds of eyewitnesses, the Navy shot at the boat and threw tear gas and sound bombs before boarding the ship, and then hit the ground shooting. The videos released by Israel show those aboard the ship attacking soldiers with sticks. Israel claims that the deaths were an accident, that the soldiers were startled by the sticks and thus forced to shoot people to defend themselves.
Now let's put things into perspective. In 2005, the Israeli Army removed 8,000 ideological settlers from Gaza, many of them kicking and screaming with sticks and rocks in hand. The Army managed not to kill or even shoot a single one of them. Do sticks from Turks hurt more, or is it not about the sticks at all?
As Dr. Norman Finkelstein pointed out, Israeli officials met for an entire week prior to the flotilla to plan precisely what they intended to do. The Israeli Ambassador to the US Michael Oren himself stated that the Mavi Marmara was simply "too large to stop with nonviolent means." It's hard to believe that this was an accident.
While the world focuses on the flotilla and Gaza, Israel's restrictions on Palestinian rights in the rest of Palestine continue to tighten. On Friday, soldiers surrounded the Old City in Jerusalem to prevent Muslim men from praying at Al-Aqsa mosque. Only those younger than 15 or older than 40 were allowed through. Hundreds of men gathered outside the metal bars installed by the Army around the city gates. Frustrated, many men sat down to wait to pray on the sidewalk, but soldiers on horseback pushed through the crowd, forcing the men to scatter.
It's important to note that many Palestinians wait for years to receive a permit to visit Jerusalem for just one day. Sometimes the permits are valid only for a few hours. I saw a woman in Beit Sahour whom I'd met in Syracuse last fall. She said it's easier for her to travel to New York than to go 10 miles away to Jerusalem. She said often permits are sent to the wrong village and families fall over themselves to get the permit to the right person in time, often failing. At the gates, some men argued with the soldiers, close to tears, not knowing if they would ever get another chance to realize a life-long dream of praying at their country's holiest site.
Eventually, hundreds of men began to gather next to the wall of the Old City and across the street. If they could not enter, they would pray as close as they could. As the call to prayer rang out (at least sound can overcome walls), a noticeable calm came over the space as they bowed down in unison. The soldiers stood over the group, some filming with cameras. In the middle of the group were an olive tree and a young child who stood by himself, watching.
When the prayers ended, those who hadn't brought prayer mats wiped the dirt off their foreheads and gathered with others across the street where an imam had started to speak. Lara, a Palestinian delegate in our group translated bits and pieces of what he said.
The sermon was about the importance of compassion and justice in Islam. There they were, being denied their religious freedom, and they were talking about compassion. The imam asked that their prayers be accepted even though they could not be in the house of God. At one point, he raised his finger and called out the following: "Someday, we will live in a place where it doesn't matter what color your skin is, or where you're from." With every sentence the group resounded in a collective "Amen."
After the prayers, hundreds of women and older men poured out, one of whom told me he'd seen a man beaten by the Army for calling out against Israel's attacks on the flotilla. This is likely precisely what the Army wanted to avoid by keeping Muslims from congregating at the mosque, and they had been largely successful, at least so they thought.
Just as I was turning to return to the hotel, I heard a chorus of women's voices coming from inside the city walls. Soon a large group of women emerged carrying a Turkish flag and singing out familiar calls for justice and praising those who gave their lives to free Gaza. The soldiers thought that keeping the men out would be enough, but they had underestimated the women.
Israel has also underestimated the international civilian community, which continues to speak out. Day and night, we watch protests around the world unfold one after another, seemingly stronger and larger by the day: Japan, Paris, India, Oslo, Australia, and beyond. This is being called "Israel's Kent State."
Far more significant than protests is the fact that worldwide disapproval has been transforming into concrete rejection of normalization with Israel, including major victories for the Palestinian movement for boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) on Israel until it complies with international law.
This past week, the student body at Evergreen College voted to divest from "Israel's illegal occupation." Before she was run over by Israeli soldiers in a US-made Caterpillar bulldozer in Gaza, Rachel Corrie had attended Evergreen. Along with divesting, students have voted for a "Caterpillar free" campus. You can support the students by clicking here.
A week before the flotilla, Italy's largest supermarkets COOP and Nordiconad announced a boycott of the Israeli produce company, Carmel Agrexco. Four days later, Deutsche Bank (Germany's largest bank, worth more than $1 trillion) announced divestment from Elbit Systems, an Israeli firm that supplies technology for Israel's military, settlements, and Wall (as well as the Wall between the US and Mexico). Deutsche Bank was one of the company's largest shareholders.
The next day, it was announced that Sweden's largest national pension funds were also divesting from Elbit. (Norway did the same more than one year ago.) Going a step further, the Swedish Port Workers Union announced last Wednesday that it would temporarily stop handling Israeli cargo in response to the attacks on the flotilla.
On the same day, Britain's largest union, Unite, passed a unanimous motion "to vigorously promote a policy of divestment from Israeli companies" and to boycott Israeli goods and services as in "the boycott of South African goods during the era of apartheid."
Then yesterday, the Pixies canceled of their upcoming concert in Israel in response to Israel's attack on the flotilla. Musical artists Klaxons and Gorillaz canceled as well. This on the heels of cancelations by Santana, Gil Scott-Heron, Snoop Dog, Sting, and Elvis Costello.
These are but a few of the BDS victories that have happened just in the last month. The movement that officially began in 2005 crossed its first threshold in 2009 (having gained in four years the same momentum it took the BDS movement against South Africa 20 years to achieve), but 2010 has brought it to a new level.
Last month marked 62 years since 80% of the families in Gaza were displaced during Israel's creation, the Palestinian Nakba. And this week marks 43 years since Israel occupied the Gaza Strip and West Bank. The Occupation has been in place 70% of Israel's life span so far. It is not temporary. And it is but one part of the problem. Along with Israel's discrimination against Palestinians within Israel's de-facto borders and outside historic Palestine, the Occupation will not be stopped voluntarily by Israel.
As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said: "Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed." I spoke with a member of Boycott from Within (Israelis supporting the Palestinian BDS Call) paraphrased a common phrase during the anti-Apartheid struggle in South Africa: We will bring them to their senses, or we will bring them to their knees. For Israel, as was the case for the South African Apartheid government, the former has simply never worked.

