{"id":9301,"date":"2009-06-30T09:06:59","date_gmt":"2009-06-30T14:06:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/karmalised.com\/?p=9301"},"modified":"2009-06-30T09:06:59","modified_gmt":"2009-06-30T14:06:59","slug":"israel-attacks-justice-boat-kidnaps-human-rights-workers-confiscates-medicine-toys-and-olive-trees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/karmalised.com\/?p=9301","title":{"rendered":"ISRAEL ATTACKS JUSTICE BOAT; KIDNAPS HUMAN RIGHTS WORKERS; CONFISCATES MEDICINE, TOYS AND OLIVE TREES"},"content":{"rendered":"

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
\n30 June 2009<\/strong><\/p>\n

ISRAEL ATTACKS JUSTICE BOAT; KIDNAPS HUMAN RIGHTS WORKERS; CONFISCATES MEDICINE, TOYS AND OLIVE TREES<\/strong><\/p>\n

For more information contact:
\nGreta Berlin (English)
\ntel: +357 99 081 767 \/ friends@freegaza.org<\/strong><\/p>\n

Caoimhe Butterly (Arabic\/English\/Spanish):
\ntel: +357 99 077 820 \/ sahara78@hotmail.co.uk
\nwww.FreeGaza.org<\/a>
\n<\/strong>
\n[23 miles off the coast of Gaza, 15:30pm]<\/strong> – Today Israeli Occupation Forces attacked and boarded the Free Gaza Movement boat, the SPIRIT OF HUMANITY, abducting 21 human rights workers from 11 countries, including Noble laureate Mairead Maguire and former U.S. Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney (see below for a complete list of passengers). The passengers and crew are being forcibly dragged toward Israel.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is an outrageous violation of international law against us. Our boat was not in Israeli waters, and we were on a human rights mission to the Gaza Strip,\u201d said Cynthia McKinney, a former U.S. Congresswoman and presidential candidate. \u201cPresident Obama just told Israel to let in humanitarian and reconstruction supplies, and that\u2019s exactly what we tried to do. We’re asking the international community to demand our release so we can resume our journey.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

According to an International Committee of the Red Cross report released yesterday, the Palestinians living in Gaza are \u201ctrapped in despair.\u201d Thousands of Gazans whose homes were destroyed earlier during Israel\u2019s December\/January massacre are still without shelter despite pledges of almost $4.5 billion in aid, because Israel refuses to allow cement and other building material into the Gaza Strip. The report also notes that hospitals are struggling to meet the needs of their patients due to Israel\u2019s disruption of medical supplies.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe aid we were carrying is a symbol of hope for the people of Gaza, hope that the sea route would open for them, and they would be able to transport their own materials to begin to reconstruct the schools, hospitals and thousands of homes destroyed during the onslaught of “Cast Lead\u201d. Our mission is a gesture to the people of Gaza that we stand by them and that they are not alone” said fellow passenger Mairead Maguire, winner of a Noble Peace Prize for her work in Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n

Just before being kidnapped by Israel, Huwaida Arraf, Free Gaza Movement chairperson and delegation co-coordinator on this voyage, stated that: \u201cNo one could possibly believe that our small boat constitutes any sort of threat to Israel. We carry\u00a0 medical and reconstruction supplies, and children\u2019s toys. Our passengers include a Nobel peace prize laureate and a former U.S. congressperson. Our boat was searched and received a security clearance by Cypriot Port Authorities before we departed, and at no time did we ever approach Israeli waters.\u201d<\/p>\n

Arraf continued, \u201cIsrael\u2019s deliberate and premeditated attack on our unarmed boat is a clear violation of international law and we demand our immediate and unconditional release.\u201d
\n###<\/p>\n

WHAT YOU CAN DO!<\/p>\n

CONTACT the Israeli Ministry of Justice
\ntel: +972 2646 6666 or +972 2646 6340
\nfax: +972 2646 6357<\/p>\n

CONTACT the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs
\ntel: +972 2530 3111
\nfax: +972 2530 3367<\/p>\n

CONTACT Mark Regev in the Prime Minister’s office at:
\ntel: +972 5 0620 3264 or +972 2670 5354
\nmark.regev@it.pmo.gov.il<\/p>\n

