Israel attacks flotilla bound for Gaza

Hours after Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu was presented with this Toronto Maple Leafs jersey in Toronto, Israeli commandos dropped from helicopters onto the lead vessel of a six ship international aid flotilla bound for Gaza and opened fire.

Israeli Radio is reporting 16 to 19 killed with 30 injured and confirms the flotilla was in international waters.

According to AFP, "the Israeli military censor ordered a block on all information regarding those injured or killed during the storming of the ship."

The six ships bearing 10,000 tons of supplies and over 600 activists from 40 countries, including 86 year old Holocaust survivor Hedy Epstein and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mairead Corrigan Maguire of Northern Ireland, are now being towed to Ashod.

I was watching a Turkish TV live feed from the lead vessel until it went off the air. I couldn't understand what anyone was saying except for a voice shouting in English that they were in international waters and a woman calling for help for the wounded. The live footage is now being rebroadcast at the same link with commentary in English.

But back to the jersey photo op. Netanyahu says Israel has never had a better friend than Canada and thanked Steve today for being "an unwavering friend of Israel."

Too true. Canada was the first country in the world to boycott Gaza for electing Hamas. When Israel bombed Lebanon in 2008 killing 1400, Steve called Israel's actions "measured". A Canadian killed when Israel shelled UN offices went unremarked by our government. We support the Wall at the UN. Peter Kent, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, has more than once stated on his website that "an attack on Israel would be considered an attack on Canada." We have cut off funding to humanitarian groups like Kairos and UNRWA who have been sympathetic to the plight of the Palestinians, and replaced members on the board of the once independent group Rights and Democracy with pro-Israel hawks. Canada had the largest delegation at last year's Conference on Anti-Semitism in Israel and provides nearly twice the Canadian forces to man the borders of Gaza as does the United States. We have our own McCarthyite Canadian Parliamentary Coalition to Combat Antisemitism and banned George Galloway from Canada. Con MPs have sent out flyers to their constituents suggesting that Liberals are soft on anti-Semitism, the definition of which has now been expanded to include any criticism of Israel, following the lead of our prime minister who has accused MPs of anti-Semitism in the House of Commons. Last month the Ethics Commissioner reported that Israel is the top destination of choice for MPs seeking junkets abroad paid for by outside organizations, and Ontario Premier McGuinty is there now drumming up trade. Two years ago Israel and Canada signed what it pleases Israel's Ministry of Public Security to describe on their website as a pact on "cooperation in home land security and counter terrorism issues."

BFF

Against this complicity by our own government in the three-year-old Israeli blockade of Gaza, we must raise our voices in support of international law. We must no longer allow our government to speak in our name here.

Witness Gaza. Witness. Gaza.

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Viva Palestina 3 convoy due to enter Gaza today tomorrow

The third Viva Palestina convoy of 198 vehicles bearing humanitarian aid is due to enter Gaza today.

It was held up by Egypt, long the 2nd largest recipient of US military aid, who demanded that the convoy request permission to enter Gaza from Israel, the single largest recipient of US military aid til 2004 when Iraq took over the #1 spot.

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According to AllGov, Israel has received $3 billion a year in US military aid since 1985, but "must spend 75% of its help from Washington on military hardware made in the USA."

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War is a racket, as is its attending foreign aid.

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Buy a T-shirt in support of the third 'Viva Palestina' convoy here.

Follow their progress here.

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Monday Night Update :

Small ruckus at the border when Egypt permitted entry to the first 157 convoy members to arrive but not the 400 due tonight.

Sit-down strike from the 157 and now it looks as if the whole convoy will be permitted to enter tomorrow after all. We'll see.

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Viva Palestina!

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You would think that 528 people from 17 countries in a 150-vehicle convoy carrying hundreds of tons of humanitarian supplies all the way across Europe to Gaza would rate at least one line somewhere in the North American media, wouldn't you? But you would be wrong.

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Tuesday Noon Update : Currently there is a stand-off in El-Arish, Egypt, between the convoy and hundreds of Egyptian riot police armed with water cannons. While the convoy members have been granted permission to enter Gaza, 90 of the now 400 vehicles - the ones from the US - have been refused entry. Convoy digging in, refusing to abandon the vehicles.

Shit. This could get ugly.

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George Galloway vs the Canadian director of the Jewish Defense League

in which Meir Weinstein takes credit for having Galloway banned from Canada and makes some rather unattractive threats about having the anti-war organisers of Galloway's now cancelled Canadian appearances checked out for links to terrorists.

