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TechnoratiGroup of Almost 100 US Activists Hoping to Bring Aid to Gaza Strip Arrive in Egypt
CAIRO — About 100 U.S. activists arrived in Egypt Sunday on their
way to Gaza, hoping to deliver medical aid, trucks and support for
lifting a 2-year old Israeli-Egyptian blockade of the territory.
The activists are part of a charity group called "Viva Palestina" that aims to send a convoy of at least 200 people - all Americans - to Gaza by July 13. If their convoy is allowed to proceed, it would mark one of the largest groups of U.S. activists to reach the strip since the Islamic militant group Hamas wrestled control of the territory from its rival Fatah in 2007.
Following the takeover, Egypt and Israel sealed their borders with the seaside territory, allowing in only a trickle of commercial goods and humanitarian aid.
A myriad of international activists have brought aid to Gaza's 1.4 million residents in an attempt to highlight the crippling blockade, attempts that have only intensified following the three-week Israeli offensive earlier this year in Gaza designed to stop Hamas rocket fire into southern Israel.
Aid going through Egypt must first be cleared by the Egyptian government. It was unclear whether authorities would approve this convoy. Most convoys going over land have been allowed to pass but usually after delays and bureaucracy at the borders.
The activists that arrived in Cairo Sunday will wait in Cairo for the rest of their group and supplies to assemble before heading to the border. The group is organized by British lawmaker George Galloway, who led a convoy that entered Gaza in March.
At the Cairo airport Sunday, the eclectic group of volunteers from different states, including rabbis and Christian activists, congregated in their blue T-shirts emblazoned with the words "Viva Palestina."
Organizer Mansour al-Barbari, from Boise, Idaho, said the group so far has raised more than $1 million to pay for the shipment of trucks, small vans and medical and other supplies. He said the trip was designed to open up Americans' eyes to what is happening in Gaza.
"People there need everything ... the smallest thing," he said.
On Tuesday, the Israeli navy intercepted a ship carrying foreign peace activists, including former U.S. Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, trying to break the blockade.
18 Comments so far
Show AllHas AIPAC stopped paying overtime? Where are all the attack dogs on this thread? Obviously they've fallen down on the job.
AIPAC: This space is for rent.
Why pay high wages to a bunch of *@%!!X who just keep repeating themselves over and over? You could pay me for fresh new excuses. Example: Those bandages could have been used in the manufacture of rockets! That baby formula bottle could be lethal when thrown at the head of one of the Defense Forces. Cynthia McKinney has ties to known terrorists! Like George Galloway!
I got a million of 'em, but will work for considerably less.
Like your other employees, I want a job in the fast paced field of 'Trolling for Dollars'.
Hell, it would be great practice for a career in politics.
What can I do to help? Do I contact my representatives Daniel Maffei,Kristen Gillibrand or Charles Schumer? This should be the path to supporting the almost 100 U.S. activist hoping to bring aid to Gaza Strip. However most of our representatives support the egregious blockade.If they didn't then we should be hearing from them on how to end a policy that is a violence worst than any act of terrorism ,that Israel or the U.S. has yet suffered. I will contact them because I don't know what else I can do. I found out years ago that all the usual justice and peace activities we did to end the Iraqi sanctions were all in vain. I am so very sorry for what has been going on in Palistine all these year. Viva Palestina!
Notify candidates for the next election that they will lose your vote if they fail to strongly condemn by word, vote, and sponsorship, the Zionist oppression of Palestinians. Follow through by voting third party progressive candidates.
On Tuesday, the Israeli navy intercepted a ship carrying foreign peace activists, including former U.S. Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, trying to break the blockade.
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I posted about Cynthia McKinney's ship being hijacked by pirates about one hour after it happened on CD.
It should've been headline news here from day one.
WOW! CD has finally, after six months, finally posted something about Viva Palestina. It's about time, but the news had to come from a Canadian news source? Oh well, at least CD finally posted about this topic.
CD has posted about FreeGaza.org, but maybe that's only because some Americans were part of this organisation, which, I think, mostly consists of European members, or not American, anyway.
The USA is isolationist, isolated, and there's real reason for this. There's too much "American" emphasis on "Americans" being best at ... pretty much everything. 5% of the planet's population is best at everything or nearly? No way, but many "Americans" evidently don't realise this.
