Palestine/Gaza: In Preparation for the Gaza Freedom March
On the 31 December, the Gaza Freedom March is taking place to mark a year passing since Operation Cast Lead, the Israeli attack on Gaza.
The International Coalition to End the Illegal Siege of Gaza is mobilising an international contingent to march alongside the people of Gaza, in a non-violent show of solidarity and with the hope of ending the Gaza blockade.
Many of the participants have already arrived in Cairo in preparation.
The Freedom March has the participation of many noteworthy people, including author Alice Walker, Syrian actor and director Duraid Lahham, Roger Waters of Pink Floyd, and French rap group MAP, amongst others.
Amongst the participants is 84-year old Holocaust survivor Hedy Epstien.
Hedy Epstein has been actively raising awareness about the march. On 01 Dec 2009, along with J’Ann Allen, the wife of a retired military officer and Sandra Mansour, a Palestinian refugee, she issued a public invitation to political activist, Nobel Laureate and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel to go to Gaza with them.
Wiesel was urged to “Break Your Silence and Come With Us”, during a speech at St.Louis University:
Hedy Epsteins participation in the March has been met with much appreciaton:
Desertpeace applauds her participation:
Seeing a survivor of those horrors [The Holocaust] struggle against today’s evils is truly an inspiration. I am speaking of Hedy Epstein, who as I write this, is on her way to Gaza to take part in the Gaza Freedom March. This is what the Holocaust should have ‘produced’ as an ‘industry’, an industry that does not allow a repetition of the past…. NEVER AGAIN!
The organisation of the march has not, however, been without its hurdles, and organisers the International Coalition to End the Illegal Siege of Gaza, have not been beyond criticism.
Norman Finkelstein, author of The Holocaust Industry and ‘dreamer’ of the march, was initially an active member of the coalition, but has since resigned. His frustration came from a much-debated change in the statement of the coalition. The original statement of the coalition was to march to break the siege in accordance with the principle of non-violence and anchored in international law. The statement was later amended to include the ‘political context,’ which Finkelstein deemed divisive as it brought in potentially contentious issues unnecessary to the original appeal. While he does not specify the exact amendments with which he objects, he comments in his address Why I resigned from the Gaza Freedom March coalition:
It should perhaps be stressed that the point of dispute was not whether one personally supported a particular Palestinian right or strategy to end the occupation. It was whether inclusion in the coalition’s statement of a particular right or strategy was necessary if it was both unrelated to the immediate objective of breaking the siege and dimmed the prospect of a truly mass demonstration.
His high-profile departure was accompanied by the withdrawal of a number of other active members. Max at Jewbonics noted his departure from the movement with regret. As an organiser of the march he responded to fears that others would leave the movement, reporting:
I think it is safe to say that number lost will be dwarfed by the number gained, if what I've seen in-person and on-line has been any indication
Despite concerns over the numbers endorsing the march, this is indeed a mass demonstration, and is the first time that Palestinians will be coming together in such large numbers along with international support: there are an estimated 1,300 international participants participating, who will meet in Cairo and march alongside a predicated 50,000 local residents once they have crossed into Gaza through Rafah.
At the Electronic Intifada, Rami Almeghari reports that:
In recent months, people in Gaza believe the international community began to direct its attention elsewhere, neglecting the siege of Gaza. Few international media outlets pay attention to the situation here.
The march hopes to change this. Mustafa al-Kayali, coordinator of the steering committee for the Gaza Freedom March, reports:
We call on the internationals who come here not to consider their visits as tourism. Rather, they should convey a real message from the ground to their peoples, organizations or governments…
Most of local youth with whom I talked over the Gaza Freedom March expressed excitement and enthusiasm for participation. They are keen to send a message to the outside world that the Palestinian people are there and that humans should be united for the sake of freedom.
More information about the Gaza Freedom March, its participants, mission, and on-going preparation, can be found here.
36 comments
Jane – are you saying breaking a UN resolution automatically puts you at fault? Does that mean you fully endorse all UN resolutions (I certainly don’t!)? Probably the biggest in the Arab (and eventually Palestinians) history was UN 181, the Partition Plan for Palestine, which passed in 1948 and rejected by the Arabs, who soon attacked.
