Cedar George Parker is a 1st Nations activist on unceded Coast Salish Territory. He spoke at the Freedom Flotilla fundraiser held for Larry Commodore.
Sobhi al-Zobaidi speaks at the Freedom Flotilla fundraiser for 1st Nations activist, Larry Commodore.
Hanna Kawas, from Voice of Palestine, speaks at the fundraiser for 1st Nations activist, Larry Commodore
July 15, activist Larry Commodore, leaves Canada to join the flotilla. The 1st video is from his fundraiser dinner a few weeks in Vancouver.
This video was taken just prior to his departure.
On Tuesday May 15 at 7 pm, join Libby Davies and Ann Wright, as we introduce CBG Freedom Flotilla participants online!
The Canadian Boat to Gaza campaign is hosting its very first livestream videocast to mark Nakba Day (May 15), the commemoration of The Catastrophe, as the 1948 ethnic cleansing of Palestine is called in Arabic. For this online event starting at 7 pm EDT (LIVE UPDATE, now archived on RabbleTV : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOfgeSLcs5E ), we are delighted to be joined by peace activist and retired U.S. Colonel Ann Wright, as well as by former NDP MP and longtime supporter of Palestinian hurman rights, Libby Davies. With Ann and Libby, we will be discussing recent events in Gaza and the current Freedom Flotilla mission to challenge and break the illegal blockade of Gaza. We are also introducing some of the participants from Canada who will be getting on board the Freedom Flotilla mission this year, sailing for the Right to a Just future for Palestine.
A retired U.S. Army Colonel and career diplomat Ann Wright resigned her State Department post in protest of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, and has devoted herself to grassroots peace initiatives ever since. She has been part in the Freedom Flotilla Coalition since the beginning, including being leader on the Women’s Boat to Gaza in 2016 and she is also active in advocating for Rohingya refugees and in the women-led movement for the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.
Former NDP Member of Parliament and former Vancouver City Councillor Libby Davies visited Gaza in 2009 as part of a Canadian parliamentary delegation, and she is a long-time supporter of Palestinian human rights.
The 2018 Freedom Flotilla participants from Canada are:
Dr. Majed Khraishi, a professor of medicine and practicing medical specialist based in St. John’s, Newfoundland, who was born in the town of Tulkarm in the northern West Bank and was forced out of Palestine, along with his family, in the aftermath of the 1967 Six Day War.
Kathy Wazana, a filmmaker, a grandmother, and a student at York University in Toronto. Born in Casablanca, she came to Canada with her family as part of the mass migration that virtually emptied Morocco of its Jewish population.
Ron Rousseau, a postal worker, president of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers Whitehorse local, Indigenous Vice-President of the Canadian Labour Congress, father and grandfather, who lives in the Traditional Territory of the Carcross Tagish First Nation in Yukon.
Heather Milton-Lightening, who has over twenty years of organizing experience from local to international campaigns. She originates from the great plains region of Turtle Island, (North America) and Treaty 4 Territory. She is Nehiyaw, (Cree), Anishinaabe (Saulteaux), Niitsitapi (Blackfoot), Lakota/Dakota and Welsh. Heather is a founder of Native Youth Movement and Aboriginal Youth with Initiative, Inc., an organization based on the Anishinaabe clan system.
Larry Commodore from Soowahlie, Ts'elxweyeqw Tribe, Sto:lo Nation, also known as Cultus Lake, British Columbia, Canada. Born and bred in his ancestral homeland, he's been a strong advocate for his people, their land and their rights. His solidarity with Palestinians has grown over the years as he has come to understand the common struggle against Settler-Colonial regimes.
During our livestream discussion, we hope to hear from each participant, and we will be taking questions and comments from the online audience, as well as recorded messages from some well-known Flotilla supporters. Join us by going to RabbleTV ( http://youtube.com/user/rabbletv/live) at 7 pm EDT on Tuesday May 15 (UPDATE: now available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOfgeSLcs5E) to learn how you too can "get on board" the Freedom Flotilla as a “passenger on land” (if you arrive early, you should reload your page at 7 pm for the start).
