Muslim extremists kill journalists. Palestinian activists blame Israel

The civilized world is reeling in horror from the deaths of 12 today in Paris. The attack on the French satirical weekly newspaper journal Charlie Hebdo , which dared to run cartoons deemed offensive to Islam has shocked the world, with hundreds of thousands gathering in solidarity with the murdered cartoonists. Gunmen, armed with a Kalashnikov and a rocket launcher stormed into the paper's offices killing four of the magazine's founding cartoonists , and wounding 11 others,  four of whom remain in critical condition.

It did not take long for anti-Israel activists to blame the attacks on, you guessed it- Israel. Mary Hughes-Thomson and Greta Berlin, the extremist founders of the Free Gaza organization, both used social media to push their latest version of "its always the Jews"

In the meanwhile  French police have taken Hamyd Mourad, 18, into custody after he surrendered to authorities. The two other suspects in the attack,  French-born brothers, Said and Cherif Kouachi, both in their 30s, remain at large.
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Greta Berlin and Freedom Stitchers: Leaving us in Stitches, once again.

June 4, 2013,  the second Palestinian Cultural day was met with yawns  in Alameda County.  Some of us just couldn't help wondering- if the Palestinians claim a 2,000 year connection to the Holy land, and the Jews claim a 4,000 year heritage, can we finally take this as a formal admission that the Palestinians are interlopers and that the Jews are the natives?

The mention of handicrafts as a hallmark of Palestinian culture is also fascinating, in light of a recent email sent out by a trio of  women,  Sinead MacLochlainn, Mary Hughes Thompson and Greta Berlin.  (The ethically challenged Greta Berlin may be best known for a series of bizarre and anti-Semitic tweets, followed by a series of even more bizarre excuses, documented at Storify by Avi Mayer. She has also gleefully admitted writing fraudulent press releases)    

From an email sent by Greta Berlin. 

Announcing the launch of the “Freedom Stitchers” project to help create self-sufficiency for marginalized and jobless women in Gaza.

The “Freedom Stitchers” project begins in Gaza, late summer/early autumn 2013

“Freedom Stitchers” will be a sustainable project to assist the women of Gaza in creating handcrafted items that can then be exported and sold to generate a small income for the women who participate. This micro-business is based on the idea that Palestinian women possess their own unique artistic and design skills, but they need a process to sell their finished products to the world, (with a little help from their friends at “Freedom Stitchers.”)  We therefore intend to help set up this business for women in Gaza to market not only their exquisite embroidery, but to also enhance their artistic skills by teaching them how to knit, crochet, do silk ribbon embroidery, beadwork, felting, and other types of hand stitching for textile art which can then be sold.The three of us organizers, Sinead MacLochlainn, Mary Hughes Thompson and Greta Berlin are long-time activists for justice in Palestine. You can read more about us on our bio page and on the website at freedomstitchers.org then donate what you can to make this project work. Indiegogo accepts credit cards and PayPal or you can send a donation to the bank in Ireland. It's listed in the website above.You all stepped up and donated for the boats. No matter how big or small the donation, this project is also worthy of your support. Once Mary, Sinead and I set up the micro-business, we will step back and provide support as needed. Everyone says it is not possible to organize a micro business in Gaza. But they said the same thing about sending boats. The boats could not have happened without all of you. Make this project happen!

Greta Berlin, Co-Founder, the Free Gaza movementEditor, Freedom Sailors

If Palestinian textile arts are an established part of the local culture, why are American and European women arrogantly proposing  the need to enhance the skills of local women by " teaching them how to knit, crochet, do silk ribbon embroidery, beadwork, felting, and other types of hand stitching for textile art? "  If these women of privilege are so concerned about the marginalized women of Gaza, what are they doing to mitigate the adverse effects of polygamy?  Under-aged marriages? What are they doing to encourage women to challenge the misogynist Hamas regime?

Inquiring minds are wondering, Greta.....

