Tag Archives: Freedom Flotilla

Legal victory against Israeli seizure of Tahrir. Ambulances on their way to Gaza.

Finally, after 10 years, the Israeli government has settled our compensation claim for its seizure of our boat and its cargo.

On November 4, 2011, the Tahrir, funded by grassroots donations from Canada, Australia, Belgium and Denmark, along with its cargo of some $30,000 in medical aid, was stolen by the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) and never delivered to our civil society partners in Gaza. A dozen people on board, including journalists, were imprisoned in Israel and eventually deported.

In January 2012, the Canadian Boat to Gaza filed a legal claim against the Israeli military. Through diligent research, our amazing Israeli legal team established an irrefutable basis for our claim. As a result, we have received a net settlement of $185,647 CDN, about half of the Tahrir’s total costs. Although we have accepted this out-of-court settlement, it does not represent full justice for our losses, much less for those of Palestinians.Many more Palestinian boats from Gaza have been stolen and damaged by the IOF: their owners face far greater legal obstacles than we do in pursuing claims and obtaining justice.

“This settlement is a victory for us and for the entire Freedom Flotilla movement, as well as for all organizations and individuals who contributed time and money to ending the blockade of Gaza.” said Canadian-Israeli Sandra Ruch, who was the registered owner of the Tahrir on behalf of our campaign, outside the Israeli consulte in Toronto today (video). “Of course, the funds from this settlement will be dedicated to the ongoing actions to help achieve full freedom of movement for all Palestinians.”

While we are not seeking donations for our campaign at this time, we ask you to support our sister campaigns in the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, as well as our partners in Gaza, including We Are Not Numbers. Our other partner in Gaza, the Union of Agricultural Work Committees (also representing Palestinian fishers), urgently needs solidarity now: please consider signing and sending this letter supporting them and other Palestinian civil society organizations targeted by the Israeli occupation.

We are using a portion of this settlement towards purchasing much-needed new ambulances for Gaza. These new ambulances, which our Freedom Flotilla partners helped fund, are now en route towardsPalestine: when they arrive we will let you know.

UPDATE: The convoy of ambulances arrived in Gaza on November 8: here are some details about the arrival, including a ‘Peace Train’ video, from our friends at Kia Ora Gaza.

Thank you once again for your continued support. Together we will keep physically challenging and eventually help break the illegal blockade!

[Gaza] situation continues to deteriorate: in 2020, we sail for the children of Gaza

Dear Supporters, 

 

For more than a decade, Israel and Egypt have blockaded the Gaza Strip, by land, air and sea. For most of that decade, the Canada Boat to Gaza has been sailing with the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, in solidarity with Palestine to break the illegal blockade of Gaza. Nothing is getting better there. During Gaza’s Great March of Return, Israeli  forces have killed at least 267 people and maimed 30 000 other. Gaza will very soon be uninhabitable. Innocent women, children and men will soon have even less access to clean drinking water, food and other essentials of life. Our Canadian government remains complicit in this crime.

 

Canada Boat to Gaza has been busy since our last sailing in 2018. This summer we partnered with the US Boat to Gaza to hold local flotilla actions to raise awareness about the dire situation in Gaza. CBG held two events in London, Ont, and we increased awareness across the country. Our partners in the US held actions in St. Louis, Madison, Chicago, San Francisco, Avalon – Catalina Island, Spokane, Mary’s River, Quilcene Bay, Bellingham, Lyme and more. See it all here. The Canadian captain of the 2018 Flotilla vessel Freedom, John Turnbull, participated in the recent Bellingham event : 

 

The situation in Gaza is unimaginable to most Canadians. Lack of clean drinking water is an issue in some communities here at home. In Gaza, it affects almost two million people. The effects of trauma on this population, including those who have been peacefully protesting during the Great March of Return, are immeasurable. This year, as we plan for our 2020 Flotilla, we are focussing on children and youth in Gaza. We will be reaching out to individuals and organizations who can help us raise awareness about this human-made humanitarian crisis and our responsibility for it. And, as always, we will be holding our government accountable for their complicity in Israeli war crimes against Palestinians.

 

Our work is not finished and we all need to continue until Palestine is free. We need your help. Please consider volunteering with us as we prepare for our actions in 2020. We need help event planning, fundraising and more. Contact us today at canadaboatgaza@gmail.com

A critical way to help this campaign is to contribute financially. There are different ways you can make a donation. Click here to donate. We ask you to consider a monthly donation. We are pleased to accept e-transfers from Canadian bank accounts (Interac) or online using a major credit card or PayPal account. You can also donate by cheque or money order and mailing to Canadian Boat to Gaza, PO Box 1950, London Stn. B, London, Ontario N6A 5J4, CANADA
 

Please help us spread the word about our campaigns:

– 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 share our posts widely.
 