We sail again in 2018 to stand with the Palestinians of Gaza, as they demand their freedom of movement and their right to a just future in their land. But we can only do it with your generous support. Our campaign needs your support in our to pay our share of the boat that the Freedom Flotilla is sailing against the blockade of Gaza and for a the Right to a Just Future for Palestine. Make out cheques or money orders to Turtle Island Humanitarian Aid and send them to:
Canadian Boat to Gaza
PO Box 1950, London Stn. B
London, Ontario N6A 5J4
CANADA
(Note: like many of our sister organizations, we would prefer to move away from dependence on PayPal for online donations. At this point, we are pleased to accept e-Interac transfers from Canadian bank accounts, and we hope to announce other electronic payment methods soon. Please e-mail us if you have questions about this). Some donors, especially those who can benefit from a charitable tax receipt in the US, may wish to donate through the US Boat to Gaza page, here.
In other parts of the world, please consider donating through one our other partner campaigns in the Freedom Flotilla.
Whether you can donate financially or not, please help us spread the word about our campaign:
share our messages with your family, friends and/or work colleagues and encourage them to join our mailing list;
send an endorsement message from your association, union, congregation or political party;
organize and attend events to raise funds and awareness for our campaign;
join a Freedom Flotilla campaign near you and encourage others to do so;
follow us on the web, Facebook, Twitter (see below), and (new!) Instagram, and share our posts widely.
Twitter: @CanadaBoatGaza @GazaFFlotilla
www.facebook.com/CanadaBoatGaza
www.facebook.com/BateauCanadienGaza
www.facebook.com/FreedomFlotillaCoalition
Together, we can help end the blockade!
—
Canadian Boat to Gaza: www.canadaboatgaza.org email: canadaboatgaza@gmail.com
Bateau canadien pour GAZA: www.canadaboatgaza.org courriel: canadaboatgaza@gmail.com
Dear supporters,
The Freedom Flotilla boat Al Awda (The Return) left the Norwegian port of Bergen on Monday April 30, with hundreds of well-wishers on the dock to bid her farewell. This marks the beginning of her 75 day voyage to Gaza, to challenge and break the illegal Israeli blockade.
Since then she has been part of May Day celebrations with Norway’s largest trade union (Fagforbundet) and visited the port of Kristiansand in southern Norway. On Thursday she was in Oslo for a big celebration with our friends from Ship to Gaza Norway and other civil society supporters. She will join other boats sailing to Gaza from Sweden in the coming days. Canadians and other international supporters will join Al Awda along her route, but we need your support to help make that happen. We will be introducing some of our Canadian participants in a livestream videocast on Tuesday May 15 (7 pm EDST) along with special guests retired US Colonel Ann Wright and former NDP Member of Parliament (and now Member of the Order of Canada) Libby Davies. Please spread the word and tune in Tuesday to : https://www.youtube.com/user/rabbletv/live and watch this space for more details!
Al Awda still needs some renovation work for this voyage, and we are committed to paying part of those costs, as well as part of the costs of acquiring of this hard-working former fishing boat. Our Canadian Boat to Gaza share of the international Freedom Flotilla budget this year is $30 000. Donors like you have helped us raise amounts much larger than that in the past. Will you help us fund our contribution now?
You can donate by e-transfer (Interac, from Canada accounts only), mailing cheques or money orders, or online, see : https://canadaboatgaza.org/dona
Israel has maintained an illegal, inhumane and destructive blockade on Gaza for over a decade. The United Nations now says that Gaza will become uninhabitable by the year 2020 because of the Israeli blockade. In response to the brutal Israeli blockade, for seven years the Freedom Flotilla Coalition has carried out non-violent direct actions aimed at raising international awareness and putting pressure on the international community to end the blockade.
