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Swim With Gaza

Great opportunity to join our friends in Gaza by swimming on or before August 26th. Take a video of yourself and friends to show your solidarity for human rights for the people in Gaza. Go to swimwithgaza.com to be registered on the world map, get a T shirt, and or donate for swim lessons for children in Gaza.

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Handala Completes Its 2023 Sailing

Handala in Bristol

The Freedom Flotilla 2023 took to the seas again in a 58-foot converted Norwegian fishing boat called Handala! Halted by COVID for a few years, the Gaza Freedom Flotilla sailed this summer in northern Europe. With port visits in Norway, the UK, Netherlands, Germany, Denmark and Sweden the Freedom Flotilla Coalition did educational events with local Palestinian solidarity organizers. In 2024, Handala will sail to Gaza with educational port visits in Europe and the Mediterranean with a final push to Gaza to break the illegal Israeli blockade!

Handala in Scotland

Handala has handled the sea well, coming across the North Sea in high seas from Oslo to Scotland in mid-June. A 200-year old broken bridge in the Caledonian Canal in the Scottish Highlands halted her progress for several days, but the crew was warmly welcomed by all who passed the locks! Unfortunately, the delay caused cancellation of stops in Glasgow, Dublin and Waterford, but Freedom Flotilla members and local Palestine Solidarity groups held wonderful and well-attended events in the other stops.

One silver lining from being stuck at Laggan Locks in Scotland, was meeting a captain from Inverness, more than an hour away. He is a member of a Palestinian solidarity group and was thrilled to meet us. By great fortune, when he learned Handala needed a captain for an upcoming leg of our trip he introduced us to one! He was both an excellent captain and engineer!

So many have supported the journey along the way. A doctor in Fort William, Scotland graciously brought us multiple dinners and groceries. He has done medical training in Gaza, the West Bank, and Rwanda. A merchant along the canal gave crew members free dinners when he learned about Handala and our efforts to break Israel’s illegal blockade.

Border police

Four Scottish border police officers came aboard in the middle of Scotland, divided us, interrogated the crew and inspected the boat. A local told us that in all the years he had worked there he’d never seen the border police come. It turned out to be a great way to attract local attention and solidarity!

Throughout the UK, local Palestine Solidarity Campaigns (PSCs) have been great. We were greeted in Liverpool by the local PSC who had organized events where local officials, firefighters, union organizers, and others spoke about their solidarity work for Palestine. We also had an event at the oldest mosque in Britain where Alex McDonald from Houston, a US Boats to Gaza steering committee member spoke after prayers; later we were part of a panel in an event at a local church. The outreach in Liverpool was excellent!

Cardiff PSC also welcomed us as we approached the lock. Seeing banners and Palestinian solidarity signs in both English and Welsh was impressive! As soon as Handala docked, a local TV station interviewed captain Clive Haswell in Welsh and later he had an English radio interview on BBC. Good exposure for the campaign!

Cardiff organized a demonstration downtown in response to the violent attack on the Jenin refugee camp by more than a thousand Israeli troops. We marched with their solidarity group through the town to the BBC offices to deliver a letter condemning their biased coverage of the Israeli/Palestinian situation.

March in Cardiff

There have been further stops in Bristol and Southampton England as well as Rotterdam, Hamburg, Copenhagen, Halmstad, Gothenburg, and Oslo.

US Boats to Gaza was well represented in the flotilla’s crew. Alex McDonald and Tighe Barry sailed with Handala from Oslo, through Scotland. Alex continued to Cardiff and Bristol. Ann Wright was part of the ground crew in Liverpool. Kit Kittredge and Keith Meyers represented the Freedom Flotilla at the events in Waterford, Ireland. All US Boats to Gaza volunteers paid their own expenses and we have incredible gratitude for their efforts.

Thank you for your continuing support in raising awareness of the situation in Gaza, and in holding our governments accountable for their complicity in the violations of Palestinian human rights! We join together globally to let Palestinians know that they are not forgotten or alone!

Panel in Rotterdam
Panel Q&A session in Rotterdam

You can see more details of each of the port visits (including pictures and videos) at: https://freedomflotilla.org/freedom-flotilla-ports/

or some inspiring photos on the Facebook https://www.facebook.com/FreedomFlotillaCoalition/ and https://twitter.com/GazaFFlotilla.