Greta Berlin and Friends Berkeley hate fest part 2

Guest post by Emunah

“Once in a while you can get shown the light, in the strangest of places if you look at it right’

An hour and a half of just listening to accusations of organ theft, of not being “real Semites”, of rich and powerful Jews controlling information and government was personally exhausting.  This  glimpse into the dark soul of anti-Israel activism revealed, as suspected, a core of  festering anti-Semitism.

It wasn't a surprise.  It wasn't just Greta Berlin’s now infamous tweet, or the cover-up that changed day to day. It wasn’t her step daughter Ava’s admission about the depth of Greta’s hatred .  For me, years of observing the seething anti-Semitism on the streets- and the silence of those who stood by exposed the “peace” movement for what it really was.

Illumination came to the Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists in the unexpected form of a young Occupy activist, “Beth”.  Beth had been invited to the Fellowship by Janet Kobren, a flotilla participant, currently active in Occupy. Beth was invited with the expectation that she  “might learn something”.

Beth  spoke during the Question and Answer  period.

 “Hi. I appreciate all the work that is being done on behest  of the Palestinians. But I came here on the behest of Janet. She thought that I might learn things that I didn't know. I didn't learn anything that I didn't already know.  And I support the Palestinians. I support BDS. I support the flotilla. But recently there was an incident where someone in this room wrote on our non-violent list serve, that all Jews are immoral and that all Jews are secret Zionists... “

( At this point, Joseph Anderson, an audience member began screaming   "Not true, not true” )

She continued

 “... there is a danger of the mainstream  media goes totally to the right and defends Israel to no end, and won't point out any of the issues, but there is a problem on the left of going so far that anyone one who is even - when you talk about a 1 state solution, I have not heard of the particulars of how two groups, who are in this conflict and hate each other for 60 years are going to live side by side. And I've heard also there are many states that have divided into ethnic countries. Now I'm accused of being a Zionist, of being a Zionist, for saying that I believe a 2 state solution, is a better solution. So, what I'm saying is if you want the Jews to support the Palestinians,  you can't deny the history of the anti-Semitism, that started when Jesus was labeled as killed by the Jews. “

Joseph’s response ?  A variation on the theme of “all my best friends are Jews” , He then accused the young woman of being a plant and an agent provocateur .

Full disclosure:  Joseph Anderson (posting as JA on the various Indymedia sites) was alleged to have written a rant, justifying the collective punishment of the Jewish people worldwide:

“Personally, I *EXULT* everytime I see an Israeli Jew bite the dust. And the same goes for their American cousins! EVERY SINGLE JEW EVERYWHERE IN THE WORLD is a just and appropriate target for anti-colonialist liberation! We need to start targeting *EVERY* synagogue, *EVERY* Jew community center, school and everywhere else that you racist devils preach and propogate your agenda.
BOUT  TO MEET YO MAKER, JEWBOY? HA, HA HA!!!!!!!!!!”

There are people on all sides of the political spectrum that question his mental stability

He began:

 “.. First of all, I come from a people that also suffered for centuries at the hands of Christians and often Jews. And no amount of suffering entitles anyone to go take, dispossess or be given  the land of another people.... Second of all, let me say I've had anti-Zionist, Jewish roommates and friends for at least 20 years. My first roommate was an anti-Zionist Jew. I've been friends with a majority of Jews in this room, for quite some time. So, for you to say, that I called all Jews immoral, is patently ridiculous. So, for my question, you know Malcom X said about the false accusation of anti-Semitism is that' that stick don't hurt me' and that's how I've conducted myself. And ironically I've been very rarely called an anti-Semite because, if Zionists tried to do something, I don't care. The other thing we have to realize with regard to the enforcement arm of the Lobby, if I were in charge of that, I would send people out on the left, to work on the left.”

 Beth attempted to have her voice  heard. Again.  She was under the impression that this was meant to be a discussion of anti-Semitism and Zionism

“This is supposed to be on anti-Semitism and Zionism… you are not allowing… to speak…You've had 3 speakers for an hour on 1 perspective and the one person who has a different… you wouldn't let speak for more than a minute.”

Alison dismissed her . “This happens frequently. There will be one person that thinks that they are entitled. That they are more important than everybody else in the whole room.”

