Ship of fools sails again: Freedom Waves flotilla Sails from Turkey

Freedom Waves Blockade runners in meeting before departure. Steering committee is telling delegates that the Turks are only allowing 12 people to get on board.

Was it Einstein who said "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result?"

Meet The newest Flotilla: "Freedom Waves"
From the Palestine Solidarity Movement website

27 activists from 9 countries, including America, Canada, Denmark, Belgium, Germany and Australia, alongside a Palestinian Haifa, in a broad-based international movement to break Israel’s illegal and immoral suffocation of the 1.6 million inhabitants of the Gaza Strip. The Irish yacht Saoirse (Freedom), which carries 15 activists, and the Canadian boat Tahrir (Liberation), which holds 12, will attempt to carry $30,000 in medical supplies beyond the Israeli blockade later this week. ‘Freedom Waves for Gaza’ is the 11th attempt by international activists to deliver humanitarian aid through the Israeli blockade of Gaza since 2008.

"Illegal and immoral suffocation?"

I wonder if the newest flotilla members are planning on staying in the 5 star Al Mashtal resort, in Gaza. They'll be in good company- surrounded by the murderers and released convicts from the Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange. The all you can eat breakfast buffet at the Al-Mashtal looks lovely.

More details as they are available.

UPDATE:

Whining from an ISM press release
"The most recent figures published by the UN and international humanitarian and human rights organizations confirm that roughly 75 – 80% of the population rely on international aid in order to survive; 65% live below the poverty line; 52% are food insecure; approximately 40% are unemployed; there are no building materials for much-needed schools and hospitals; 90 – 95% of the drinking water is contaminated and unfit for consumption; seriously ill patients cannot get access to the specialist treatment that would potentially save their lives; and children are suffering untreated post-traumatic stress as a result of the white phosphorous shells used illegally in Israel’s invasion in January 2009."

Context is everything, Ben Lober.

According to the United Nations Human Development Index, a comparative measure of life expectancy, literacy, education and standards of living for countries worldwide, the Palestinian territories are smack dab in the middle of the pack, with a higher standard of living than Bolivia, Paraguay, the Philippines, the Maldives, and even their neighbors in Egypt.

No building supplies for hospitals or schools, Ben?

Goods delivered to the Gaza Strip in September alone:
4945 truckloads (136,785 tons) of commercial goods were delivered through Kerem Shalom Crossing, including:

 1728 truckloads of food.
 54 truckloads of cloths and footwear.
 131 truckloads of unputs for agriculture.
 1503 truckloads of construction materials.
 66 truckloads of electric products.
 261 truckloads of ceramics and plumbing.
 22 truckloads of sport equipment, vehicles, washing machines and refrigerators.

Maybe then Gaza should use their construction materials for infrastructure,rather than 5 star hotels and waterparks

UPDATE

From Al Jeezera:



"Sailing under the flag of the Comoros Islands, the Tahrir is carrying six activists, a captain and five journalists.

The Saoirse - sailing under the US flag - has 12 Irish nationals on board, none of whom are journalists.

David Heap, a member of the steering committee on board the Tahrir, told Al Jazeera that the activists chose to leave from Fethiye because of the strained relations between Turkey and Israel.

"The Turkish government has been creating more distance from Israel diplomatically and we know there is support from Turkish society for what we are doing.

"Our judgment was that the Turkish state would not interfere with us if we didn’t make too much of a public issue of our plan to depart from there," Heap told Al Jazeera."

French pull out of Flotilla. Turkey considers withdrawing as well

The French entry in the Gaza Ship of fools flotilla 2011 has decided not to sail. What changed their mind? Was it the lack of insurance? Was it the declaration of the International red Cross that there was no humanitarian crisis in Gaza, and the increasing realization they were being used as a provaction to war?

from YNET
Members of Jewish community in France band together, send 500 letters of protest against Gaza flotilla, effectively preventing ship bought by organizers for €530,000 from docking in Marseille. On Tuesday the battle came to a hilt when Jewish MP Jacques-Alain Bénisti but a query to French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe, asking to learn France's official position on the flotilla. The move was said to have put pressure on local insurance companies and helped to cancel the French ship's participation.

"We feel great joy, but we know that this is just a small battle in a larger war. There are many battles left until September. We must not claim victory, only rejoice in the united front we have presented and move on," a source from the Jewish community said.

Turkey is also reconsidering its participation in the blocakade running publicity stunt:

Again, from YNET
On Wednesday, Turkish newspaper Hurriyet reported that the IHH is considering canceling the flotilla following developments in the region, particularly in Syria. "We think we can achieve our goals regardless of whether we send the Marmara ship to Gaza or not. We shall make a final decision by the end of the week," the IHH spokesman said.

The lesson? In the words of our esteemed comrades: The people united can never be defeated. Keep the pressure on, folks.

"Though I could not caution all I yet may warn a few:
Don't lend your hand to raise no flag
atop no ship of fools "

LLoyds of London: We will not Insure Terror

From an article by Jessica Elgot and Anshel Pfeffer in the Jewish Chronicle online:

A human rights group has warned insurance companies that they could be aiding terrorism if they insure ships that break the blockade of Gaza.

Israeli organisation Shurut Hadin has written to almost all major insurance companies worldwide, including Lloyd's of London, the biggest in the world.

It warns them that they could be liable for massive damages if the ships they insure break Israel's blockade around Hamas-controlled Gaza.

Lawyer Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, the founder of the group, explained: "We sent these letters to the largest insurance companies in the world, including Turkish companies, which represent over 99 per cent of the maritime insurance business worldwide. We warned them that, if they insure these ships, they could be sued by victims of Hamas attacks."

The human rights group represents victims of terrorists in courts around the world. Ms Darshan-Leitner said: "It has been legally established by courts in the United States and Europe that there is no difference between the military and social frameworks of terror organisations. Any supplies sent to Gaza will probably fall into the hands of Hamas. Therefore, anyone helping the flotilla is abetting terror."

She said she believed that all the previous boats which had attempted to break the naval blockade had been insured, including the three boats in last May's Gaza Freedom Flotilla.

The Turkish Islamist movement IHH, which organised last year's flotilla, is planning another, larger flotilla next month, to deliver supplies to the Gaza Strip. In the violent clash at sea last year, nine Turkish activists were killed and 40 others wounded. Twelve Israeli naval commandos were also injured.

Lloyd's said it would refuse to insure a ship if the owners were attempting to help Hamas and said that if the local law was broken by a ship insured by them, the insurance would be invalid.

A Lloyd's representative said: "Hamas is subject to UK and EU terrorist financing sanctions. As such, any vessel identified as being owned or controlled by that organisation would not be permitted to be insured by Lloyd's, or any other EU insurer. Lloyd's has robust systems in place to ensure international sanctions are followed."

The firm said it had no knowledge of ever having insured a boat attempting to break the Gaza blockade.

And in other flotilla news,

Paul Larudee and friends just sent out a mass email pleading for money in support of their Ship of fools, asking for our "most generous support to enable this delegation to be aboard when it sails to Gaza in late June". Apparently they still need to raise $55,000 by the end of May, poor dears. Its tax deductible, they plead. WTF? Why is aid to aiders and abettors of terror tax-deductible?????