We sail this year for the right to a just future for Palestine. Children and minors, who make up more than half of the Gaza population of over 2 million, are victims of the ongoing blockade, which has robbed them of their childhood; their rights to safety, education, and health; and their prospects for a decent future. We will continue to put pressure on our governments and protest their complicity with Israel's crimes against humanity. We sail again to stand with the Palestinians of Gaza, as they demand their freedom of movement and their right to a just future in their land. But we can only do it with your generous support. Our campaign needs your support in our to pay our share of the boat that the Freedom Flotilla is sailing against the blockade of Gaza and for a the Right to a Just Future for Palestine. Make out cheques or money orders to Turtle Island Humanitarian Aid and send them to:
Canadian Boat to Gaza
PO Box 1950, London Stn. B
London, Ontario N6A 5J4
CANADA
(Note: like many of our sister organizations, we would prefer to move away from dependence on PayPal for online donations. At this point, we are pleased to accept e-Interac transfers from Canadian bank accounts, and we hope to announce other electronic payment methods soon. Please e-mail us if you have questions about this).Some (especially those who can benefit from a charitable tax receipt in the US) may wish to donate through the US Boat to Gaza page:
https://2018boatstogaza-nonvio
Whether you can donate financially or not, please help us spread the word about our campaign:
Twitter: @CanadaBoatGaza @GazaFFlotilla
www.facebook.com/CanadaBoatGaz
www.facebook.com/BateauCanadie
www.facebook.com/FreedomFlotil
Together, we can help end the blockade!
Share this post: http://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/gaza-solidarity-blog/2018/05/freedom-flotilla-boats-are-sailing-help-us-be-part
—
Canadian Boat to Gaza: www.canadaboatgaza.org email: canadaboatgaza@gmail.com
Bateau canadien pour GAZA: www.canadaboatgaza.org courriel: canadaboatgaza@gmail.com
Several hundred supporters were at the quayside party in Bergen to show their solidarity with Palestinians today and bid farewell to Al Awda (The Return).
Video: Arrival at dockside with choir https://www.facebook.com/TorillJF/videos/10160397327125083/
Our first Norwegian leg is from Bergen to Leirvik on the island Stord, a center for Norwegian offshore industry, to celebrate May Day with trade unionists and elected politicians in support of the Freedom Flotilla.
On our way southwards from Bergen we met a big merchant ship which gave us this message on the VHF Channel: Good luck to you on your way to Gaza.
Children and minors, who make up more than half of the Gaza population of over 2 million, are victims of the ongoing blockade, which has robbed them of their childhood; their rights to safety, education, and health; and their prospects for a decent future.
2018 marks the 70th anniversary of the Nakba (the Disaster or the Catastrophe) – the forced displacement of the native Palestinian population from what became Israel. The blockade of Gaza and the unlivable conditions suffered by women, children and men is not a natural catastrophe: it must be understood in its political context. The international community is responsible for the refugee situation (see unfulfilled UN Security Council Resolution 194 of 1948); for half a century of military occupation of the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, the Golan Heights and East Jerusalem; and for the gross violations of individual and collective rights of the Palestinian people, perpetrated by the State of Israel.
So this year we sail again to challenge the blockade and claim an end to our governments’ complicity with Israel’s war crimes and violation of human rights. The Freedom Flotilla Coalition ship this year is named Al Awda (The Return) to underline the importance of this long-standing demand of Palestinians for the right to return to the lands they have been expelled from.
The worsening situation in Gaza
Israel has maintained an inhumane and destructive blockade of Gaza for over a decade. In 2015 the United Nations predicted that Gaza will become uninhabitable by the year 2020 because of the Israeli blockade.
Since then the situation has only deteriorated. Since March 30 2018, when Palestinians in Gaza began the Great Return March, the UN Office of Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs report that medical facilities in Gaza, which are already overstrained by the longstanding shortages of medical supplies, electricity and fuel, are struggling to cope with the overwhelming number of casualties and that over 20,000 people are still displaced from the 2014 hostilities.