One week after the attack the blackout continues

Dear friends,

A week has now passed since the fateful day on which nine Turkish activists were killed as the Gaza Freedom Flotilla was violently and illegally attacked by Israeli forces in international waters. Our friend and colleague Emily Henochowicz was hit with an illegally fired tear gas canister the same day, necessitating the removal of her left eye and severely fracturing numerous bones in her face.

Information about the flotilla is widely scattered. Israel has waged a vicious war on information, first by disabling satellite communication as the boats were attacked; then by prohibiting injured activists from showing their wounds to media as they were escorted off the boats; then by detaining the other 600+ activists in the middle of the desert, denying them access to lawyers for over 24 hours; then by stripping them of all cameras, notebooks and all other possessions; then by continuing to detain 17 journalists... the list could go on forever.

Here are some basic facts which I wish were more widely publicized:

-- Autopsies of the dead show that over 30 bullets hit the nine bodies. 5 were hit in the back of the head; many bullets were fired from less than 50 cm.

-- Between four and six activists are still missing. Families fear they were thrown overboard or kidnapped.

-- The Israeli military has admitted to sabotaging boats and doctoring audio tapes

-- My friends are all ok, alhemduilieh, though physically and psychologically battered. Their boat, the Challenger 1, was violently raided and passengers, who were nonviolently trying to defend the boat, beaten bloody and handcuffed with bags over their heads. Huwaida Arraf speaks about it here on NPR.

-- Accusations that passengers used violence, specifically on the Mavi Marmara, are generally not being placed in the appropriate context. While the six boats were in international water, headed to Gaza on a humanitarian aid mission, the Israeli military decided an appropriate (and the best) response was for masked soldiers to rappel onto the deck of the Mavi Marmara from helicopters, in the dark, during morning prayers which many passengers were attending (and the rest were sleeping), and to shoot live ammunition wildly. Reports describe soldiers shooting a person holding a white flag and people who were sitting handcuffed; training laser sights on those trying to administer first aid, etc. Friends of mine, belonging to groups which specifically decided against using violence of any kind, were brutally battered. They emerged covered in bruises with harrowing tales; Angie with a broken nose. However, those who decided to resist using weapons such as kitchen knives and metal poles were entirely within their rights, being attacked in international water. Israel is the world's fourth largest military, and boarded the boats with semi- automatic assault rifles. Any attempt by the Israeli military to portray themselves as victims is shamelessly inaccurate.


I will save an update on Emily for the next email. For now, please visit her art blog: thirstypixels.blogspot.com. Here is a link to one of my favorite pieces, inspired by her first trip to Sheikh Jarrah.


Below are answers to some questions I received. Below that are links to further reading. I would like the next update to be a second question and answer, in light of the recent attention on Palestine and activism.

***Please, respond with questions you have related to current events or anything else.***

Thanks,
Ellen



Questions I have received:


Why'd they attempt to run blockade?