Soon the audience joined in the attacks- threatening to call the police on her.

One patronizingly demanded, “Will you be quiet miss?”

“No. I will not,” she answered.  “Because this has been stacked with the Palestinian perspective.”

Greta Berlin, Alison Weir and Jeff Blankfort at the Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian  Universalists Oct 18, 2012.  Where Beth, a sensitive and involved Occupy activist learns that “groupthink” is alive and well on the fringe left, and that for them, "justice" means  "Just us".

Greta Berlin and friends: Berkeley hate-fest

(Guest post by DrMike and Emunah)

Berkeley, the home of the Free Speech Movement, is a city known for its devotion to various liberal/radical causes.  But those who preached against war and prejudice might well wonder what has happened when an otherwise liberal church has aligned itself with raw anti-Semitism.  

The Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists brought the notorious anti-Semite Gilad Atzmon to town a few years ago  and faced a community protest.  A supporter of Atzmon showed up with a Hassan Nasrallah  shirt and a  Hamas flag. Nasrallah has called for the genocide of the Jewish people, saying  “If they (Jews) all gather in Israel, it will save us the trouble of going after them worldwide. (Daily Star, Oct. 23, 2002)  Since when is incitement to genocide a Unitarian value?   Atzmon delivered as expected- and people left his talk in tears, upset by his intolerance and hatred.  Can't say that we didn't warn them. 

Attorney Stephen Pearcy is wearing ashirt featuring Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the militant group Hezbollah,  who has  commented: “If we searched the entire world for a person more cowardly, despicable, weak and feeble in psyche, mind, ideology and religion, we would not find anyone like the Jew. Notice I do not say the Israeli.”

Now one might think that after this fiasco that the BFUU had learned its lesson.  Apparently, though, they have decided that promotion of anti-Semitism is one of their values.  In the wake of the Greta Berlin controversy, in which the leader of the Free Gaza Movement was found to have repeatedly and deliberately promoted Holocaust denial and Nazi propaganda, Berlin found herself unwelcome not only across the internet but also in person.  When the likes of Ali Abunimah, Jewish Voice for Peace and Students for Justice in Palestine--who promote vicious lies about Israel and compare Gazans to Jewish victims of the Nazis-- denounce you for anti-Semitism, you know you've gone way past the point of no return. So Berlin's speaking engagements to promote her book began to disappear.  Enter the BFUU, which decided to host Berlin after a well-respected bookstore in Marin County cancelled her appearance.  They weren't alone-- a Marin group called 14 Friends of Palestine, whose leader Jane Jewell has promoted a lame excuse that Berlin's computer was hacked and who also posts admiringly on Atzmon's website, came on board to co-sponsor the event.  Jane stood gleefully in the BUU, selling t-shirts and absorbing the hate.

Not content to have only Berlin speak, the BFUU then invited two other charter members of the "not only do we hate Israel, we're not so keen on Jews" club--Alison Weir  and Jeffrey Blankfort.  And they had the unmitigated gall to title the evening "On Zionism and Anti-Semitism".

Though Berlin was visibly disappointed that there were fewer than 2 dozen people in attendance, we're happy to help spread her words, as well as Weir's and Blankfort's, to a wider audience.  Because when confronted by Jew-hatred and lies, it's important to out, name and shame not only the perpetrators, but those who facilitate them.

On October 18 , the BFUU hosted Greta Berlin, Alison Weir and Jeff Blankfort in a talk on anti-Semitism and Zionism.  This is the first part of our summary of the talk

The BFUU’s own Rev. Ben Myers began the talk with a sincere blessing for dialog and communication. Rev Myers led the room in song evoking Rabbi Nachman of Breslav’s teaching that the whole world is a narrow bridge.  The main thing is to not to fear at all.   He left the hall before the speakers began.  It was a smart choice.

