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Freedom March: Activists Reject Egypt's Gaza Offer
Members of an international group gathered in Cairo to protest against the siege of Gaza have rejected an Egyptian offer to allow 100 of them entry into the Palestinian territory.
Hedy Epstein, 85, (L) a a US activist and Holocaust survivor, protests outside the Egyptian Press Syndicate in downtown Cairo against the Egyptian government's decision not to allow them to travel to the Gaza Strip. Protest leaders stranded in Cairo rejected an Egyptian offer on Tuesday to allow only 100 out of about 1,300 protesters into blockaded Gaza.
(AFP/Victoria Hazou) Organizers of the Gaza Freedom March (GFM), which is comprised of 1,300 people from 42 different countries, declined the offer on Wednesday, saying "we refuse to whitewash the siege of Gaza".
Egyptian authorities had initially said the group would not be allowed to cross the border, citing security reasons and a "sensitive situation".
The activists were hoping to march into Gaza on the anniversary of Israel's 22-day offensive on the territory as a sign of solidarity with its people, carrying with them aid and supplies.
Egypt's Rafah border crossing point is the only entrance point into the Gaza Strip not controlled by Israel.
However, both it and the Israeli-controlled border points have largely remained sealed since 2007, when Palestinian faction Hamas took full control of the territory after brutal infighting with rivals Fatah.
Cairo concession
March organizers had called the Egyptian government's concession a "partial victory" but said the offer was not sufficient.
Ali Abunimah, co-founder of the Electronic Intifada and a participant in the march, posted to his blog, saying that "it's not enough and the pressure and protests should be kept up".
"However, getting 100 or 1,300 into Gaza does not end the siege by itself. This is not about getting some or even all into Gaza, its building global support and pressure to end the siege of Gaza," he said.
Roqayah Chamseddine, a US student attending the march, told Al Jazeera: "Our mission is not to be divided and sending only 100 of over 1,300 would be doing just that.
"For anyone to claim that Egypt was doing us a favor by offering to allow 100 GFM members to go is asinine and baseless.
"Those borders must be opened and as long as Egypt continues to seemingly aid Israel in subjugating the people of Palestine we will also continue to resist an protest."
Gaza Freedom March members have held multiple small protests in Cairo, as well as on Tuesday joining Egyptian activists to demonstrate against a one-day visit by Binyamin Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister.
Earlier on Tuesday, around 40 US citizens marching to their embassy in the Egyptian capital were met along the way by riot police, who corralled them into groups of 10 before allowing them access, participants said.
On Sunday and Monday, about 80 people held a sit-in outside the French embassy to try to rally international support for the movement.
Others, such as US citizen Hedy Epstein, an 85-year-old Holocaust survivor, have gone on hunger strike to protest against Egypt's refusal to allow the march to proceed.
Viva Palestina
A separate aid convoy, which had been trying to reach Gaza by way of Jordan's Red Sea port of Aqaba, has meanwhile agreed to travel via Syria instead.
The Viva Palestina convoy, carrying 210 lorries full of humanitarian aid for the people of Gaza, crossed into Syria on Tuesday after spending five days in Jordan, negotiating with the Egyptian consul there.
It is now expected to set sail from the Syrian port of Latakia to the Egyptian port of El Arish on the Mediterranean, and then cross through Rafah into Gaza from there.
A statement from the Egypt's ministry of information said that George Galloway, the British member of parliament leading the convoy, had been told by November 10 that the group had to travel through El Arish, even though it is not the most direct route.
28 Comments so far
Show AllGodspeed to all 1300 of these Gaza Freedom Marchers.
I agree with Roqayah Chamseddine, "Our mission is not to be divided..." and I admire Hedy Epstein, 85 year-old Holocaust survivor, for her hunger strike during this protest.
I am reminded of this admonition from Arundhati Roy: "Change will come. It could be bloody, or it could be beautiful. It depends on us."
