Monthly Archives: October 2016

News

International Media Coverage

media-impacts

 

Canada

Aug 14, 2016  – London social worker joins latest bid, the Women's Boat, to cross Israeli sea blockade of Gaza

5 octobre 2016 – Le «bateau des femmes» intercepté près côtes de Gaza

6 octobre 2016 – Israël intercepte le «bateau des femmes» en route vers Gaza

September 10, 2016 – Marilyn Porter heading to Gaza on mission of solidarity

September 17, 2016 – Women’s Boat to Gaza – Sometimes significant stories begin in our city.

September 24, 2016 – Safe waters for the Women’s Boat to Gaza

September 10, 2016 – Sailing for freedom and solidarity – Why I am sailing on the Women’s Boat to Gaza.

September 13, 2016 – A Canadian explains why she’s joining the Women’s Boat to Gaza

Oct 5 2016 – Women's Boat to Gaza reported attacked just miles from Gaza

One of the two Women's Boats to Gaza left France en route to Gaza

Oct 13, 2016 – Interview: Canadian activist on the Women's Boats to Gaza demands blockade to be lifted

Oct 12, 2016 – Women's Boats to Gaza: Interview with activist Wendy Goldsmith

Women's Boat to Gaza sends SOS before being boarded by Israeli Navy

Mar 9, 2016 – Women's Boat to Gaza to set sail in mid-September

Mar 9 2016 – Women in solidarity with Palestine: The Women's Boat to Gaza

Sept 20, 2016 – Eva Manly: The people of Palestine are not forgotten

 

The following is reposted from the Women's Boat to Gaza Website

Thank you to everyone that made media outlets around the world pay attention to the Women’s Boat to Gaza. 

Below is a sample of the media coverage that this latest project of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition has achieved. We continue to process the enormous number of articles across the many countries represented in the campaign. Coverage is grouped in date order, under campaign stages, and then by country, as each participant returned home.

Your supportive online activities and conversations have helped and continue to help amplify Palestinian voices to break the blockade of silence surrounding the illegal Israeli blockade of the Palestinian people of Gaza.

 

12/10/16 – Women’s Boat to Gaza: 13 Activists Detained by Israel, Weeks After U.S. OKs $38B in Military Aid (Democracy Now Video)

6/10/16 – AJ+ Video about the Women’s Boat to Gaza 

6/10/16 – Pink Floyd reunion: David Gilmour, Roger Waters to perform live in Palestine soon?

 

Reactions and Returning Home (by Country)

South Africa

8/10/16 – Sea of support for Gaza activist

8/10/16 – South African Olympian returns home after Gaza protest

 

New Zealand/Aotearoa

8/10/16 – Marama Davidson back home after Gaza protest

8/10/16 – Hobart boat captain Madeleine Habib detained during Gaza protest returns home 

7/10/16 – Hobart sailor Madeleine Habib set to be deported over Gaza mission

 

Australia

18/10/16 – ‘It’s hard to engage military against a little ray of hope’: Gaza protesters fight back with dignity – and tea 

8/10/16 – Hobart boat captain Madeleline Habib detained during Gaza protest return home

8/10/16 – Hobart protester Madeleine Habib returns from Women’s Boat to Gaza trip 

7/10/16 – Tasmanian activist held by Israeli army

7/10/16 – Pink Floyd ‘reunites’ in support of pro-Palestinian sailing mission as activists expected to be deported

7/10/16 – Israelis stop boat, Australian skipper outside Gaza (Vietnamese)

6/10/16 – Israel intercepts boat seeking to break Gaza blockade

 

Barcelona – Departure (12-19 September)

12/9/16 – La Flota de la Llibertat prepara al Port Vell un nou viatge a Gaza / BTV

12/9/16 – Una flotilla de dones per trencar una dècada de bloqueig a Gaza / La Directa

12/9/16 – Mujeres Rumbo a Gaza desafiará el bloqueo israelí / Diagonal

13/9/16 – Las mujeres que lucharon por la liberación de Palestina / eldiario.es

13/9/16 – Ada Colau assisteix a l’acomiadament de la flota solidària ‘Dones rumb a Gaza’ / Ajuntament de Barcelona

13/9/16 – Una nova flotilla salpa avui de Barcelona amb l’objectiu de trencar el blocatge de Gaza / Vilaweb

13/9/16 – Todas somos Mujeres Rumbo a Gaza / eldiarioes

14/9/16 – La flotilla ‘Mujeres rumbo a Gaza’ zarpa de Barcelona para denunciar el bloqueo israelí / El Periódico

14/9/16 – Un grup de dones navega cap a Gaza per denunciar l’ocupació palestina / TV3