The Gaza Freedom Flotilla is still attempting to break the blockade of Gaza in order to bring attention to the dire humanitarian crisis, and ultimately bring the blockade to an end. The Gaza strip is severely impoverished and economically devastated because of the siege. Amnesty International, Oxfam, Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela are among those calling for its immediate end. The statistics are shocking: 45% of Gazans are unemployed, 60% lack food security and up to 80% live in conditions of poverty, according to information from Oxfam and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights. Although Israel claims Gaza is no longer occupied, it maintains a level of control which is absolutely devastating for Gazans. The amount of humanitarian aid allowed through checkpoints is a mere trickle of what is required for a decent quality of life. Operation Cast Lead destroyed thousands of homes, schools, hospitals and mosques, nearly none of which have been rebuilt since Israel does not permit building materials through the border. Furthermore, Israeli control of the Strip extends deep into the territory on all sides, with grave economic impacts. The “buffer zone”, permitted up to 50 meters from the border according to 1990 Oslo Accords, has now been extended from anywhere between 300 meters and 2 kilometers. Anyone entering this area for any reason is subject to “shoot to kill” policy. The result is a loss of over 30% of Gaza’s farmland, and some of its most arable. Farmers still risk their lives to farm here, because of the extremely dire economic and nutritional situation. Just last week, I published a report about six farmers who were severely injured with fire from artillery shells as they attempted to harvest their crops. The farmers were fired upon without warning, and at least two of the men were the sole income-earner for families of more than twenty. The fishing zone, twenty nautical miles under Olso, is now 1-3 nautical miles. The zone is gravely overfished, thousands of fishers attempt to earn an income in the narrow stretch of water every day, and fishermen are routinely fired upon. Between the end of Operation Cast Lead (January 2009) and the end of 2009, 166 attacks carried out by Israeli forces killed 37 and injured 69.

Regardless of one’s opinion about Hamas, it is clear that sanctions are not effective in overthrowing a governing body. Sanctions against Iraq in the 1990’s did little to check Saddam Hussein’s power, but killed over 500,000 children. Collective punishment is illegal under international law for good reason. It’s inhumane and ineffective in accomplishing anything but torturing a population. You or I may or may not agree with decisions our government makes, and may or may not have voted for the people in power, but it shouldn’t mean that we be denied medicine for our children, or concrete to rebuild the home which bombs destroyed.

Didn't Israel agree to let them pass if they came thru port of Ashdod and submitted to inspections for contraband arms? Why didnt they go that route?

By submitting the goods to Israel for inspection, the blockade is not being challenged. Hopefully I’ve satisfactorily explained why this is a necessary purpose. Furthermore, the goods on Flotilla boats were specifically necessities not permitted into Gaza by Israel. The list of items permitted is sadistically short. No argument about security can possibly be successfully levied against items like dried fruit and vinegar. The boats contained 10,000 tons of aid; composed of items which Israel denies Gaza such as hundreds of essential medicines, school supplies such as paper and pens, lentils, tomato paste, chocolate, electric wheelchairs (200 of the Flotilla’s 500 were specifically for victims of Cast Lead) and building materials to begin rebuilding Gaza nearly a year and a half after Cast Lead. The boats were inspected numerous times in their countries of origin, with documentation being made publicly available. If the Flotilla should stop at Ashdod to permit the Israeli government to remove such scandalous “contraband” as backpacks and macaroni, there really would be no point. As it stands, sufficient supply of aid to Gaza exists. Israel just doesn’t allow it in.

Isn't Egypt enforcing same blockade due to same problem with contraband arms from Iraq coming in via Gaza?

I am unfamiliar with this accusation. Egypt has historically enforced the blockade, although Rafah is the only crossing which is ever open and since the massacre, Egypt has agreed to freely open the border “until further notice”. Egypt receives the second highest amount of US aid annually, roughly $815 million (after Israel's $3 billion/year). Egypt's dependence on this aid generally prohibits it from acting independently of the US and Israel. Monday's massacre seems to have changed the country's willingness to be complicit in the siege however.

Aren't in fact food & power being allowed into Gaza?

I highly recommend this Oxfam press release on the humanitarian crisis, published 2 June in response to the massacre. Here's a quote: "Contrary to what the Israeli government states, the humanitarian aid allowed into Gaza is only a fraction of what is needed to answer the enormous needs of an exhausted population. For instance, Oxfam estimates that 631 trucks of humanitarian supplies were permitted entry into Gaza last week by the Israeli authorities. This constitutes only 22 percent of the weekly average (2,807 truckloads) that entered during the first five months of 2007, before Israel’s imposition of the blockade. Meanwhile, almost no exports have been allowed out of Gaza."


Are both Egypt & Israel wrong in trying to enforce sanctions & inspections to stem flow of arms to terrorist killing in their countries?

Yes. As I mentioned above, 1990's sanctions in Iraq killed over 500,000 children while leaving Saddam Hussein in power.
The fourth Geneva convention reads: Article 33. No protected person* may be punished for an offense he or she has not personally committed. Collective penalties and likewise all measures of intimidation or of terrorism are prohibited.