I am so proud of the GFM leaders and participants for rejecting Egypt's pathetic offer of allowing less than 10% of the Marchers into Gaza. If the border has suddenly become 'safe' enough and 'stable' enough for 100 to enter the Strip, it is stable enough to admit the remaining 1200 for the mile-long march.
There is something in Egypt's offer to allow 100 into Gaza that smacks of "let them eat cake". It's the same attitude that it displays towards its own citizens. Egypt would do well to remember what happened to the last head of state who suggested cake for her subjects.
This is the courage of convictions that the world's demoralized need! Heidi, thank you for following in the best of the Jewish tradition of social justice, your very existence sanctifies life! Free Palestine!
What a hero Holocaust survivor Hedy Epstein is, and what a huge disappointment it must be to her that Israel has become the moral equivalent of the Nazis.
It takes such amazing courage for someone like Mrs. Epstein to stand up against Israel, to say nothing of undertaking a hunger strike at her age. Her example is a light before us all.
And what can you say about Egypt; just another bought-and-paid for corrupt U.S. ally. Disgusting.
You are trying to revise history. Joesph invited his people into Egypt at the behest of the Pharoah; Jews left with what they had earned and scraped and saved. Jim, if you don't like Jews, stop worshipping one.
Keep up the struggle Hedy and the rest of the Gaza marchers. Israel's victimhood license has long expired and Egypt is another dictatorship owned by the US. Hedy's David-like struggle against the new Goliath monster sustains us through these nightmare times.
dare to struggle, dare to win !
Egypt learned in the 70s not to anger Israel. The protesters can chuck their supplies over the Red Sea for all I care.
My such lovingkindness. You do truly have a name which suits you.
Apparently, you're not familiar with "Never Again!". Maybe you can enlighten some of your "Palestinian" friends as to 20th century history and as to why (after having their asses handed to them 5 times in 50 years) it's not a good idea to fire rockets and RPGs from schools if you'd like the schools to remain standing.
It seems you truly do not understand the phrase "Never Again". It was not meant for only jews but for all peoples. Sorry, I stand by my original statement that your name truly does fit.
No, I'm pretty sure that the JDL didn't mean for it to apply to any other ethnic group than Jews. And my nickname was earned years ago. I hold no love for Arabs.
Perhaps the Jewish Defense League coined the phrase. However, it is now used in many situations. Your name suits you. Please, however, stop with your disgusting Zionist bigotry and dehumanization. You truly are just like the Nazis who dehumanized the Jews. When we cannot see each person as a child of G-d we are no longer human.
And before all the observers, the shadow rose, removed its cloak of decency and discarded it. It stood, revealing its grotesque racist Zionism, normally hidden by methods of deceit.
an old jew told me , before he died....after watching israel attack gaza months ago :
"we said after the Holocaust: 'never again'...but now it is my own people who have become the new Nazis...I am old, but instead of dying in peace...i will die with great sadness at what my own people have become in the middle east...this is not 'never again'...this is GENOCIDE against the palestinians".
That's the problem. Hamas doesn't give a damn about schools. They just want to kill Jews.
chainsaw: no, we bought off egypt with grants to buy us weapons and loans egypt will not have to pay back. we did the same thing with the sunni militias in iraq; as long as we pay them, they'll point their guns at someone else. we're about to do the same thing in afghanistan, but pretty soon we are going to run out of money to pay people. you can't bribe the whole world!
And this is the way they keep from having critical media coverage? This is how you keep from embarrasing your country?
And who have they been taking lessons from I wonder?
God bless Hedy. As for Mubarek, waterboard that f*****
Egypt gets US aid.
This aid is controlled by Israel so that Egypt does what it is told by Israel or no more aid.
Its an International Crime Called Gaza
http://mwcnews.net/letterman/task,view/id,996/
.