Twitter: @GazaFFlotilla

www.facebook.com/CanadaBoatGaza        
www.facebook.com/BateauCanadienGaza 
www.facebook.com/FreedomFlotillaCoalition  
You can support Canadian Boat to Gaza by donating via e-transfer (Interac, from Canada accounts only), mailing cheques or money orders, or online, see : https://canadaboatgaza.org/donate/.

 In other parts of the world, please consider donating through one of our other partner campaigns in the Freedom Flotilla:  https://jfp.freedomflotilla.org/donate


Together, we can help end the blockade!

 

 

Manon Massé of Québec Solidaire : support the Freedom Flotilla & Canadian Boat to Gaza

"I am happy to see that the Freedom Flotilla for Gaza is sailing again, especially at this difficult time for our Palestinian sisters and brothers.
In 2011, I myself participated in the Canadian Boat to Gaza, in order to support the struggles of the Palestinian people. Seven years later, it is still necessary to act in solidarity with the people in Gaza in order to have their rights respected and to lift the inhuman blockade imposed by Israel!
Palestinians demand freedom of movement and the right to live in dignity on their lands. The Freedom Flotilla is a powerful, peaceful demonstration of our solidarity with the Palestinian people of Gaza! "

Manon Massé
Member of the Québec National Assembly for Sainte-Marie-Saint-Jacques
Spokesperson for Québec Solidaire 

The Canadian Boat to Gaza campaign needs your support in order to pay our share of the boat that the Freedom Flotilla is preparing to sail, starting in May 2018, against the blockade of Gaza and 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 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-nonviolenceinternational.nationbuilder.com/contribute
In other parts of the world, please consider donating through one our other partner campaigns in the Freedom Flotilla:  
https://sgf.freedomflotilla.org/donate

Whether your 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!

LOGO: Canadian Boat to Gaza / Bateau canadien pour GazaManon Massé

Women of the world need your support to sail for Palestine 

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(Photo credit: Gregory Costanzo)

PayPal graphic + link

The people of Palestine – both Gaza and the West Bank, arbitrarily split by Israeli separation policies which are illegal in international law – suffer daily abuse, deprivation and oppression. The United Nations, as well as major aid agencies such as Oxfam, provide testimony that Gaza has not been able to recover from the last Israeli assault of 2014. 75,000 people cannot return to their ruined homes and 80% of the population relies on international humanitarian aid just to survive.

 Women are in the front line – literally. They are the ones trying to keep their homes and families together among their ruined houses. They are the ones trying to guide and protect their traumatized children living in a war zone. They are the ones suffering, but they are also the ones leading.

Take for example Palestinian journalist Ameera Harouda, who runs towards the sounds of bombs because “I want to be there first because these stories should be told”.

Recognizing the vital role of women in Gaza, the Canadian Boat to Gaza campaign is participating in the Freedom Flotilla Coalition campaign to send an All-Women’s boat to support women in Gaza and to challenge the illegal Israeli blockade. Committed women in public life around the world have volunteered to sail with the Women’s Boat to Gaza.

U.S. playwright Naomi Wallace describes her participation: “The collective venture of the Women's Boat to Gaza is an act of defiance against the criminal incarceration of and frequent acts of war against an entire population, the majority of whom are children. It is also an intervention to highlight decades of astonishingly creative resistance by Palestinian women against Israel's illegal occupation.” She adds: “Why will I be on the boat?  I am a playwright.  It's both my duty and inspiration to engage with and expose systems that diminish us, like occupation, racism and brutality."

Irish Nobel Prize Laureate Mairead Maquire says “I am sailing on the Women's Boat to Gaza because I love my Palestinian brothers and sisters and l want to stand with them in all our struggle for Palestinian freedom and rights.” Also on board will be Members of Parliament, other eminent women and activists from over a dozen countries.

These women need our financial support to sail for Gaza. They are donating their time, courage and energy, but need financial donations to buy and equip the boats and provide the other support this campaign needs. https://canadaboatgaza.org/donate/

You, too, can get on board this vitally important initiative and show your commitment to Palestinian women of Gaza and those who would support them by donating to this campaign and helping to spread the word to your friends, family colleagues and other contacts.

Each one of the women sailing on the boats carries with her the support you provide.

Get on board this campaign and help the women of Gaza and the women’s boat to Gaza.