I posted on Viva Palestina starting in either February or March, while I think it was Feb., but this is the first time I've noticed CD posting anything about this organisation and/or movement, and related organisations. There were other convoys of people, certainly including medical professionals, who went to Gaza, tried to anyway, but I think most or else all of these were from Britain and other parts of Europe. They weren't specifically part of Viva Palestina, but did associate the convoys, and I've not seen a single article posted at CD about any of these convoys, until now. Maybe I missed some days when CD did post about these convoys, though.
In any case, these convoys, along with FreeGaza.org, and the few "Americans" who've gone separately to Gaza, like the Code Pink folks, f.e., they're all amounting to ... news and we should know about these actions and efforts.
The following provides an AlJazeera video, or audio, report from Mairead Maguire, who's with FreeGaza.org and presently imprisoned in Israel. She's asked why she and Free Gaza keep trying to get to Gaza, and she simply says that they're not willing to be silent while Israel continues its total criminality against Palestinians. She doesn't claim to pretend that peace and justice will win, but the group or organisation still won't sit silently by while Israel continues. They could be released from prison, she admits, but they refuse, because they want Israel to stop its crimes and being released from Israeli prison won't stop Israel. So they refuse to accept release in order to try to make their statement for real peace and justice heard.
"Gaza activist talks to Al Jazeera from Israeli jail - 4 Jul 09",
by AljaeeraEnglish, July 4, 2009
http://www.uruknet.info/?p=55710
Uruknet.info also has an article, with audio message link, from Cynthia McKinney, who's also imprisoned there as a member of this Free Gaza group.
"Letter from an Israeli Jail, by Cynthia McKinney",
by Cynthia McKinney, Free Gaza Team, July 4, 2009
http://www.uruknet.info/?p=55700
And Eileen Fleming also posted on this at Uruknet.
"Independence, Interdependence and HUMANITY",
by eileen fleming, thepeoplesvoice.org, July 5, 2009
http://www.uruknet.info/?p=m55706
Uruknet.info is a website that's not solely, but nevertheless is very dedicated to the Israel-Palestine conflict. I don't know if we can really call that a conflict, for the situation strikes me little this sense; seeming only about hegemony, hypocrisy, imperialism, invasion, etcetera. But most people refer to the situation as conflict.
And I don't know what real hope there is for Palestinians, but there seem to be plenty of international actors, say, involved in trying to get Israel to stop its criminality.
To get a better idea, I recommend searching Uruknet.info for the articles on the other aid(e) convoys from Britain and Europe over the several months, since February or March. I haven't read most of these, but noticed the articles posted at Uruknet, which, in the main index page, for whatever language you choose, provides fair excerpts with the links, in the main index pages. That's enough to see what's posted; instead of only seeing article titles, or headlines. And it's very convenient to have that.
I think those were mostly medical convoys, but also bringing or carrying food and clothing, maybe. There definitely medical convoys, anyway.
Viva Palestina was bringing medical, food, and, I think, other items of daily use; all important things anyway. But I believe that some of the other convoys that traveled from European countries were mostly medical and not tiny. They apparently were mostly of considerable size. Viva Palestina consisted of around 110 vehicles; cars, vans, and a bus, or two, or three. Not all were allowed to cross over into Gaza, but all made it to the border. Most of Viva Palestina, which had some members arrested by British police for no good reasons before leaving from London had around 110 to 120 vehicles at the Rafah border, but I think less than 20 were allowed to cross over.
Check out the website, and Uruknet on all of these other groups. You'll get the accurate information there.
www.VivaPalestina.org
www.uruknet.info
www.freegaza.org
www.palestine-info.co.uk is probably a good website to check out too. I don't check it, but it's one of the frequent sources for articles at uruknet.
There's no way to be "on top of everything", but these above websites should be good sources of information on the Israel-Palestine situation.
www.electronicintifada.net, too.
I can't vouch for everything these websites say, but they're overall good sources, and VP and FG are topic- or mission-specific, unlike the other two. Being topic- or mission-specific makes it easier to not republish or publish erroneous views. But Uruknet and EI are generally good.
yes obed. being open minded and being aware of the constant
propaganda and spin by msm is a constant battle to detect b.s
instead of real news.and at the end of the day religious
zealots and their small minded conservatism continue to be
the bane of peace and harmony in the world today!
Sun Jul 5, 9:24 pm ET
"WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Israel has a sovereign right to decide what is in its best interest in dealing with Iran's nuclear ambitions whether the United States agrees or not, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden said in an interview on Sunday."