One can't help but admire the tenacity and courage of those who hunger and thirst for justice sake as do Media Benjamin and George Galloway and support and cheer them on. Until the Israeli/US blockade (abetted by Egypt) of the Gaza Palestinians is discontinue, the other problems of the Gazans of overpopulation, pollution, a collapsed agriculture, and a city in ruins cannot be addressed. Israel must come to terms with the fact that these people are not going to go away, as much as they might like them to.
Environment was also a Major Israeli Target in Gaza.
Countless fruit groves across the Gaza Strip are now gone and entire farms were bulldozed.
The remains of thousands of destroyed homes emited toxic asbestos, while dilapidated infrastructure dumps raw sewage into the Mediterranean Sea.
U.S./Israeli Depleted Uranium will result in deformed births for decades.
Throughout the three-week Operation Cast Lead, Israel targeted almost every aspect of the coastal territory’s infrastructure.
Homes, businesses, factories, power grids, sewage systems and water treatment plants were reduced to piles of rubble across the Gaza Strip…
Jews celebrated the attack on Gaza in NY and American Jews went to Israel to serve in the Israeli Military to join in the killing while Zionist tourists to Israel watched the Killing and destruction.
http://tinyurl.com/cmdueo
http://tinyurl.com/yz6os9u
IDF Rabbis held ceramonies which included blowing replica "Horns of Jerico" and openly quoting the Torah preaching hatred and allowing blood thirsty killings of Gazan women and children openly, claiming "God allowed the children of enemies to be killed" reported by the BBC.
Some 21,100 homes, 1,500 factories, 25 mosques, 31 government buildings and scores of schools were also destroyed by the air, sea and ground offensive.
Thanks to Hedy Epstein and her fellow protesters for upholding the honor of Jews. Netanyahu does not speak in my name or the names of millions of Jews around the world who find Israel's apartheid an abomination.
I agree with you.
I have had many friends through the years of jewish descent and many have been the most principled of people i have EVER met...and many had expressed horror at what israel is doing to palestinians.
some i have known - once served in the israeli army - and LEFT the country because they could no longer take what they were being asked to do..and felt that israel did not deserve to exist if that meant to become a nation of such cruelty towards others. i know that some even tried to have themselves declared "insane" just to avoid being conscripted and not have to be jailed and just be left alone from having to serve as soldiers.
this is one reason I also posted that article from new york times about two families - damaged by the israeli occupation and the consequent resistance by the palestinians:
both children - paralyzed palestinian girl, israeli jewish boy with half his brain blown out - both 8 now -
palestinian girl's father is widowed and lost his mother , and her brother was also injured and just recovering still from an israeli jet attack ..
became friends in the hospital - and their families have come together ....
the palestinian man of 30 is "considered in the hospital, especially by the volunteers who are mostly religious folk, as a LUMINOUS PRESENCE and INSPIRATION inspite of his losses"...
for how little he asked of the ISraeli government - which is to merely provide for his girl medically - "I ask nothing for myself, nor my dead wife, not even my little boy...just help my daughter"...
the father of the jewish boy said:
"I WAS RAISED as a FAR RIGHT WING -- thinking that the arabs are out to get us..and our enemies....but this is wrong...how much more must we suffer simply to realize we, jews and arabs, are NOT different?"
I had occasion to converse with an old italian jew months ago - he was already very sick and so frail...and when he was watching the TV news about the Israeli assault on gaza many months ago ..literally broke into tears, sobbing so uncontrollably..and shaking and trembling as he said:
"our people have gone through the Holocaust..ONLY to become the new Nazis in palestine? ...this is GENOCIDE towards the palestinians..after a long life of seeing so many atrocities...i must now DIE a SECOND DEATH? rather than die in peace -- i will die with sadness to know that my own people have BECOME monsters towards other people!!!".
I was crying myself hearing him say that .
count folk bernadotte. jfk's letter to ben gurion. google up those two items, read the articles, and weep for your country! all you need to know about the state of israel you will find right there.
I googled, and got a lot of hits. An chance you could point to a good web page on what you are trying to tell us?