Greta’s handlers were very carefully not to let her speak about her most current outing as a card-carrying holocaust denier.  Greta’s time was limited to discussing her book “Freedom Sailors”., the story of the first blockade-running flotilla to Gaza.   She discussed the role of Texas Activist Riad Hamad in organizing the flotilla and  his $25,000 donation of matching funds to help buy the boat.  Its a generous amount of money for a middle school teacher to have at his disposal. She discussed how his suicide was inadvertently caught on camera, though she neglected to mention how he had clumsily taped his mouth and bound his hands together in an effort to implicate the “Zionists” in his death.  She discussed readily lying on her press releases in an effort to mislead the Israelis.  Greta’s world  appears to be truth optional- facts be damned if they don't advance her ideology.

Even before the flotilla departed there was trouble. Then as now, infighting plagued the anti-Israeli activists. Greta declared: 

“When the boats finally arrived on the 21st of August, nobody was talking to anybody else. Because we were mad at the Greeks. The Greeks hated the Americans. The Americans hated the Greeks. We had boat people vs. land people. If you get 2 activists in a room, you get 14 opinions.  If you get  44 activists in a room, you get a war, I'm not kidding.”

After arrival in Gaza, Greta described how “ the Palestinians took care of us for 5 days. “.

Greta Berlin greeting her minions in Gaza

 Indeed they did.  As Paul Larudee reported  in his talk on the flotilla in Hayward, a while back:

“It was a huge celebration. It was just amazing After that it was Palestinian hospitality run amok. They put us in the best hotels. They still have nice hotels there... The prime Minister and his entire cabinet invited us to dinner near his home...it was right after the Olympics you remember so he gave us all medals that said “Free Gaza”...one honor after the other....”    This was in what they allege is the world's largest outdoor prison, and an equivalent to Auschwitz

Free Gaza  and Ismail Haniyeh

 

 Greta is convinced of the success of her mission, saying  "We made them 3 promises before we left."

#1 - We would return.

#2 - We would take out Palestinians. And

#3    We would make sure that the world would know.

"And we have done all 3 of those. Gaza has been put on the map because of the Free Gaza Movement. Viva Palestina, the Global March to Jerusalem, the Gaza Freedom March. None of those would have happened had it not been for Free Gaza. "

Shhh. Don't tell Greta- all of those high profile publicity stunts have been abject failures.

Later:: Alison Weir on anti-Semitism

Leader of 14 Friends of Palestine Endorses Greta Berlin's Anti-Semitism

Cross-posted at Bluetruth   Written by our friend, Drmike


Anyone reading this post is likely already familiar with the sordid story of Greta Berlin, the co-founder of the Free Gaza Movement, whose ships of fools have brought extensive amounts of humanitarian supplies such as expired medications and used shoes in PR stunts to support the Hamas regime in Gaza.  If not, the short of it is that Berlin has been outed for tweeting a link to a video by the late, unlamented British Holocaust denier Eustace Mullins which claimed that the Zionists were the ones responsible for murdering millions of their fellow Jews in Europe. And if that wasn't enough, posting a 1943 Nazi propaganda film to her Facebook page. And if that wasn't enough, coming up with multiple different explanations for what she did, none of which held up under further examination.  All of these contortions have been extensive documented by Avi Mayer in a first post and then in a followup (readers should continue to hit "read next page" as they scroll to the bottom of his posts).

Once Berlin had provided an irrefutable example of the darkness of anti-Semitism that exists in the core of the anti-Israel movement, others in the movement faced a choice. They could support Berlin, a tireless supporter of the right of Palestinians to try to destroy the Jewish state by any means necessary; or they could denounce her anti-Semitism either on politically expedient grounds or because they were truly disgusted by her overt Jew-hatred.  (Of course, the fact is that it is indeed anti-Semitic to oppose the right of the Jewish people-- and only the Jewish people-- to their own national self-determination, and and to deploy lies equating Israel with Nazi Germany and apartheid South Africa.)

The breakdown of the actors in this drama is interesting:  leading the charge against Berlin was Ali Abunimah,  whose Electronic Intifada blog promotes a so-called "one state solution" which would turn Israel, the West Bank and Gaza into the 24th Arab nation.  Once Abunimah had discredited Berlin's lame explanation that she had posted the Nazi film as part of a Facebook discussion group (he documented that said group did not exist), then others fell in line behind him. Even Jewish Voice for Peace, just as they waited for Abunimah to denounce the ex-Israeli Gilad Atzmon before taking a position on Atzmon's anti-Semitic droppings, only issued a statement cutting ties with the FGM once Abunimah had given them tacit permission. 