14/9/16 – Salpen de Barcelona els dos vaixells de Dones Rumb a Gaza per denunciar el bloqueig d’Israel / Lliure i millor

14/9/16 – Women’s Boat to Gaza (Radio 2SER Australia)

14/9/16 – Nova flotilla contra el blocatge de Gaza / El Triangle

14/9/16 – La Flota de la Llibertat salpa rumb a Gaza des del Port Vell / BTV

14/9/16 – La flotilla ‘Mujeres rumbo a Gaza’ zarpa de Barcelona para denunciar el bloqueo israelí / El Periódico

14/9/16 – Una flotilla de dones salpa cap a Gaza per denunciar el bloqueig israelià / Diari Ara

15/9/16 – Dues embarcacions amb una vintena de dones salpen del port de Barcelona cap Gaza / Llibertat.cat

15/9/16 – Una nova flotilla salpa cap a Gaza des de Barcelona / El Pais

15/9/16 – Uhintifada emisión especial: Las mujeres navegan ya rumbo a Gaza / Hala Bedi – UhIntifada

17/9/16 – Dones cap a Gaza: dos vaixells amb tripulació femenina salpen de Barcelona / Catalunya Ràdio – Solidaris

 

Ajaccio – First Stop (20-22 September)

20/9/16 – Gazatíes apoyan a la flotilla de mujeres contra bloqueo israelí / HispanTV 

21/9/16 – Ships with all-women crews set sail for Gaza, hoping to break blockade

 

Messina – Second Stop (24 September – 1 October)

25/9/16 – Interview with Malin Bjork MEP 

1/10/16 – Entrevista a Sandra Barrilaro, participante en el Zaytouna-Oliva

 

Messina to Gaza – The Voyage and Israeli Attack (2-8 October)

7/10/16 – Hobart Madeleine Habib set to be deported over Gaza mission

7/10/16 – Tasmanian activist held by Israeli army

7/10/16 – Zaytouna-Oliva Women to be ‘deported’ / Details Emerge about the Capture 

7/10/16 – Hobart sailor Madeline Habib set to be deported over Gaza mission

7/10/16 – Hobart sailor Madeleine Habib set to be deported over Gaza mission

6/10/16 – Pink Floyd ‘reunites’ in support of pro-Palestinian sailing mission as activists expected to be deported 

6/10/16 – Israel detains female pro-Palestine activist boat captained by Hobart woman 

6/10/16 – Australian – captained vessel detained on rout to Gaza 

6/10/16 – Womens boat to Gaza with Malaysian doctor on board stopped by israeli forces/

6/10/16 – Pink Floyd reunion David Gilmour Roger Waters perform live Palestine soon 

6/10/16 – NZ Green MP on ship intercepted by Israel 

6/10/16 – Australian-captained vessel detained en route to Gaza 

6/10/16 – Nobel laureate Mairead Maguire: Israeli navy detention is kidnap 

6/10/16 – Israelis stop boat, Australian skipper outside Gaza (Mandarin)

5/10/16 – Gaza’s women flotilla ‘challenging Israel’s blockade’ 

5/10/16 – Israel sends female naval cadets to stop women’s boat headed to Gaza [Correction – Male and female members of the Israeli Occupation Forces attacked, boarded and forced our boat from International Waters to Ashdod]

5/10/16 – Israel intercepts boat seeking to break Gaza blockade

5/10/16 – Israeli Military Blocks Female Flotilla From Reaching Gaza

5/10/16 – Samira Duwaifia and the Women’s Boat to Gaza mission

5/10/16 – All-women aid flotilla nears blockaded Gaza Strip

5/10/16 – Israel intercepts Women’s Boat to Gaza

5/10/16 – Anderson outraged after Women’s Boat to Gaza intercepted

5/10/16 – Crew of all-women Freedom Flotilla heading to Gaza reportedly detained by Israeli forces

5/10/16 – Israel stops Women’s Boat to Gaza

5/10/16 – All-women aid ship set to reach Gaza Strip

5/10/16 – Israeli navy board and seize Gaza flotilla, redirect it to Ashdod port

5/10/16 – Israel intercepts boat seeking to break Gaza blockade

5/10/16 – Israel takes over women’s boat to Gaza

5/10/16 – ‘We don’t know where our friends are,’ says Women’s Boat to Gaza after Israel’s navy commandeers ship

5/10/16 – Activists’ plea for Norway to stop Israeli attack on flotilla

3/10/16 – Palestinians thank the Women’s Boat to Gaza Video

3/10/16 – Pelayaran 13 Wanita ke Gaza | Women’s Boat to Gaza Video (Malaysia)

