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For Immediate Release
June, 29 2009, 05:12am EDT
Contact:
Greta Berlin (English/French) or
Caoimhe Butterly (Arabic/English/Spanish)
Tel: +357 99 081 767 / email: friends@freegaza.org
Free Gaza Boat "Spirit of Humanity" Departs Cyprus
WASHINGTON
The Free Gaza boat the "Spirit of Humanity"
departed Cyprus at 7:30am on Monday, 29 July. Twenty-one human rights
and solidarity workers representing eleven different countries were
aboard. The passengers include Nobel laureate Mairead Maguire and
former U.S. congresswoman Cynthia McKinney. The ship also carries three
tons of medical aid, children's toys, and rehabilitation and
reconstruction kits for twenty family homes.
Over 2,400 homes were destroyed in Gaza during
the Israeli massacre in December/January, 490 of them by F-16
airstrikes, as well as 30 mosques, 29 educational institutions, 29
medical centers, 10 charitable organizations, and 5 cement factories.
Each kit carries a small amount of supplies for a
single family, representing sectors of civil society currently being
blockaded by Israel: Agriculture, Building & Reconstruction,
Education, Electricity, Health, and Water & Sanitation. Although
over 4 billion dollars in aid was promised to Gaza in the aftermath of
the Israeli onslaught, little humanitarian aid and no reconstruction
supplies have been allowed in.
Photos of leaving this morning:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/29205195@N02/
Quotes:
Mairead Maguire, co-winner of the 1977 Nobel Peace prize for her work in Northern Ireland:
"[The Palestinians of Gaza] must know that we have not and will not forget them."
Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney:
"[T]he U.S. should send a message to Israel
reiterating the reported White House position that the blockade of Gaza
should be eased, and that medical supplies and building materials,
including cement, should be allowed in ... Will [President Obama] stand
by his own words and allow us to provide relief for Gaza or will he
back down?"
Huwaida Arraf, Chairperson of the Free Gaza Movement:
"Israel's closure policy is a blatant violation
of international law. We call upon our governments to take action to
uphold their obligations under the Fourth Geneva Conventions. Until
they do, we will act.
Passengers aboard the Spirit of Humanity include:
Khalad Abdelkader, Bahrain
Khalad is an engineer representing the Islamic Charitable Association of Bahrain.
Othman Abufalah, Jordan
Othman is a world-renowned journalist with al-Jazeera TV.
Khaled Al-Shenoo, Bahrain
Khaled is a lecturer with the University of Bahrain.
Mansour Al-Abi, Yemen
Mansour is a cameraman with Al-Jazeera TV.
Fatima Al-Attawi, Bahrain
Fatima is a relief worker and community activist from Bahrain.
Juhaina Alqaed, Bahrain
Juhaina is a journalist & human rights activist.
Huwaida Arraf, US
Huwaida is the Chair of the Free Gaza Movement and delegation co-coordinator for this voyage.
Ishmahil Blagrove, UK
Ishmahil is a
Jamaican-born journalist, documentary film maker and founder of the
Rice & Peas film production company. His documentaries focus on
international struggles for social justice.
Kaltham Ghloom, Bahrain
Kaltham is a community activist.
Derek Graham, Ireland
Derek Graham is an electrician, Free Gaza organizer, and first mate aboard the Spirit of Humanity.
Alex Harrison, UK
Alex is a solidarity worker from Britain. She is traveling to Gaza to do long-term human rights monitoring.
Denis Healey, UK
Denis is Captain of the Spirit of Humanity. This will be his fifth voyage to Gaza.
Fathi Jaouadi, UK/Tunisia
Fathi is a British journalist, Free Gaza organizer, and delegation co-coordinator for this voyage.
Mairead Maguire, Ireland
Mairead is a Nobel laureate and renowned peace activist.
Lubna Masarwa, Palestine/Israel
Lubna is a Palestinian human rights activist and Free Gaza organizer.
Theresa McDermott, Scotland
Theresa is a solidarity worker from Scotland. She is traveling to Gaza to do long-term human rights monitoring.
Cynthia McKinney, US
Cynthia McKinney is an
outspoken advocate for human rights and social justice issues, as well
as a former U.S. congressperson and presidential candidate.
Adnan Mormesh, UK
Adnan is a solidarity worker from Britain. He is traveling to Gaza to do long-term human rights monitoring.
Adam Qvist, Denmark
Adam is a solidarity worker from Denmark. He is traveling to Gaza to do human rights monitoring.
Adam Shapiro, US
Adam is an American documentary film maker and human rights activist.
Kathy Sheetz, US
Kathy is a nurse and film maker, traveling to Gaza to do human rights monitoring.
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Free Gaza is a human rights group founded in 2006. Our mission is to break the Israel's illegal siege on Gaza's 1.8 million civilians, since it inflicts collective punishment on the Palestinians who live there and has destroyed its economy. Free Gaza believes in direct action in confronting Israel's abuse of Palestinians using non-violent means and has found these voyages to be one of the most effective ways to alert the world to the prison-like conditions of Gaza. Ultimately, there is no better example of direct action than Free Gaza's sustained attempts to break the siege on Gaza which Israel claims it no longer occupies
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BREAKING: a federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to immediately release on bail Rumeysa Ozturk, a Muslim grad student at Tufts University who was abducted and abused by ICE agents, all because she wrote an editorial, yes, an editorial, critical of the Israeli government's genocide.
[image or embed]
— CAIR (The Council on American-Islamic Relations) ( @cairnational.bsky.social) May 9, 2025 at 11:12 AM
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"Rümeysa Öztürk has finally been ordered released," Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) said on social media. "She has been unlawfully detained for more than six weeks in an ICE facility in Louisiana, more than 1,500 miles away from Somerville. This is a victory for Rümeysa, for justice, and for our democracy."
In the United States, we guarantee free speech. No one here will lose their rights and freedom for publishing an op-ed. This is a win for the rule of law. Rümeysa is free!
[image or embed]
— Representative Becca Balint ( @balint.house.gov) May 9, 2025 at 1:24 PM
Seth Stern, director of advocacy at Freedom of the Press Foundation, said in a statement that "it is unfathomable that in the United States legal system, it takes 45 days for a judge to rule that people can't be put behind bars for writing op-eds the government doesn't like."
"Without a system committed to its principles, the Constitution is just words on paper, and they don't mean much if this can happen here," Stern continued. "Öztürk's abduction and imprisonment is one of the most shameful chapters in First Amendment history."
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In addition to moving to deport pro-Palestine students, the Trump administration is sending Latin American immigrants—including wrongfully expelled Maryland man Kilmar Abrego García—to a notorious prison in El Salvador, and the president has repeatedly threatened to send natural-born U.S. citizens there.
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"Well, the Constitution is clear—and that of course is the supreme law of the land—that the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus can be suspended in a time of invasion," Miller told reporters at the White House. No foreign entity has invaded the United States since Japanese forces landed in the Aleutian Islands in the then-territory of Alaska during World War II.
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It wasn't just Democrats and Palestine defenders who cheered Sessions' ruling Friday. Billy Binion, who covers "all things injustice" for the libertarian website Reason, said on social media that the government's "entire case against her is that... she wrote an op-ed."
"Hard to overstate how bleak—and frankly embarrassing—it is that the Trump administration wants to jail and deport someone for speech," he continued. "In America."
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