As of this posting, one member of the FGM advisory board, Naomi Klein, has resigned because of this. The remaining board members of the Free Gaza Movement have been strangely silent other than a statement on the FGM website distancing themselves from the post.  Of note the advisory board includes Noam Chomsky and Jeff Halper, both of whom use their Jewish identification as credentials to denounce Israel.  

On the Dark Side, in what should be a surprise to nobody, one of Berlin's staunch defenders is Atzmon, who himself links to Holocaust deniers and has left a lengthy trail of anti-Semitism across the internet, including such statements as calling burning down a synagogue "a rational act".  Paul Larudee, another flotidiot who also leads the International Solidarity Movement in northern California, also supports Atzmon.  And in genteel Marin County, there's a homegrown group of PWHI (People Who Hate Israel) called 14 Friends of Palestine; their spokesperson is a grandmotherly British lady named Jane Jewell.  Jewell appears to be on familiar terms with Atzmon, as this post on his blog shows (Atzmon himself goes amusingly ballistic here, saying about Abunimah "Yet, one would expect that after his recent failed attack on myself and my work, Kosher Commissar Ali Abuminah, would think twice before he allies himself with the darkest Zionist and Israeli Hasbara forces around.")

So Jane Jewell, busy with helping Free Gaza Movement board member Ann Wright (silent on Berlin's anti-Semitism) finds the time both to send a letter to Jewish Voice for Peace (presumably condemning their rejection of Berlin) and to put a supportive post on Atzmon's site.

Now in Marin County, 14 FOP has hosted events at the First Presbyterian Church in San Anselmo.  Will the church now dissociate itself from an organization led by an open supporter of anti-Semitism?  Stay tuned.  

From Walter Russell Mead: Archbishop Tutu: Please, Apologize to the Jews

"This is not anti-Zionism. It is not criticism of Israel or defense of Palestinian rights. It is not in the gray zone: it is ugly filth of the lowest kind, gutter anti-Semitism mixed with genocidal rage"

The world is waking up to the anti-Semitism at the core of the anti-Israel movement.

From the blog  American Interest

Archbishop Tutu: Please, Apologize to the Jews

The website of the Free Gaza Movement, a sponsor of the Gaza Flotilla, lists some impressive celebrity endorsements. One of the most impressive names on the list is that of Desmond Tutu, revered throughout the world for his courageous stand against South Africa’s apartheid government and for his leadership of initiatives like the Truth and Reconciliation Commission which did so much to heal the wounds apartheid left behind.

"But there was something the Free Gaza Movement didn’t tell the archbishop: its co-founder and board chair is a Jew-hater named Greta Berlin who uses the organization as a platform form which to spread the ugliest anti-Semitic legends and, literally, Nazi propaganda and lies.
The Free Gaza Movement wants you to think that it is a group of humanitarians stirred to action by Israeli crimes against the Palestinians. But Berlin is something much nastier: a conscious propagandist of anti-Semitic hate — the kind of person with whom no Christian clergyman can associate himself in a common cause without causing grave scandal and harm."

Walter Russell Mead  describes the depths of Greta Berlin's anti-Semitic rage, making it clear that this was no isolated incident

"... The Free Gaza Movement is also touting an anti-Semitic film actually produced under the Propaganda Ministry of Joseph Goebbels during the Third Reich itself: a Nazi propaganda film on the Katyn massacre that tried to whip up hatred against Communists and Jews. And here, too, Greta Berlin, that exquisite connoisseur of cinema and tender-hearted lover of mankind, was so thrilled with this Goebbels’ hard-hitting investigative journalism and fearless proclamation of the truth that she posted a link to a download on her Facebook account.
As this information came out, the “Free Gaza Movement” frantically tried to bury the evidence, taking down the tweets, blocking access to Facebook posts, but it was too late. Screenshots, retweets and Google caches left its pale underbelly exposed.
Obviously Archbishop Tutu had no idea he was getting in bed with Nazi-class Jew haters and aspiring genocidaires when he allowed the Free Gaza Movement the use of his name. Greta Berlin presumably doesn’t wear her Nazi-loving heart on her sleeve when mingling with the Great and the Good and trying to pass herself off as a respectable humanitarian. But because of his enormous global stature and the contentious nature of this particular issue, the archbishop had a duty to himself, to the world and to the Anglican Communion to vet the organization before offering his support.

