July, 01 2011, 04:00pm EDT
Israeli Official Does Not Deny Sabotage Allegations Against Gaza Flotilla * Reports of U.S. Green Light for Violence
The Jerusalem Post reports: "The Greek Coast Guard has now stopped the U.S. boat [The Audacity of Hope is attempting to go to Gaza in spite of an Israeli siege] and is demanding that they return to the Port of Athens." Passengers on the boat are tweeting regular updates: "Captain explaining to Coast Guard it's not safe for U.S. boat in Greek ports, as others were sabotaged & Netanyhau thanked Greek PM #flotilla2'' @usboattogaza
WASHINGTON
The Jerusalem Post reports: "The Greek Coast Guard has now stopped the U.S. boat [The Audacity of Hope is attempting to go to Gaza in spite of an Israeli siege] and is demanding that they return to the Port of Athens." Passengers on the boat are tweeting regular updates: "Captain explaining to Coast Guard it's not safe for U.S. boat in Greek ports, as others were sabotaged & Netanyhau thanked Greek PM #flotilla2'' @usboattogaza
This morning on Democracy Now Ido Aharoni, consul general of Israel in New York, refused to deny Israel's role in sabotage against the boats in the flotilla, which includes the U.S. boat.
ADAM SHAPIRO, adamsop at gmail.com
HUWAIDA ARRAF, huwaida.arraf at gmail.com
An organizer with the Free Gaza Movement, Shapiro said today: "The blockade against Gaza now apparently extends to Greece." Arraf is chair of the Free Gaza Movement and member of the Freedom Flotilla Steering Committee.
The following are among those currently on The Audacity of Hope as it attempts to go from Greece to Gaza:
RAY McGOVERN, rrmcgovern at gmail.com, via Robert Naiman, naiman.uiuc at gmail.com or via Kate Gould, kate at justforeignpolicy.org
YONATAN SHAPIRA, KATHY KELLY, ALICE WALKER, HEDY EPSTEIN, GRETA BERLIN, ANN WRIGHT, microann at yahoo.com,https://ustogaza.org
Contact via Felice Gelman, rosahill at gmail.com, In New York: Donna Nevel, denevel at gmail.com
McGovern, a former CIA analyst, is part of the U.S. contingent hoping to break the Israeli blockade and read Gaza. He recently wrote the article "Gaza: Cradle of Killing" in which he sates: "I also have been cautioned by a source with access to very senior staffers at the National Security Council that not only does the White House plan to do absolutely nothing to protect our boat from Israeli attack or illegal boarding, but that White House officials 'would be happy if something happened to us.' They are, I am reliably told, 'perfectly willing to have the cold corpses of activists shown on American TV.'"
A nationwide consortium, the Institute for Public Accuracy (IPA) represents an unprecedented effort to bring other voices to the mass-media table often dominated by a few major think tanks. IPA works to broaden public discourse in mainstream media, while building communication with alternative media outlets and grassroots activists.
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