Another UN bulletin highlights the situation of the fishery sector in Gaza and related concerns. In a context of high unemployment and food insecurity, the fishing sector is one of the few remaining sources of employment in Gaza, and an important source of protein and other nutrients.
In our Solidarity with Gaza Fishers project beginning in 2017, we focused on showcasing the constant attacks on fishers and on creating links between international fishing communities and fishers in Gaza.
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition
The international Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) is a grassroots people-to-people solidarity movement composed of campaigns and initiatives from all over the world working together to end the siege of Gaza. In Just Future for Palestine our partners are: Canadian Boat to Gaza, Freedom Flotilla Italia, MyCARE Malaysia, Kia Ora Gaza [New Zealand / Aotearoa], Ship to Gaza Norway, IHH [Turkey], Palestine Solidarity Alliance [South Africa], Rumbo a Gaza [Spain], Ship to Gaza Sweden, US Boat to Gaza, the International Committee for Breaking the Siege of Gaza and Gaza Freedom Flotilla Australia and “National Collective for Palestine” and “Platform of NGOs for Palestine” [France]. Learn more about the Freedom Flotilla Coalitionhere, follow us on Facebook, on Twitter and on Instagram. Many of your questions about this year’s mission may be answered here.
Our partners in Gaza include:
Union of Agricultural Work Committees,which represents Palestinian fishers and farmers
We are Not Numbers.
young Palestinian journalists who tell stories that bring us closer to the reality of life in Gaza
from We Are Not Numbers by Mohammed Moussa
Four of us
were trapped
in southern Gaza
on the made-up border
surrounded by 100 snipers’ bullets
like birds about to be snared
with gas bombs falling from the sky
like the rains of January.
Hope lunged out of the smoky darkness
with her kufiyah wrapped around her neck;
like a deer
she ran,
holding our flag
below the kites flying,
she came running and shouting,
“I’m coming for you, for the land!”
Then handed us the flag
to put it on the fence to prove
this land is ours and
we’re returning.
We ran back with her
the four of us
holding each other’s hands;
like a chain of protection,
we formed a human shield
to protect her,
our hope, but
the sky was our shield
protecting us all
from the rain of bullets
at our backs.
We ran from our grief to come,
inhaling the gas and
the sound of bullets
sinking into other bodies
falling.
She didn’t.
We surrounded
our hope,
kept her running.
Opening his European tour in Barcelona, Roger Waters will participate in the event ‘Totes amb Palestina’ (Everyone with Palestina), which will take place at the Espai Josep Bota de la Fabra i Coats, Monday 9th April.
Rania Muhareb, legal researcher with the Palestinian organization Al-Haq, will take part in the event and tell about the consequences of the latest escalation of repression in Palestine. Sandra Barrilaro, Rumbo a Gaza, Freedom Flotilla Coalition, will present Right to a Just Future for Palestine.
The Gaza Strip, Palestine, is recovering from the bloodiest episode since 2014, after the Israeli forces killed 21 people during the March 30th demonstrations near the border with Israel. Many thousands of Gaza’s residents have gathered to demand the right of the Palestinian refugees and their descendants to go back to their historical homes as part of The Great March of Return. The date to start this pacific action, supported by all Palestinian factions, was chosen as a reminder that the loss of land is a constant under the illegal Israeli occupation.
In light of this and while Roger Waters is in Barcelona, for the opening of his Us +Them tour; April 13th& 14th at the Palau Sant Jordi, various groups have organized this event ‘Totes amb Palestina’, to be held Monday April 9th in the Espai Josep Bota, at the Fabra i Coats cultural space of Sant Andreu de Palomar, Barcelona.
