SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
We're Almost Ready to Sail to Gaza
May 07, 2010
We're
almost ready. Our vessels are being loaded with construction materials,
specialized medical equipment, generators, pre-fab homes, water
filtration units, and school supplies for the children. Israel allows
only 81 items into Gaza, forcing the people to use tunnels to bring in
supplies, barely keeping their economy at subsistence level.
When asked why they refuse to allow supplies into Gaza, Israeli authorities stated, "If we disclose what is allowed in and why... it would damage our national security and harm foreign relations." BBC, May 3, 2010
Therefore,
we intend to open a sea route that will belong to the Palestinians.
Gaza is the only territory on the Mediterranean that has no right to
its sea, no right to fish more than a mile off its coast, no right to
send out its flowers, vegetables and fruit for trade to other nations.
Israel's cruel blockade has shut 1.5 million Palestinians into an
open-air prison, allowing only a trickle of aid through.
We
cannot stand by and watch the people slowly starve and lose hope. Since
our governments appear to be impotent, we civilians from around the
world are stepping up instead.
We
carry the hopes and dreams and prayers of thousands who have supported
us over these past ten months, and we take those well wishes with us to
the people of Gaza.
So
for the next few weeks as we finish loading supplies and passengers, we
will upload messages and well wishes like this one. Watch for them and
send your own wish to us. Become a part of this citizen's initiative by
joining our Newslist, TWITTER account, Facebook page and YouTube list,
all on the front page of our website.
Write to your representatives demanding they put Israel on notice for our safety and the safety of our cargo.
Then watch our journey from the live feed on our website at www.freegaza.org beginning soon.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
We're
almost ready. Our vessels are being loaded with construction materials,
specialized medical equipment, generators, pre-fab homes, water
filtration units, and school supplies for the children. Israel allows
only 81 items into Gaza, forcing the people to use tunnels to bring in
supplies, barely keeping their economy at subsistence level.
When asked why they refuse to allow supplies into Gaza, Israeli authorities stated, "If we disclose what is allowed in and why... it would damage our national security and harm foreign relations." BBC, May 3, 2010
Therefore,
we intend to open a sea route that will belong to the Palestinians.
Gaza is the only territory on the Mediterranean that has no right to
its sea, no right to fish more than a mile off its coast, no right to
send out its flowers, vegetables and fruit for trade to other nations.
Israel's cruel blockade has shut 1.5 million Palestinians into an
open-air prison, allowing only a trickle of aid through.
We
cannot stand by and watch the people slowly starve and lose hope. Since
our governments appear to be impotent, we civilians from around the
world are stepping up instead.
We
carry the hopes and dreams and prayers of thousands who have supported
us over these past ten months, and we take those well wishes with us to
the people of Gaza.
So
for the next few weeks as we finish loading supplies and passengers, we
will upload messages and well wishes like this one. Watch for them and
send your own wish to us. Become a part of this citizen's initiative by
joining our Newslist, TWITTER account, Facebook page and YouTube list,
all on the front page of our website.
Write to your representatives demanding they put Israel on notice for our safety and the safety of our cargo.
Then watch our journey from the live feed on our website at www.freegaza.org beginning soon.
We're
almost ready. Our vessels are being loaded with construction materials,
specialized medical equipment, generators, pre-fab homes, water
filtration units, and school supplies for the children. Israel allows
only 81 items into Gaza, forcing the people to use tunnels to bring in
supplies, barely keeping their economy at subsistence level.
When asked why they refuse to allow supplies into Gaza, Israeli authorities stated, "If we disclose what is allowed in and why... it would damage our national security and harm foreign relations." BBC, May 3, 2010
Therefore,
we intend to open a sea route that will belong to the Palestinians.
Gaza is the only territory on the Mediterranean that has no right to
its sea, no right to fish more than a mile off its coast, no right to
send out its flowers, vegetables and fruit for trade to other nations.
Israel's cruel blockade has shut 1.5 million Palestinians into an
open-air prison, allowing only a trickle of aid through.
We
cannot stand by and watch the people slowly starve and lose hope. Since
our governments appear to be impotent, we civilians from around the
world are stepping up instead.
We
carry the hopes and dreams and prayers of thousands who have supported
us over these past ten months, and we take those well wishes with us to
the people of Gaza.
So
for the next few weeks as we finish loading supplies and passengers, we
will upload messages and well wishes like this one. Watch for them and
send your own wish to us. Become a part of this citizen's initiative by
joining our Newslist, TWITTER account, Facebook page and YouTube list,
all on the front page of our website.
Write to your representatives demanding they put Israel on notice for our safety and the safety of our cargo.
Then watch our journey from the live feed on our website at www.freegaza.org beginning soon.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.