If the Zionist State attacks Iran then Iran will defend itself. Obama will then rush to defend Israel. America will be dragged into a pointless war with Iran as we were with Afghanistan and Iraq and now Pakistan. Attacking Iran will close the Strait of Hormuz. What will NO OIL do for job recovery?
Rickshaw drivers wanted?
I voted for Cynthia Mckinney and I'm proud I did. George Galloway rocks as do all the brave heroes who are risking their lives to stand in solidarity with our oppressed brothers and sisters in Gaza. God bless them.
What is happening to the Palestinians is criminal and that would make the Obama-led US a co-conspirator seeing as the US is supplying Israel with the means to perpetuate their crimes for free. The bloody US gives Israel billions of dollars worth of military aid every year which they turn around and use on Palestinians. Let the oppressors and the oppressor supportors be cursed for their wicked deeds.
Here are videos made in Gaza during a moth long visit there. I came with a Code Pink Delegation for International Woman's day, invited by the UN. The Delegation departed, I stayed on, that I might show a bit the world behind the siege.
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=8030E34DC8051C01
oy vey.
No mention in this story of Orthodox Jews including at least one rabbi, if not others and George Galloway, a British MP, one holding a seat in the British House of Commons, backs this effort all the way. Also these Orthodox Jews were raising money for this cause. Jews are fine, decent people especially are these here. Let's stand with our Jewish and Palestinian brothers and sisters!
AD
"Jews are fine, decent people especially are these here. Let's stand with our Jewish and Palestinian brothers and sisters!"
Amen.
You'll notice that my complaints are always directed at "zionists" and "Israelis" and never at Jews. These crimes are motivated by political ambition and not by religious inspiration.
q
A crime has been commited and someone (else) must be punished.
If American Jews said 'no' then this genocide would stop.
If they spent $100 million dollars, dozens of Hollywood A-listers populated the group, and every American in the group was murdered by the IDF, the corporate media in the US would still black out the story.
Until we penetrate the wall of silence in the mainstream media, we can do nothing about zionist barbarism or any other problem facing humankind.
q
I disagree, to the extent that I think that the assassination of "dozens of Hollywood A-listers" would get considerable media attention-- at least in "Variety".
However, we're not that far apart. I DO think there's a fair chance that such a story would focus on the A-listers at the expense of the issues that brought them there.
And I'm fairly sure that the story would be shoehorned into the usual pseudo-evenhandedness that is a staple of corporate media infotainment.
So the media would have a field day both wringing its hands and gnashing its teeth at the Tragedy, with relatives and associates of the multiple Deceased clogging the morning, afternoon, and evening talk shows-- with appropriate Up Close and Personal Exclusive Interviews with Distinguished Infotainwhores, e.g. Barbara Walters and other A-list hens and capons.
But it's probably true that Israel would escape outright condemnation from Amerikan Hegemony politicians or institutions. Instead, it would be the old, "well, there are two sides to the story" dodge.
· Yr Obd't Servant
I was trying to be a bit hyperbolic to underscore the depravity of the IDF and Israel's current political leadership.
Here in Atlanta we have radio station WSB, whose web site is probably the most unrepentantly right-wing in the US. I use to add comments just to rile up the red-meat redstaters but they won't post my observations anymore (typical of neocon sites).
When they posted the story about Cynthia McKinney being taken captive (no mention of the Nobel Peace Prize winner or anyone else in the group), the comments were nothing but the foulest, most vitriolic hate speech that any of us on this site could imagine, expressing hopes that the Israelis either imprison her for life or execute her.
q
I was just hyperbolizing your hyperbole.
I confess that at one time, I bought into the meme that Cynthia McKinney was well-intended, but was a bit too ditsy or wacko to be taken too seriously.
Then I happened to watch an actual interview-- with Amy Goodman, IIRC-- and was duly impressed with Cynthia's intellect, insight, and character. I probably would have voted for her instead of Ralph Nader if she had been on the Pennsylvania ballot.
It was a good lesson for me, if mildly humbling, that even those who consider themselves immune to corporate media spin are still susceptible to its negative influences; I realized after my moment of enlightenment that my previous opinion was formed entirely by corporate media snippets intended to deride and dismiss her as a lunatic-fringer.
· Yr Obd't Servant