The founder member of Pink Floyd, a firm defender of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign (BDS) against Israel’s violations of human rights, will share the stage with Rania Muhareb, a legal researcher with Al Haq, a Palestinian human rights organization, who will speak about the increase in repression experienced by the Palestinian population at the moment; and with Sandra Barrilaro, member of Rumbo a Gaza (Freedom Flotilla Coalition), who will present Right to a Just Future for Palestine, the new mission to challenge the illegal blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip for more than a decade.
Free access subject to on-line booking using this link: http://Palestin.eventbrite.es. The event is organized by the following group: BDS, Prou Complicitat amb Israel, Rumbo a Gaza (Freedom Flotilla Coalition), Ateneu l’Harmonia, Tigre de paper edicions; and supported by the municipality of Barcelona. For more information: info@rumboagaza.org. We hope to share with you video from this event in the future, as was done with a Waters event in Vancouver last year (https://vimeo.com/243417578).
Freedom Flotilla Coaltion literary contest results.
After reviewing 29 English entries, our jurors selected a winner and a runner up in the categories of short story and poetry. The winners are, for short story: Mikayla Boorany (South Africa), Dan Lieberman (USA), and for poetry: Gerry Sloan (USA) and Anna Dora Antonsdottir (Iceland). Their submissions have begun appearing on our website www.sgf.freedomflotilla.org, and will continue to be published, along with winning texts in Spanish and Arabic. See our full announcement for more, including a link a collection of submissions from school-children in South Africa: sgf.freedomflotilla.org/news/
Our literary contest results announcement coincided with the Palestinian Land Day protests and Great March of Return, marking 70 years of the Nakba (Catastrophe). See the Freedom Flotilla Coalition's statement about the killing of civilian protestors: Massacre at Gaza’s Borders: We Will Not Be Silent – End Israeli Impunity. We will be continuing to follow these protests supporting the Palestinian Right of Return over the coming weeks. Our next flotilla, sailing for a Just Future for Palestine, will leave mid-May from Copenhagen and will make many port stops along the way before departing for Gaza mid-July from the western Mediterranean. Please help spread the word by sharing our messages, and please follow our mission as we make our way towards ending the illegal blockade of Gaza, .
In solidarity,
The Canadian Boat to Gaza, part of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition
www.freedomflotilla.org
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/
Twitter https://twitter.com/
Instagram instagram.com/
le texte français suit*
Two Former New Democrat MPs, and the Publisher of Rabble now endorse our 2018 campaign to end the blockade of Gaza:
"Ending the blockade and human suffering in Gaza is an urgent human rights issue that must concern us all. Having visited Gaza in 2009 we know first hand the impact of the blockade on civil society. The International Freedom Flotilla in 2018 strives to bring the world's attention to the deteriorating situation. We support the aims for peace and justice for the Palestinians of Gaza."
Libby Davies Former Member of Parliament, Vancouver East, 1997-2015. Former Deputy Leader, New Democratic Party.
Kim Elliott, Publisher, rabble.ca
"I would like to thank all those involved in the Canadian Boat to Gaza and to wish them well in this important mission. It is important to continue to bring attention to this illegal blockade. It is my hope that the Israeli authorities will welcome the Freedom Flotilla mission and guarantee freedom of movement for the Palestinian people. I would also like to encourage the Government of Canada to offer support to those courageous Canadians taking part in this important endeavour."
Alex Atamanenko
Member of Parliament, B.C. Southern Interior, 2006-2015.
The Canadian Boat to Gaza campaign needs your support in order to participate in the Freedom Flotilla 2018 sailing For a Just Future for Palestine.
You can donate online (canadaboatgaza.org/donate) or by postal mail. Make out cheque or money order to Turtle Island Humanitarian Aid and mail it to:
Canadian Boat to Gaza
PO Box 1950, London Stn. B
London, Ontario N6A 5J4
CANADA
(Note: like many of our sister organizations, we would prefer to move away from dependence on PayPal for online donations. At this point, we are pleased to accept e-Interac transfers from Canadian bank accounts, and we hope to announce other payment methods soon. Please e-mail us if you have questions about this).