Follow us and to get involved at: 
www.canadaboatgaza.org and womensboattogaza.org
www.facebook.com/FreedomFlotillaCoalition and www.facebook.com/CanadaBoatGaza
Twitter @GazaFFlotilla @CanadaBoatGaza

In Solidarity, 

Canadian Boat to Gaza Team
 

               —————————-français—————————-

Des femmes du monde entier ont besoin de vous pour rejoindre la Palestine

Faire un don 
  
Le peuple palestinien de Gaza et de Cisjordanie, est soumis arbitrairement à une séparation et une fragmentation et vit sans contiguïté territoriale depuis la mise en place de politiques israéliennes ségrégationnistes, illégales au plan  du droit international.

Ce peuple est quotidiennement agressé, opprimé et souffre de multiples privations. Les Nations Unies, de même que certaines grandes ONG, telle Oxfam, constatent que Gaza ne s’est pas remise de l’agression israélienne de 2014. En effet, 75 000 personnes ne peuvent toujours pas regagner leur maison en ruines et 80 % de la population ne survit que  grâce à l’aide humanitaire internationale.

Les femmes sont littéralement en première ligne du combat. Au milieu des décombres de leurs maisons, elles sont celles qui tiennent à bout de bras leur famille et leur foyer, qui guident et protègent leurs enfants traumatisés ayant à vivre dans cette zone de guerre. S’il est vrai qu’elles souffrent, elles n’en demeurent pas moins la pierre angulaire de leur peuple.

La journaliste palestinienne Ameera Harouda en est un parfait exemple. Si elle accourt aux premiers bruits des bombes c’est parce que, dit‑elle : « Je veux être la première sur les lieux, car  le monde doit savoir ce qui se passe ».

Reconnaissant le rôle vital des femmes de Gaza, la campagne canadienne du Bateau pour Gaza qui participe à celle de la Coalition pour la Flottille de la Liberté, collabore à l’envoi d’un bateau dont l’équipage sera composé exclusivement de femmes et dont l’un des objectifs est de manifester notre solidarité envers les femmes de Gaza. Ce bateau a également pour but de briser le blocus illégal imposé par Israël. De divers coins du monde, des femmes engagées au sein de leur société se sont portées volontaires pour participer à la traversée vers Gaza.

Pour la dramaturge américaine Naomi Wallace, « cette entreprise collective qu’est le Bateau des femmes pour Gaza constitue un acte de résistance contre la séquestration criminelle et les actes de guerre imposés à tout un peuple, dont la majorité sont des enfants. C’est également l’occasion de mettre en valeur l’incroyable créativité des Palestiniennes dans leur résistance face à l’occupation israélienne illégale ». À la question « pourquoi monter à bord de ce bateau?», elle répond : « Je suis auteure dramatique, c’est à la fois un devoir et une source d’inspiration que de se confronter à des systèmes qui tentent de nous diminuer en tant qu’êtres humains, comme le font l’occupation, le racisme et la brutalité. »

Prix Nobel de la paix, l’irlandaise Mairead Maquire naviguera sur le Bateau des femmes pour Gaza « par amour, dit-elle pour ses frères et sœurs palestiniennes, pour être à leur côté dans toutes nos luttes pour les droits et libertés des Palestinien.ne.s». Issues d’une douzaine de pays, des parlementaires ainsi que des personnalités de premier plan et des militantes de la base seront aussi du voyage.

Ces femmes ont besoin de notre soutien financier pour se rendre à Gaza. Elles investissent leur temps et leurs énergies et font preuve d’un grand courage mais  il faut de l’argent à la fois pour acheter et équiper les bateaux,  et aussi pour  couvrir les besoins connexes liés à une campagne de cette envergure. https://canadaboatgaza.org/donate/

Nous avons besoin de vous pour accomplir cette mission vitale. Soutenez les femmes de Gaza et celles qui les aident : faites un don et parlez de ce projet à vos ami.es, proches, collègues, etc. 

Chacun des femmes qui naviguera sur le bateau portera avec elle votre contribution. 

Montez à bord de cette campagne, soutenez les Palestiniennes de Gaza et le Bateau des femmes pour Gaza.

Pour nous suivre, rendez‑vous sur :

 

www.ffq.qc.ca/luttes/bateau-gaza/a-propos/

www.facebook.com/Bateau-Canadien-Pour-Gaza-122827927786858/
www.canadaboatgaza.org (en anglais).
www.womensboattogaza.org (en anglais).
www.facebook.com/FreedomFlotillaCoalition
www.facebook.com/CanadaBoatGaza
Twitter : @GazaFFlotilla  @CanadaBoatGaza

Solidairement, 
L’équipe du Bateau pour Gaza