Please continue to donate to the 2024 Gaza Flotilla through our US Boats to Gaza donation link.

Handala Completes Its 2023 Sailing Read More »

Holding Our Ground: Resisting Colonialism and Environmental Destruction

Join us Sunday April 3 at noon ET to hear about indigenous peoples in British Columbia and Palestine and how history, culture and needs of the iColonization and Environmental destructionndigenous people take a back seat to the land’s resources for colonizers.  More information at: https://mideastcrisis2.blogspot.com/2022/03/zoom-panel-on-holding-our-ground.html.

Register at: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUucOqgpz4rHN2qPEXaBBHd6xzC38A8N3ug

Event co-sponsored by: Jewish Voice for Peace – Hudson Valley, Middle East Crisis Respons, NYC Veterans for Peace, US Boats to Gaza, Women in Black – New Paltz.

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Join us at All The Walls Must Fall March 25-28, 2022

All the Walls Must Fall

 Please join us in “All The Walls Must Fall Conference”    https://www.allthewallsmustfall.com/

on March 25-28, 2022, to explore the realities, the struggles, and the vision we must mobilize around, so that walls indeed fall, connecting our lives and similarities despite the thousands of miles of distance.

From the US/Mexico border to the borders around Palestine – walls and militarization, dispossession of lands and cultural genocide, brutality and murder, mass detentions and lack of rights, forced migration and criminalization, environmental damage – these and other shared abuses, have all defined these experiences.

All The Walls Must Fall group

Members of US Boats to Gaza at the “All the Walls Must Fall” action.

All The Walls Must Fall 1

Join us at All The Walls Must Fall March 25-28, 2022 Read More »

US Boats to Gaza Ambulance in Service in Gaza

Ambulance and Gaza patient

US Boats to Gaza ambulance

We are excited to see the ambulance US Boats to Gaza purchased with other Freedom Flotilla Coalition members and coordinated by member Kia Ora Gaza from New Zealand!  Thank you to Miles of Smiles whose people were responsible for making this extremely complex process of getting vans converted into ambulances and transported to and allowed into Gaza.  And thank you to all who donated to US Boats to Gaza to make this dream become a reality!

More information in The Palestine Chronicle.

 

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Ambulances Arrive in Gaza!

Congratulations to Miles of Smiles and MEDICs Worldwide on such a monumental task of outfitting 37 ambulances and getting them across the Sinai, through the Rafah border crossing…and finally into Gaza!!!

We are so glad our US Boats to Gaza and other FFC national campaigns were a part of this!!

Thank you to all who contributed to this important effort!

 

Following are some pictures of the ambulances as they arrived.

Unloading the 27 ambulances on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing.
The ambulances enter Gaza.
The 1st ambulance passes through the Gaza border control.
The ‘Peace Train’ of ambulances head to their respective health care providers to serve the pressing needs of the people in the Gaza Strip.
WANN accepting certificate
We Are Not Numbers accepting the certificate of thanks for the Freedom Flotilla Coalition.
Certificate of thanks
Certificate of thanks to the Freedom Flotilla Coalition

Gaza Freedom Flotilla ambulance

US Boats to Gaza ambulance

Ambulances Arrive in Gaza! Read More »

A Little Perspective

With the recent uproar over the US Border Patrol treatment of Haitian refugees on the US-Mexico border, US Boats to Gaza deemed it appropriate to highlight how much worse the treatment is on the separation fence between Israel and Gaza.  As Americans who support the Israeli military with over $3.8 billion per year, we are unfortunately complicit in not only the abuse but also the murder of innocent civilians.  We decided to create a short video clip with a lot of help from our Canadian Freedom Flotilla Coalition partner to help Americans understand what we are supporting and protecting.  Here is the video clip:

 

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Contact Congress to Reject Criminalization of Civil Society Orgs

