Radical Help is on the Way…
International Solidarity Movement and “Free Gaza” Group to launch attempt to sail ships to Gaza Coast.
The radical Pro-Palestinian International Solitary Movement (ISM) has announced a new “Free Gaza Campaign”, in conjunction with unnamed Palestinian NGOs, which will feature an attempt by up to 100 members and volunteers from a variety of nations to “sail from Cyprus to Gaza in 2 to 6 seagoing vessels of 12 to 60 passengers each.” The publicity stunt is planned for August 15, but the group says it may be changed depending upon “funding, logistics, weather and other factors.” As European scholar and commentator Emanuele Ottolenghi has noted (”The Sound of Silence,” Transatlantic Institute), ISM has failed to comment on recent Palestinian deaths at the hands of Lebanese soldiers, or of fellow Palestinians in Gaza. Instead, ISM has decided to go ahead with a plan which it estimates will cost over US$300,000. The likely outcome, as ISM admits, is that the Israeli navy will intercept this motley flotilla of vessels due to security concerns. Considering the deteriorating situation of ordinary Palestinian civilians in the Gaza, wouldn’t this large sum perhaps be better directed toward food, medical supplies, and other aid? The ISM is embarking on a transparent attempt to provoke the Israeli Navy into a confrontation for pure publicity value. The ISM fiddles while Gaza burns.