CONTACT the International Committee of the Red Cross to ask for their assistance in establishing the wellbeing of the kidnapped human rights workers and help in securing their immediate release!<\/p>\n

Red Cross Israel
\ntel: +972 3524 5286
\nfax: +972 3527 0370
\ntel_aviv.tel@icrc.org<\/p>\n

Red Cross Switzerland:
\ntel: +41 22 730 3443
\nfax: +41 22 734 8280<\/p>\n

Red Cross USA:
\ntel: +1 212 599 6021
\nfax: +1 212 599 6009
\n###<\/p>\n

Kidnapped Passengers from the Spirit of Humanity include:<\/p>\n

Khalad Abdelkader, Bahrain
\nKhalad is an engineer representing the Islamic Charitable Association of Bahrain.<\/p>\n

Othman Abufalah, Jordan
\nOthman is a world-renowned journalist with al-Jazeera TV.<\/p>\n

Khaled Al-Shenoo, Bahrain
\nKhaled is a lecturer with the University of Bahrain.<\/p>\n

Mansour Al-Abi, Yemen
\nMansour is a cameraman with Al-Jazeera TV.<\/p>\n

Fatima Al-Attawi, Bahrain
\nFatima is a relief worker and community activist from Bahrain.<\/p>\n

Juhaina Alqaed, Bahrain
\nJuhaina is a journalist & human rights activist.<\/p>\n

Huwaida Arraf, US
\nHuwaida is the Chair of the Free Gaza Movement and delegation co-coordinator for this voyage.<\/p>\n

Ishmahil Blagrove, UK
\nIshmahil 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.<\/p>\n

Kaltham Ghloom, Bahrain
\nKaltham is a community activist.<\/p>\n

Derek Graham, Ireland
\nDerek Graham is an electrician, Free Gaza organizer, and first mate aboard the Spirit of Humanity.<\/p>\n

Alex Harrison, UK
\nAlex is a solidarity worker from Britain. She is traveling to Gaza to do long-term human rights monitoring.<\/p>\n

Denis Healey, UK
\nDenis is Captain of the Spirit of Humanity. This will be his fifth voyage to Gaza.<\/p>\n

Fathi Jaouadi, UK
\nFathi is a British journalist, Free Gaza organizer, and delegation co-coordinator for this voyage.<\/p>\n

Mairead Maguire, Ireland
\nMairead is a Nobel laureate and renowned peace activist.<\/p>\n

Lubna Masarwa, Palestine\/Israel
\nLubna is a Palestinian human rights activist and Free Gaza organizer.<\/p>\n

Theresa McDermott, Scotland
\nTheresa is a solidarity worker from Scotland. She is traveling to Gaza to do long-term human rights monitoring.<\/p>\n

Cynthia McKinney, US
\nCynthia McKinney is an outspoken advocate for human rights and social justice issues, as well as a former U.S. congressperson and presidential candidate.<\/p>\n

Adnan Mormesh, UK
\nAdnan is a solidarity worker from Britain. He is traveling to Gaza to do long-term human rights monitoring.<\/p>\n

Adam Qvist, Denmark
\nAdam is a solidarity worker from Denmark. He is traveling to Gaza to do human rights monitoring.<\/p>\n

Adam Shapiro, US
\nAdam is an American documentary film maker and human rights activist.<\/p>\n

Kathy Sheetz, US
\nKathy is a nurse and film maker, traveling to Gaza to do human rights monitoring.
\n###<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 30 June 2009 ISRAEL ATTACKS JUSTICE BOAT; KIDNAPS HUMAN RIGHTS WORKERS; CONFISCATES MEDICINE, TOYS AND OLIVE TREES For more information contact: Greta Berlin (English) tel: +357 99 081 767 \/ friends@freegaza.org Caoimhe Butterly (Arabic\/English\/Spanish): tel: +357 99 … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9301","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pdXTf-2q1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/karmalised.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9301","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/karmalised.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/karmalised.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/karmalised.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/karmalised.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9301"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/karmalised.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9301\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9305,"href":"http:\/\/karmalised.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9301\/revisions\/9305"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/karmalised.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9301"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/karmalised.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9301"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/karmalised.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9301"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}