Collective punishment is a war crime under international law.

Furthermore, although this is a much larger philosophical debate, Israel routinely commits acts of state-sponsored terrorism in the occupied territories. Here is an excerpt of a press release issued by the Israeli human rights group B'Tselem, regarding "Operation Cast Lead": "The magnitude of the harm to the population was unprecedented: 1,385 Palestinians were killed, 762 of whom did not take part in the hostilities. Of these, 318 were minors under age 18. More than 5,300 Palestinians were wounded, of them over 350 seriously so. Israel also caused enormous damage to residential dwellings, industrial buildings, agriculture and infrastructure for electricity, sanitation, water, and health, which was on the verge of collapse prior to the operation. According to UN figures, Israel destroyed more than 3,500 residential dwellings and 20,000 people were left homeless.
During the operation, Palestinians fired rockets and mortar shells at Israel, with the declared purpose of striking Israeli civilians. These attacks killed three Israeli civilians and one member of the Israeli security forces, and wounded dozens. Nine soldiers were killed within the Gaza Strip, four by friendly fire. More than 100 soldiers were wounded, one critically and 20 moderately to seriously"


These statistics alone demonstrate the grievous imbalance of power that leaves Gazans daily threatened by unprovoked acts of extreme aggression.

* A "protected person", according to Article 4 of the 4th Convention, includes any person who finds themselves under the control of an occupying power.


For further information:

Humanitarian crisis in Gaza:
"Monday’s tragedy is a direct result of the Israeli blockade on Gaza" Oxfam International, 2 June
"Suffocating Gaza", Amnesty International, 1 June



Survivor testimonies:
Sarah Colborne gives a press conference
"There was a lot of blood in the stairwells...", ">Sydney Morning Herald
Lubna Masarwa, Palestinian Israeli placed under house arrest


Flotilla information and news:
witnessgaza.com
freegaza.org
electronicintifada.net

Other:
Emily's Blog
Pictures of soldiers recieving medical treatment on Mavi Marmara
B'Tselem press release about Operation Cast Lead

As always, Occupation 101 is available at freedocumentaries.org

Murder in International Waters

Dear friends,

Your day, like mine ten hours ago, is probably beginning with the gruesome news of the Freedom Flotilla massacre.

I was awoken with the news by a friend, Emily. We sat on my bed and groggily tried to process this repulsive act. Ten hours later, Emily is now undergoing emergency surgery in which she'll lose an eye. An Israeli soldier fired a tear gas canister directly at her face. She was standing peacefully in a crowd protesting the massacre.

Information is scarce; here is what I can confirm as accurate (information I am also releasing as ISM):

-- Before dawn, while the ships were in international waters, Israeli soldiers surrounded the ships with gunboats and helicopters, and rappelled onto the deck of Mavi Marmara, the lead boat with over 600 civilians aboard.

-- Israeli military say that passengers initiated the violence, although footage clearly shows soldiers opening fire immediately upon hitting the deck. The passengers are all unarmed civilians.

-- Multiple ships were attacked. Most of the dead were on Mavi Marmara, but the European Campaign to End the Siege boat reports three wounded, including the captain.

-- At least 16 are now dead, with Al Jazeera reporting 19. Injuries are in the dozens. Names and nationalities are not known.

-- Some of the ships have been docked in Ashdod, where the passengers will be detained in a special detention facility designed specifically for their arrival.

-- Demonstrations across the West Bank and Israel are being brutally repressed. Emily was shot with a gas canister which was fired directly into her face. She's currently undergoing emergency surgery, and will lose an eye. Emily is 21, from Maryland. She's an art student.

-- In the village of Beit Ommar, a settler ran over a Palestinian pedestrian. His/her condition is unknown.

-- I am working within a community of people very closely linked to those on the boats. We have absolutely no idea who was shot, or where our loved ones are.

-- Here is a film designed for "worst case scenarios", but I doubt this was ever taken into consideration. Please watch: http://palsolidarity.org/2010/05/12586/



Please get involved. There are surely demonstrations near where you live. If not, somebody needs to start them. Those of you who know me understand that the people attacked by the IOF as they slept on the boats were the same: many young, all humanitarian-minded, all innocent. Whatever the Israeli military releases about these people, which our media will likely parrot, simply isn't true. They're people like me. Angie, Margarite, so many. I have no idea my friends are alive. And as the world waits, white-knuckled, for names, someone will have to hear the bad news. This makes me realize: it could be Angie. It could be me. It really doesn't matter. Whoever they were, they were us.

ACT. In any way you can possibly brainstorm.

Check witnessgaza.com for information.

I'll write more when information has been updated and I can clear my mind. If you're the praying type, it wouldn't hurt Emily's situation. Same applies for the other injured, families of the dead, Gaza and Palestine in general, etc.


~ Ellen