Who was there first – I guess you don’t believe any of the biblical stories about Jerusalem and the Hebrews? How about the first/second temples? King Harod? The Romans? The Dead Sea Scrolls?
I agree the Palestinians of Gaza should not be kept prisoners, but these “freedom” marches have little credibility until they address the fact that multiple parties are required to fix the problem. Isn’t it obvious that neither the Egyptians nor the Israeli’s care? Shouldn’t they be protesting HAMAS also?
Hello:
– No I am not saying that breaking a UN resolution automatically puts you at fault – the fact that SO MANY were broken by israel just goes to show the type of “country“ it is.
I mean these resolutions are established in order to prevent casualties from occuring – since theyre all broken – the Palestinians suffer.
And yes I do support the UN resolutions because they are there for a reason.
– Who was there first ; yes I do believe in the biblical stories in Jerusalem and such. But, every single bible ive opened says Palestine. Not israel. Which obviously means Palestine was there first. Thats what I was stating.
– Yeah and youre right, these freedom marches do have little credibility because the partY requirred to fix the problem is not cooperating, or should I say, has NOT been cooperating for the last 60 + years: israel itself.
Hamas, Hamas.. blame it on them, ofcourse.
Had the people of Gaza not been oppressed by israel, Hamas would not have had to retaliate.
BOTTOM LINE:
This land belongs to the Palestinians. Not israel.
BOTTOM LINE.
Ah, don’t you just love the white phosphorus smell of Israeli propaganda in the morning? Baby steps on Resolution 181: 1) As a General Assembly resolution it wasn’t binding. 2) The UN was a white man’s club back then and didn’t bwanna know how to twist a few brown arms back then? A partition proposal of the 1947 (not 1948) kind would never see the light of day at today’s UN. 3) Why would the majority population (2/3rds) of a country accept 57% of their country being handed over to a bunch of settlers (who owned only 6% of the place, who’d been in the country for less than 30 years, and who wanted to set up a sectarian state at their expense) without the matter being put to a referendum or being scrutinised by the International Court of Justice for the distinct possibility that the majority community’s right to self-determination was about to be trashed?
Merc – don’t know what the color of someone’s skin has to do with this “The UN was a white man’s club …”.
We do agree again, the UN is not an authority on morality.
Also that land given to Israel, which still had a large Arab population included the Negev – not exactly prime real esate. The Arab side had no Jews – was it a white thing again?
Jane: – “Who was there first ; yes I do believe in the biblical stories in Jerusalem and such. But, every single bible ive opened says Palestine. Not israel. Which obviously means Palestine was there first. Thats what I was stating.” – In many of those stories Palestine was a reference to the Jews of Palestine. Even as recently as a couple hundred years ago by some Europeans.
So you think HAMAS bears no responsibility?
Hello:
– Alright, so we do agree on one thing: Its Palestine, not israel; since Palestine was there first. And, if Palestine was the “land of the jews” how come only 10% of the population before israel’s ILLEGAL occupation began were jews and the rest arabs?
I did not say Hamas bears no responsibility.
If you read correctly, I said that: had israel not imposed that ILLEGAL blockade Hamas would not have had to retaliate.
Please, dont put words into my mouth and read correctly what I am stating.
Hamas is a resistance group. Palestine is OPPRESSED. Therefore, Hamas has every RIGHT to retaliate. Regardless of what you, and the media thinks.
Since it seems like youre having a hard time understanding as this is the second time you question me about Hamas. Let me make this easier for you ; when you enter someones home and control everything and everyone. The people living there are bound to retaliate. This is what the Palestinians did.
Now theyre at fault? Ofcourse. That makes so much sense, right?
So, you keep thinking Hamas is held responsible ; and israel is an angel in all this right? Ofcourse. That makes so much sense..
Bottom line: israel’s occupation is not right and is causing a lot of pain towards the Palestinians.
Bottom line this land is their land. Bottom line.
No matter what other proof you like to pull out – or try to come up with – Bottom Line: This is their land. They deserve freedom to enter or leave their own country.