Read the article in its' entirety here

Vile Anti-Semitism from the Folks at Free Gaza Movement

Free Gaza endorses Holocaust revisionism


From Sarah AB at Harry's place:

The Free Gaza organisation, whose supporters include Desmond Tutu and Noam Chomsky, has recently posted this on Twitter, a video with the caption “Zionists operated the concentration camps and helped murder millions of innocent Jews”.

 The speaker begins by asserting that the word Nazi is derived from an alliance between National Socialists and Zionists which was forged secretly in 1923. It doesn’t get any better. Apparently Zionists were directly responsible for the Holocaust. Will any of the organisation’s many endorsers think again, in the face of this naked bigotry?

UPDATE
From our friends at San Francisco Voice for Israel

• We've known for years that there is a black hole of anti-Semitism at the heart of the hate-Israel movement. This weekend, the Free Gaza Movement (the people who organize the ships of fools trying to sail to Gaza to support Hamas) posted a vile Holocaust-denying message on their official Twitter feed. See the whole story as documented by Avi Mayer here.
  
  The reaction from local groups such as Jewish Voice for Peace and Bay Area Women in Black, who are official endorsers of the FGM? No denunciation of clear-cut Holocaust denial and anti-Semitism. Rather, deafening silence.
  
  Call Jewish Voice for Peace at 510- 465-1777. Ask them if they are going to denounce the anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial of the Free Gaza Movement. Or if they have to wait for permission from Ali Abunimah and other anti-Israel extremists, just like they did before they could condemn the Jew-hatred of Gilad Atzmon.

US warns Americans about travel to Gaza by sea

The United States updated a travel warning urging Americans not to attempt to break Israel’s naval blockade of the Gaza Strip, emphasizing risks, including a possible 10-year travel ban to Israel.

From the JPOST:

The new State Department travel warning for Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, said Americans could face arrest, prosecution, and deportation by Israel. "The Government of Israel has announced its intention to seek 10-year travel bans to Israel for anyone participating in an attempt to enter Gaza by sea," the notice said.

Pro-Palestinian groups are planning a flotilla to Gaza, which is controlled by the militant Islamist group Hamas, and are currently meeting in Greece. Israel plans to stop the flotilla from reaching Gaza.

As Free Palestine co-founder Greta Berlin has said, on her Facebook page



"We sail not to deliver supplies".

This has never been about delivering humanitarian aid. The flotilla organizers admit it, yet mass media continues to claim this provocation is "humanitarian" in nature.

BDS: A Decade of lies, hoaxes and failures

Eric Walberg's recent article "BDS update: Breaking new barriers" probably wasn't meant to be funny, but its hard not to read it and giggle. Since its introduction at Durban, 11 years ago, the BDS tactic has had racked up a well documented record of failures. Walberg doesn't appear to have noticed yet.

Walbergs article- found here- begins with a hoax:
dissidentvoice.org/2011/04/bds-breaking-new-barriers/
He exploits 92 year old activist Pete Seeger who participated in an online special promoting the progressive Israeli Arava institute. Walberg claims Seeger repudiated his involvement with the project which had the audacity to promote peaceful co-existence in the region. The real story "The 92-year-old musician also said that contrary to the Adalah-NY report, he does not regret taking part in last November’s online peace rally “With Earth and Each Other...”

Other "victories" according to Walberg?