 

In addition, you can access a range of other media reports via these hash tags that we have used during the mission:

#womentogaza

#letfflotillasail

#SOSWomenFlotilla

#welcomeLeighAnn

News

Zaytouna-Oliva Women to be deported / Details Emerge about the Capture

Photo: Mina Harballou being greeted at Heathrow airport, London after being imprisoned and then deported.
Photo: Mina Harballou being greeted at Heathrow airport, London after being imprisoned and then deported.
Reposted from: https://wbg.freedomflotilla.org/news/zaytouna-oliva-women-deported-details-emerge-about-the-capture

Two journalists from Al Jazeera who were on board Zaytouna-Oliva have been released and have safely reached London and Moscow. The other 11 women of the Women’s Boat to Gaza are still in detention, but we anticipate that they will be deported soon, as they have been moved from Givon Prison to a detention facility at Ben-Gurion airport.

Wendy Goldsmith, a member of the land team working to secure the release of the women stated that, “the deportation is happening much quicker than in previous flotillas. While we had a great legal team assisting the women, we suspect that the reason for the quick release was because of all the negative media attention Israel has been receiving for its illegal interception, including the demand of rock band Pink Floyd.” According to early reports from the women released, the Zaytouna-Oliva was surrounded by two warships along with four to five smaller naval boats. The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) demanded that the Zaytouna-Oliva stop its course towards Gaza. When the warning was refused, at least seven IOF members, both male and female, boarded our yacht and commandeered it in international waters.

In the course of their capture, the women insisted that Israel’s attack was illegal and that they were being taken against their will to Israel. The Women’s Boat to Gaza campaign asserts that while the captivity of the women on board Zaytouna-Oliva may soon be over, the captivity of 1.9 million Palestinian people in Gaza remains. Whilst the term “peaceful” has been used in some media to describe the attack and capture of our boat, this is inaccurate. Peace is more than merely the absence of physical violence. Oppression, occupation, denial of human rights and taking a boat of unarmed, non-violent women against their will are not peaceful activities. Indeed, as Zaytouna-Oliva approached Palestine, the IOF launched multiple air raids across the Gaza Strip.

The Women’s Boat to Gaza and the Freedom Flotilla Coalition will continue to sail until Palestine is free.

Statements

Statement from Members of European Parliament (5 October 2016)

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Reposted from https://wbg.freedomflotilla.org/news/statement-from-members-of-european-parliament

Statement from Members of European Parliament (5 October 2016)

“Today at 15:58 the Women’s Boat to Gaza, Zaytouna-Oliva, has lost communication, and we can presume that the Israeli Occupation Navy has surrounded it in International Waters (Lat +31.906033 Lon +33.757630). This is inside the self-proclaimed “military exclusion zone” imposed unilaterally and illegally by the Israeli government, in contravention of international law. We call on all governments, public officials and people of conscience to support publically the right of unimpeded passage for peaceful civilian navigation, and the physical integrity of the crew and participants on board, and to support full freedom of movement for all peoples, in particular the Palestinians of Gaza. We demand European authorities to take action now to assure information from the activists and to demand their immediate liberation.”

1. Marina Albiol (GUE/NGL)
2. Malin Björk (GUE/NGL)
3. Dimitrios Papadimoulis (GUE/NGL, Vice-President of the European Parliament)
4. Paloma López (GUE/NGL)
5. Izaskun Bilbao (ALDE)
6. Eleonora Forenza (GUE/NGL)
7. Pascal Durand (Greens/EFA)
8. Bart Staes (Greens/EFA)
9. Ana Maria Gomes (S&D)
10. Tania González (GUE/NGL)
11. Estefanía Torres (GUE/NGL)
12. Marie-Christine Vergiat (GUE/NGL)
13. Matt Carthy (GUE/NGL)
14. Josep-Maria Terricabras (Greens/EFA)
15. Marisa Matias (GUE/NGL)
16. Merja Kyllönen (GUE/NGL)
17. Ernest Urtasun (Greens/EFA)
18. Margrete Auken (Greens/EFA)
19. Lola Sánchez (GUE/NGL)
20. Martina Anderson (GUE/NGL)
21. Lynn Boylan (GUE/NGL)
22. Liadh Ní Riada (GUE/NGL)
23. Soraya Post (S&D)
24. Eva Joly (Greens/EFA)
25. Miapetra Kumpula-Natri (S&D)
26. Yannick Jadot (Greens/EFA)
27. Jill Evans (Greens/EFA)
28. Patrick Le Hyaric (GUE/NGL)
29. Rina Ronja Kari (GUE/NGL)
30. Javier Couso (GUE/NGL)
31. Marita Ulvskog (S&D)
32. Stelios Kouloglou (GUE/NGL)
33. Nessa Childers (S&D)
34. Julie Ward (S&D)
35. Iratxe García Pérez (S&D)
36. Joao Ferreira (GUE/NGL)
37. Joao Pimenta (GUE/NGL)
38. Miguel Viegas (GUE/NGL)
39. Neoklis Sylikiotis (GUE/NGL)
40. Ivo Vajgl (ALDE)
41. Lidia Senra (GUE/NGL)
42. Michèle Rivasi (Greens/EFA)
43. Karima Delli (Greens/EFA)
44. Josu Juaristi (GUE/NGL)
45. Sergio Cofferati (S&D)