Israeli Defense Ministry’s military order issued October 19th designates six Palestinian civil society organizations as “terrorist” groups,” effectively outlawing their work.  The organizations are…
These are groups that have been working for decades to protect and advance Palestinian rights for children, women, prisoners, farmers and more. They are groups that many of us and our friends have worked with through the years. Al Haq, for example, has an internship program named for Rachel Corrie, and our friends Cindy and Craig Corrie have visited their office in Ramallah when they launched this.
Twenty-three Israeli human and legal rights organizations have called the Israeli government action a “Draconian measure against human rights.” Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have called this an “appalling and unjust decision” and “an attack by the Israeli government on the international human rights movement.” They further say that how we, as part of the international community, respond will be a true test of our resolve to protect human rights defenders.
It’s critical that we act now! Representative Betty McCollum (MN) introduced a House Resolution condemning the Israeli government action, and calling for a response from the State Department.  The original House cosponsors are Rep. Rashida Tlaib (MI-13), Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14), Rep. Raúl Grijalva (AZ-03), Rep. Andre Carson (IN-03), Rep. Ilhan Omar (MN-05), Rep. Marie Newman (IL-03), Rep. Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), Rep. Cori Bush (MO-01), and Rep. Chuy Garcia (IL-04).
It’s critical that many of us contact our representatives in the U.S. House and ask (demand) that they sign on to this resolution.  We recommend that you call your House member’s DC or district office and/or email to them through their websites.  Alternatively, you may respond in a message through JVP-Action.
The information you may want and need about Rep. McCollum’s resolution and about the organizations targeted by Israel can be found in this press release from Rep. McCollum’s office and in the newly introduced resolution itself.  Also, read Rep. McCollum’s statement  issued when the resolution was introduced today.
  • Tell your Representative to cosponsor the House Resolution introduced by Rep. McCollum “Condemning the repressive designation by the Government of Israel of six prominent Palestinian human rights and civil society groups as terrorist organizations.”
  • Tell your Representative how you feel about the Israeli government’s action against these Palestinian organizations.
  • Tell your representative to reject Israel’s criminalization of Palestinian civil society organizations as “terrorists” and to pressure Israel to revoke the designation.
  • Leave your contact info and ask for a response from your representative.
While there’s no similar measure in the U.S. Senate, there’s still a need for our Washington Senators to hear from us on this matter.  So please find the time to call and/or email their offices, too, telling them that they must reject Israel’s criminalization of Palestinian civil society organizations as “terrorists” and must pressure Israel to revoke the designation.
 
Please let WAPR know if you have questions: Email: WAPalestinianRights@gmail.com
It’s also heartening and helpful if you shoot them an email to let them know you’ve taken action and about any response you receive.
Thank you!

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FFC Ambulance Purchase !

July 2021: Miles of Smiles is preparing 25 new ambulances Ambulance bound for Gaza in Egypt to travel together soon as an international solidarity convoy to boost Gaza’s severely crippled health services devastated by Israel’s repeated bombardments and 14 year siege.

This $2 million humanitarian aid mission, the 39th convoy organized by Miles of Smiles, is supported by organizations from 15 countries, including the Freedom Flotilla Coalition and US Boats to Gaza. The first stage, Dr Mustafa in ambulancecomprising a fleet of large trucks packed with urgently needed medical supplies and equipment, is on its way to Gaza. The 25 ambulances are due to follow starting in late July.

The convoy organizers thank supporters around the world, including FFC and US Boats to Gaza who made the ambulance purchase possible.

 

The ‘Peace Train’ and the ‘Miles of Smiles’ solidarity convoy of 27 new, fully-equipped ambulances arrived in Gaza on November 8th, 2021.  Here is a video compilation of the ambulances arriving at the Egyptian-Gaza border.

 

Following are some pictures of the ambulances as they arrived.

Unloading the 27 ambulances on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing.
The ambulances enter Gaza.
The 1st ambulance passes through the Gaza border control.
The ‘Peace Train’ of ambulances head to their respective health care providers to serve the pressing needs of the people in the Gaza Strip.

FFC Ambulance Purchase ! Read More »

Help Send an Ambulance to Gaza!

20 modern, fully-equipped ambulances are now being prepared in Cairo for the 2021 ‘Miles of Smiles’ international convoy to Gaza. These ambulances will give a huge boost to Gaza’s struggling medical services seriously devastated by Israel’s heavy bombing raids last month.

US Boats to Gaza is raising funds towards sponsoring one of these ambulances, which costs $45,000 fully-fitted.

Please support our urgent appeal for this important practical solidarity mission, and share this post.

How to donate:   PLEASE CLICK HERE TO DONATE NOW

Thank you!

Help Send an Ambulance to Gaza! Read More »