Freedom Flotilla to stop in Jersey on its way to the besieged Gaza Strip
Tomorrow, on the 5th of June the Al Awda (‘The Return’), a 64ft fishing boat from Norway will arrive in Jersey’s harbour stopping on its way to the besieged enclave that is the Gaza Strip. Its crew represent part of ‘The international Freedom Flotilla Coalition, along with four other vessels they are sailing to Palestine to raise awareness of the ongoing blockade and in support of the Palestinian ‘Great March of Return’.
The boat was named to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the ‘Nakba’, or Catastrophe, in which more than 700,000 Palestinians were ethnically cleansed or fled from their homes during the establishment of the Israeli state. Its crew members include Norwegian politician Mikkel Grüner, Israeli citizen resident in Spain Zohar Chamberlain Regev, Ron Rousseau from Canada and Swedish sailor and human rights advocate Charlie Andreasson.
Grüner, Municipal councillor and deckhand to the ship, has stated that:
“This is a very important political issue, and it is one I can do something about. The blockade of Gaza is in its 11th year. It is such a gross violation of international law that it can be characterized as a crime against humanity.”
The Great March of Return, a series of protests demanding that Palestinian refugees and their descendants be allowed to return to their homeland in Israel has been mired by bloodshed and disproportionate violence, with one headline in the Israeli newspaper, Haaretz, describing the Israel Defense Forces as ‘The Israel Massacre Forces’. Since the protests began on the 30th of March more than a 120 Palestinians have been killed and over 13,000 wounded, with the recent death of 21-year-old volunteer paramedic, Razan al-Najjar, shot by a sniper while trying to help a wounded protester making headlines across the world.
With the eyes of the world watching Israel barely now tries to hide its complete contempt for the Palestinian people as it continues to ignore international law, commit flagrant human rights abuses, deny the millions of refugees their right of return and maintain the ongoing occupation and theft of Palestinian land.
While the UK government condemns the rocket attacks fired into Israel, it has failed to condemn actual Israeli killings of Palestinians with the UK recently abstaining on a UN resolution calling for “ways and means for ensuring the safety, protection and well-being of the Palestinian civilian population.” There is little confusion as to who the UK supports and defends in this wholly one-sided affair, which only serves to further the risks to the lives of all involved including Israelis, as Al Awda crew member and Israeli citizen Zohar Chamberlain Regev says:
“The way I see it, the only valid way to protect the interests of Jewish people anywhere, but mainly in Israel, is criticizing the ongoing violation of human rights.”
This is why the arrival of the Al Awada into British shores for the first time represents such a significant event. Only last month we celebrated our 73rd ‘Liberation Day’ from occupation, the UK government that helped liberate us and is responsible for our defence supports the illegal naval blockade through openly conducting exercises with the IDF navy that enforces it. This is who the crew of the Al Awda will likely be coming into contact with, and the nine activists killed and more than 50 injured back in 2010 when the Mavi Marmara Freedom Flotilla was raided by Israeli Navy commandos serves as a stark reminder of what the consequences of such activism can be.
Yet tomorrow evening at around 6pm the crew will be leaving the Albert Pier in St Helier to continue on their journey to peacefully and non-violently raise awareness of the plight of the Palestinian people, to help end their illegal blockade and allow freedom of movement. Their selfless motives and bravery are a commendable testament to humanity’s ability to look beyond the limited boundaries of race, nationality and religion and fight for that innate universal principle of freedom.
Wherever you stand on the issue, no one can seriously argue that we don’t want peace for all in the region. So I hope the crew of the Al Awda get the support from Jersey they deserve, and that we send a message of solidarity to Gaza that says our liberation and freedom will always be incomplete without the freedom and liberation of the Palestinian people.
If you so wish, you can donate to their worthy cause here