However much I may not care for Jason Kenney or his decision to allow Galloway to be banned, he doesn't deserve to wear Weinstein ... but he does own the tie.

Galloway rather more sanguine here about the next Canadian election than the rest of us are, I think.

Update : More on this vid from Skdadl and Dr.Dawg

Sunday Night Update : Let Him Speak : Allow George Galloway To Speak in Canada

Over 4000 members on Facebook; over 3000 signatures on the petition.

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Jason Kenney spokesthingey Alykhan Velshi is an interesting fellow.

So outrageous was his "pee on the carpet" debut on Channel Four News to explain why Canada is banning British MP and Viva Palestina! leader George Galloway from entering Canada, I thought I'd look him up.

Here he is in 2006 fondly reminiscing about his days at the American Enterprise Institute :

"Ambassador Kirkpatrick, until fairly recently, was a scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, where I interned last year, and her office was only a few steps away from my bay on the 11th floor. She later went on to help found the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies."

As the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies later went on to employ Alykhan Velshi, along with Clifford May, Richard Perle, Newt Gingrich, William Kristol, James Woolsey, Charles Krauthammer, Michael Ledeen, Gary Bauer ... you get the idea ... if you signed the PNAC letter, you're in.

Here he is at FDD touting a 2007 article he co-wrote for National Review Online - "The law and terrorist charities" :

"There is, however, a compelling basis for a government ban on any assistance — even self-described humanitarian aid — to terrorists. Because terrorist organizations are not known as models of corporate transparency, there is no way of knowing whether a terrorist entity’s humanitarian arm is funneling money to its militant one."

Gosh, isn't that just what his new boss Jason Kenney thought he was up to two days ago when he stripped federal funds to the Canadian Arab Foundation for providing language training to new immigrants and the Canadian Islamic Congress for providing sensitivity training sessions to the Canadian Air Transportation Security Authority? h/t Stageleft

Do the Cons get all their ideas from ex-American Enterprise Institute interns?
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Update : Mr. Greg got there before me.
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Canada bans Galloway

George Galloway, a sitting member of the British Parliament and leader of the Viva Palestina humanitarian aid convoy to Gaza, has been banned from Canada on security grounds.

Describing him as an "infandous street-corner Cromwell", Jason Kenney spokesweasel Alykhan Velshi told Channel Four News above that George Galloway "poses a national security threat to Canadians" and will not be allowed "to come to Canada to pee on our carpet".

Well done, Alykhan Velshi.
It has been very difficult thus far to get national media coverage for the Viva Palestina aid convoy's mission to end the seige of Gaza but I think your nonsense will do the trick nicely.

You do realize, do you sir, that Galloway was in Canada just two years ago?
And that he evidently does not pose a threat to the national security of France, Spain, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, or the U.S. where he will be speaking just prior to the now cancelled engagement in Toronto.

Responding to the ban, George Galloway said,

"This has further vindicated the anti-war movement's contention that unjust wars abroad will end up consuming the very liberties that make us who we are."

But hey, you go, Mr Velshi.
The coveted Certificate of Hitlertude has so far eluded our Minister of Fascism and Multiculturalism Jason Kenney but this latest clowncar foray onto the world stage just might garner him another shot at it.

h/t Politics 'n Poetry and We Move to Canada
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Galloway's full response includes some serious ass-kicking :

"gay-baiter, gung-ho armchair warrior, right-wing last-ditch dead-enders of Bushism in Ottawa"

Heh.
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Viva Palestina! convoy has entered Gaza!

Viva Palestina! website : "And they entered side by side like heroes, some on foot some in their vehicles, tears, smiles, hugs, flowers. It was historic, it was legendary."

The fire truck, generator, and boat have been forced to do the detour through Israel first to be searched but the rest of the convoy is in!

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And some media coverage is finally kicking in :

BBC : UK aid convoy crosses into Gaza

"Part of a 99-vehicle convoy bringing medicine, food, clothing and toys from the UK has reached Gaza after a 24-day journey through Europe and Africa."

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G&M :

"They are organic farmers, art gallery owners, writers and activists - regular people. And this week they are doing what Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon would not do on his trip to the Middle East last week: They're visiting the war-ravaged Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.

The visitors include Pulitzer Prize-winning author Alice Walker and about 60 other people who arrived over the weekend ..."