Statements

Zaytouna-Oliva intercepted in International Waters and the 13 human rights activists on their way to Gaza kidnapped

This afternoon at 15:58 (CEST) on 5 October, the Israeli Occupation Navy surrounded the Zaytouna-Oliva in International Waters and kidnapped the 13 human rights activists on their way to Gaza. A list of all the women on board can be found here https://wbg.freedomflotilla.org/participants-on-board-messina-to-gaza

The IOF began to intercept the boat around the same time as the IOF were bombing Gaza earlier this afternoon, one of Israel's many breaches of the ceasefire this year. 

The Women’s Boat to Gaza is calling for their immediate release as well as the release of our boat, seized in an act of state piracy in international waters about 40 nautical miles from the Port of Gaza.

Continue reading Zaytouna-Oliva intercepted in International Waters and the 13 human rights activists on their way to Gaza kidnapped →

Reports

Call to action – Your help is urgently needed

CALL TO ACTION

At 1558 (CEST) on 5 October, we lost contact again with the Zaytouna-Oliva and presume that the Israeli Occupation Navy has now begun to attack it and that it has been surrounded in International Waters (latest position: Lat+31.906033 Lon+33.757630). On board are 13 women, including Mairead Maguire, the Nobel peace laureate from Northern Ireland, Fauziah Hasan, a doctor from Malaysia, and retired US army colonel Ann Wright. Take action to protect them! Details of all of the participants are here: https://wbg.freedomflotilla.org/participants-on-board-messina-to-gaza 

Pre-recorded video of women onboard here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-l5tZR_gus2Fq8LuaVN24sq_22qGqEhB

Please contact the people listed below asking for the safety of all the 13 women on board of the Women's Boat to Gaza.

They were on a peaceful mission reach the people of Gaza in solidarity and are believed to have been stopped by the Israeli navy.

On Twitter you can use the hashtags: #womentogaza #letfflotillasail

Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister
House of Commons
Ottawa, ON
K1A 0A6
(No postage required!)
Phone: +1 613 995 0253
Phone: 1 514 277 6020
E-mail: j+ustin.trudeau@parl.gc.ca
Twitter: @JustinTrudeau

Stephane Dion, Minister of Foreign Affairs
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0A6
Contact Information
mailto:stephane.dion@parl.gc.ca


Canadian Consular office Tel Aviv
The Embassy of Canada
P.O. Box 9442
Tel-Aviv, 6706038, Israel

Tel: (011 972 3) 636-3300
Within Israel (03) 636-3300
Fax: (011 972 3) 636-3380
Within Israel (03) 636-3380
Email: taviv@international.gc.ca
Hours of Operation:
Monday to Thursday: 8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Friday: 8:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.,

Rona Ambrose, Conservative Leader
Conservative Party of Canada
1720-130 Albert St.
Ottawa, Ontario
K1P 5G4
1-866-808-8407
Email: rona.ambrose.c1a@parl.gc.ca

Tom Mulcair, New Democratic Party Leader
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario
Canada
K1A 0A6

Telephone: 613-947-0867
Fax: 613-947-0868

Email: thomas.mulcair@parl.gc.ca
Mail may be sent postage-free to any Member of Parliament.

Constituency Office(s)
154 Laurier Avenue West (Main Office)
Suite 302
Montréal, Quebec
H2T 2N7
Telephone: 514-736-2727
Fax: 514-736-2726

UN

His Excellency Mr. Ban Ki-moon
United Nations Secretary-General
UN Headquarters
First Avenue at 46th Street
New York, NY 10017
USA
E-mail: sgcentral@un.org
Twitter: @UN_Spokesperson

EU

Federica Mogherini High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
Email: federica.mogherini@ec.europa.eu
Twitter: @FedericaMog
Address:
European Commission
Rue de la Loi / Wetstraat 200
1049 1049 Brussels
Belgium