Dead end displays on campus that are widely ignored. Dead end petitions that go nowhere. Self congratulatory films. (Surprised he didn't mention this classy display of barbed wire across a busy path at UC Berkeley during " Israel Apartheid week")



Walberg couldn't resist claiming that Hampshire University " became the first to divest from the Israeli occupation, following its anti-racism Action Awareness Week 2008." Does anyone want to remind poor Eric that he is continuing to promugate a lie-one begun by anti-Israel students on Hampshire's campus. An open letter from Hampshire College President Ralph Hexter and their Board of Trustees Chair Sigmund Roos plainly refutes this untruth: "Hampshire College has made a strenuous, good-faith effort to explain its decision to exit a problematic mutual fund. We make this effort again, without equivocation: Israel was not the cause for divestment from the State Street fund."According to the letter, Hampshire's decision was based on a variety of criteria, "none of them having to do with Israel. … No other college or university (should) use Hampshire as a precedent for divesting from Israel, since Hampshire has refused to divest from Israel. Anyone who claims otherwise is deliberately misrepresenting Hampshire's decision and has no right to speak for the college."

Eric claims a year of "spectacular and frequent BDS actions"- referring no doubt to pudgy women in pink bathrobes bothering shoppers, or failed attempts at song and dance routines.

Wallberg claims "The most important BDS-inspired event of 2011, marking the first anniversary of the tragic Israeli attack on the Mavi Marmara last May, will be the Free Gaza Movement flotilla expected in late May, when 12 ships carrying a thousand peace activists with humanitarian supplies will head for Gaza".

Eric. Eric. Eric. Don't you ever read what the leaders of your failed movement have to say? This has never been about delivering "humanitarian aid" to the people of Gaza (frankly, they don't particularly want the mismatched shoes or expired medicine)

From Greta Berlin's Facebook page:




This is about opening the sea lanes to Iranian weapons.

Greta Berlin , Free Gaza Movement and the latest Ship of Fools

Greta Berlin’s press releases for the "Free Gaza movement" could be classified as works of fiction. My comments in italics.

Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Contact: Greta Berlin, +33 63 142 7577, Iristulip@gmail.com
Huwaida Arraf, +970-598-336-215, +972-542-635-936, huwaida.arraf@gmail.com
Caoimhe Butterly, +353 876 114 553, sahara78@hotmail.co.uk

On May 24, 2010, the Freedom Flotilla sets sail for Gaza determined to, once again, challenge Israel’s blockade of 1.5 million Palestinians trapped in an open-air prison.



An open air prison with 25 miles of white Mediterranean beaches


These passengers include members of Parliament from around the world, U.N., human rights and trade union activists, as well as journalists who will document the largest coordinated effort to directly confront Israel’s illegal blockade of Gaza and take in basic supplies.

Greta, could you mean basic supplies including wheat and flour, meat, chicken, fish and legumes in addition to agricultural produce, animal feed, hygiene products and medicals supplies?
These already came through the crossings from Israel. along with games, basketballs and balloons, trampolines and swimming pools, generators, air-conditioning accessories, clothing, shoes and hats, chairs, mattresses and styrofoam cups; and raw materials for paper production.


In the past three months, Israel has limited fuel to run the power station.

Gas for domestic use (cooking and heating) is supplied according to Palestinian demand and is not subject to any limitation by Israel

Much of Gaza is often in darkness.

Uh huh. Generally beginning at dusk. Ending at dawn. Like the rest of the world.

There are just enough trucks coming in to barely prevent total starvation,

According to Unicef, Palestinians have the second lowest rate of stunting and malnutrition in the Arab Middle east. Its no wonder , with 439 truckloads (10,983 tons) of goods transferred to the Gaza Strip just last week

Egypt, complicit with the Israeli-US policy of blockading Palestinians, is building an underground steel wall to prevent people in Gaza from bringing in vitally needed supplies through tunnels.

Maybe the Palestinians shouldn’t have passed over a million dollars worth of counterfeit funds last time they were allowed in



I can’t help but wonder if the free Gaza group will stay at the Commodore Gaza again, and eat at Roots, described by the Lonely planet guide as where "important people dine on steak au poivre and chicken cordon bleu" . Their own website describes "Sophisticated, exquisite, diverse and approachable Cuisine" The 14 page menu sure looks good.