Um, wait a minute ...

ok, here we go ... a line in the middle of paragraph five :

"A 300-person convoy called VivaPalestina and led by the controversial British MP George Galloway arrived yesterday at the Rafah crossing."

That's it? Yeah, ok, well thanks for that I guess, G&M.

The G&M article does a rather better job covering Kim Elliott of Rabble, who's own coverage here is even better : I hadn't known that Rachel Corrie's parents were also going - it's been six years since 23 year old Rachel was killed by an IDF bulldozer in Gaza. CodePink and Sandra Ruch of Women's Coalition for Peace in Israel and Independent Jewish Voices in Canada also get a one-line G&M mention.

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None of these activists imagine that the humanitarian aid they are bringing is more than a drop in a bucket that requires a thousand times more in the way of daily supplies of fresh water, food, fuel and medical supplies to Gaza. The point is to build pressure on the various complicit governments like ours who refuse to acknowledge their part in the crisis. But as Alice Walker put it :

"All great changes come from minorities - in fact, they usually come from two to three people."

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Viva Palestina! - media blackout

Updated below.

It would be quite something to see, wouldn't it?
The firetruck donated by the Fire Brigade Union in Manchester leading the now three miles long convoy of ambulances and trucks across the desert of North Africa from the UK to Gaza.
As Skdadl says : Now, THAT is a motorcade!
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You'd think the western media would be all over a story about ordinary people collecting a cool £1-million worth of humanitarian aid and setting out on a 5000 mile epic crusade with no assurances that they would even be allowed into Gaza once they got there.
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Well they aren't all over it. They're ignoring it. Completely.
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Author Alice Walker and 60 members of the anti-war group Code Pink got a mention in the Boston Herald as they waited to enter Gaza today - and good for them! - but Viva Palestina? Nothing. Cowards.
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News from the convoy on the road into Alexandria :

"every single house has had two police officers guarding the front with their backs towards the road making sure nobody is watching the convoy, to the extent that even areas of barren land police scatter to make sure children dont run up towards the vehicles, clearly not for road safety, but censorship ... it’s crazy, every mosque we’ve driven past has been barricaded to stop people looking "

We get why this is difficult for Egypt, third highest recipient of US aid after Iraq and Israel.
But what's the western media's excuse?
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Update : The Scottish medical aid convoy was permitted to enter Gaza from Egypt at Rafah today ahead of the others, so it looks like it's actually gonna happen. The rest of the convoy arrives tomorrow.
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Sunday night update : Shit. A glitch. Israel is apparently insisting that the convoy detour around and enter Gaza via Israel instead. This change of plan is obviously not acceptable to the convoy. There is also some problem with allowing the fire engine, the generator and the boat to enter. Currently George Galloway is standing firm that Egypt allow the entire convoy to enter Gaza directly from Egypt. So now we wait and see what happens tomorrow.

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Viva Palestina! People without borders.

According to the map, they're more than half way there.

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On Valentines Day, British MP George Galloway and a mile long convoy of over 100 donated vehicles packed with practical aid for Gaza left the Houses of Parliament in London to drive 5,000 miles through France, Spain, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Egypt.

The convoy includes a fire engine donated by the Fire Brigades Union, 25 ambulances, 2 buses, a boat, and trucks filled with a £1-million of medicines, cash, tools, clothes, blankets, and shoe-boxes filled with gifts for children, all donated to the people of Gaza. Thousands of dollars in donations have also come from the U.S.

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As my arrow shows, they are currently in Tunisia and by tomorrow will reach Libya. The plan is to cross the border at Rafah into Gaza in early March, where they donate their booty and the vehicles and then fly back to their countries of origin.

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What a remarkable undertaking.

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There have been, as you might imagine, adventures.

Nine volunteers together with their cargo and vehicles were arrested under anti-terrorism laws before they even left the U.K. Six were released the following day, 3 on the following Wednesday, and the police detachment which made the arrests provided financial assistance to help them catch up with the convoy.

They all attended a rock concert in Madrid.

The border between Algeria and Morocco, closed for 15 years, was specially opened to allow the convoy through. Algeria donated their fuel and Morocco their food and lodging.

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Read more at the Viva Palestina! website or the daily blog.

And sign their petition for more media coverage! For shame that a multi-faith, multi-national effort of such tremendous goodwill should not be making headlines.

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A big hat tip to Lagatta at Bread and Roses.

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UPDATE : EGYPT WILL ALLOW CONVOY INTO GAZA

Excellent news.

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MP George Galloway - Viva Palestina!