Some (especially those who can benefit from a charitable tax receipt in the US) may wish to donate through the US Boat to Gaza page:
https://2018boatstogaza-nonvio
In other parts of the world, please consider donating through one our other partner campaigns in the Freedom Flotilla:
https://sgf.freedomflotilla.or
Whether your can donate financially or not, please help us spread the word about our campaign:
Twitter: @CanadaBoatGaza @GazaFFlotilla
www.facebook.com/CanadaBoatGaz
www.facebook.com/BateauCanadie
www.facebook.com/FreedomFlotil
*francais:
Deux anciens députés néodémocrates et l'éditrice de Rabble.ca soutiennent notre campagne pour mettre fin au blocus de Gaza:
"Mettre fin au blocus ainsi qu'à la souffrance humaine à Gaza constitue un enjeu humanitaire urgent qui doit nous concerner tous et toutes. Ayant visité Gaza en 2009, nous connaissons de nos propres yeux l'impact du blocus sur la société civile. En 2018, la Flottille de la Liberté internationale s'efforce à attirer l'attention du monde sur cette situation qui se détériore. Nous appuyons les objectifs de paix et de justice pour les Palestiniennes et le Palestiniens de Gaza."
Libby Davies, ancienne députée, Vancouver Est, de 1997 2015. Ancienne Leader adjointe, Nouveau Parti Démocratique.
Kim Elliott, Éditrice, rabble.ca
"Je tiens à remercier tous ceux et toutes celles qui oeuvrent au sein du Bateau canadien pour Gaza, à leur souhaiter bon vent pour cette mission importante en 2018. C'est important de continuer à attirer l'attention sur ce blocus illégal. Mon souhait c'est que les autorités israéliennes accueilleront bien la mission de la Flottille de la Liberté et garantiront la liberté de mouvement pour le peuple palestinien. J'aimerais aussi encourager le gouvernement canadien à offrir leur appui aux personnes courageuses du Canada qui participent à cet effort important."
Alex Atamanenko
Ancien député (NPD), C.-B. Southern Interior, 2006-2015.
La campagne du Bateau canadien pour Gaza a besoin de votre soutien afin de participer dans la Flottille de la Liberté 2018, quand on naviguera pour un Avenir Juste pour la Palestine.
Vous pouvez faire un don en ligne, (canadaboatgaza.org/donate) ou par chèque à la poste. Il faut libeller votre chèque ou mandat postal au nom de: Aide humanitaire Île de la Tortue et l'envoyer à:
Bateau canadien pour Gaza
PO Box 1950, London Stn. B
London, Ontario N6A 5J4
CANADA
(Nota bene: comme beaucoup de nos alliés, nous aimerions réduire notre dépendance sur PayPal pour les dons en ligne. En ce moment, nous sommes heureux d'accepter les virements par e-Interac à partir des comptes bancaires canadiens, et nous espérons annoncer bientôt d'autres méthodes pour effectuer les paiements. Veuillez nous contacter par courriel si vous avez des questions à cet égard).
Certaines personnes (en particulier celles qui peuvent bénéficier d'un reçu d'impôt aux É-U, pourraient vouloir faire un don par le biais de cette campagne-là:
https://2018boatstogaza-nonvio
Depuis d'autres parties du monde, vous pouvez faire un don par le biais des sites de nos partenaires:
https://sgf.freedomflotilla.or
Que vous puissiez ou pas nous soutenir financièrement, veuillez nous aider à diffuser notre campagne:
Twitter: @CanadaBoatGaza @GazaFFlotilla
www.facebook.com/CanadaBoatGaz
www.facebook.com/BateauCanadie
www.facebook.com/FreedomFlotil
—
Canadian Boat to Gaza: www.canadaboatgaza.org email: canadaboatgaza@gmail.com
Bateau canadien pour GAZA: www.canadaboatgaza.org courriel: canadaboatgaza@gmail.com