Bottom line.
I mean come on: illegal occupation, organ theft, illegal settlements; illegal wall; war crimes ; broke all un resoltions and international laws; illegal blockades ; massacres.
After all this; Palestine is at fault and israel is ok.
I sincerely hope youre well.
I look forward on hearing from you soon.
Strewth! The caravan’s long gone, but that pooch’s still yapping away.
Jane: If you believe the bible the land that is Israel was called the “Kingdom of Israel”, the West Bank was the “Kingdom of Judah”. The “Philistine States” were what is now Gaza.
We can debate about the Arabs of Palestine that fled, and the Arab Jews that fled to Israel, the Partition Plan, etc, but I doubt we will come to an agreement. I don’t know if it is legal or not for Egypt/Israel to close their borders, other countries close borders and refuse to trade with neighbors. You can’t cross between North/South Korea, can’t buy Israeli goods in Lebanon, etc.
I wasn’t trying to put words in your mouth: you said “Palestine has been occupied by Israel for over 60 years. They have broken ALL UN resolutions established – which means clearly theyre AT FAULT.”
I don’t agree that HAMAS is a resistance group, they are the elected leaders of the Palestinian people. They might have a right to initiate or respond with violence, but so does their enemies. Both must accept the consequences.
The original subject: This is a conflict between three parties, Egypt, Israel and HAMAS. The protesters began by protesting only Israel. When Egypt reiterated there was only one way they could enter Gaza they started protesting Egypt. Not a single word about HAMAS.
It sounds like we are both against the situation in Gaza and the suffering of innocent people. It was created by two parties and needs to be solved by them. I don’t think protesting against one side will accomplish anything.
R:I doubt that we will come to an agreement too.
Although we both know that Palestine was there wayyy before the state of israel created itself you still seem to think that israel should be there and has the right to do what theyre doing..
Even if you wanted to debate about “who was there first” I woudnt want to with you. I only debate with people that have substance. You clearly dont. I mean, what on earth dont you understand? Palestine was there first. So, israels got no RIGHT to be there. and cause PAIN PAIN PAIN.
Bottom line. Bottom line. Once again, regardless of what proof you love to pull out.
Secondly, ” the original subject” : israel’s ILLEGAL occupation, leading to an ILLEGAL blockade. If people want to show their support and march on behalf of the Palestinians theyve got every right to. If israel believes they can come into someones land and control everything and kill kill KILL – Palestine sure as hells got the RIGHT to express themselves. Maybe it wont help, but being heard is the LEAST the Palestinians can do. Or, are “allowed” to do since they are deprived of EVERYTHING else.
Hamas: I dont care whether u agree or not with me. I dont expect you to since you dont even acknowledge the fact that this land belongs to the Palestinians. Obviously youre going to be against Hamas since their goal is to defend the people of Palestine. I mean, when youre OPPRESSED – u shoudnt have the right to defend yourself right Robby? I wish you were here to hear the sincere sarcasm in my voice.
” Both sides need to suffer the consequences ”
Youre right: israel ILLEGALY occupies Palestine.
Who suffers here? Palestine.
israel’s ILLEGAL blockade.
Who suffers here? Palestine.
OH nooo! A hand made rocket from Hamas..
Thats the consequence no? Ofcourse not! Right R.?
I guess you can say we both agree on Gaza’s situation. But you dont seem to show that israel’s ILLIEGAL occupation since 1948 is to blame. Naah, lets forget that fact, right?
I sincerely hope youre well.
I look forward on hearing from you.
However, I dont expect you to.
But if you do come up with something else, please do let me know.
Bottom line: This land belongs to Palestine. Bottom line. That is the root of the problem. israel should not be there. Bottom LINE.
Jane: The original subject is the Free Gaza March, it is in the title and the original BLOG. It was not about land ownership that is a subject you keep interjecting. You also brought the UN into it, who, BTW has granted Israel the right to be there.
You entered this conversation saying “do the research” – I don’t know what I have presented that you feel is not researched.
Of course the protesters have the right to express themselves, I never said, or even insinuated they should not. I only expressed my opinion on how successful it would be. Kind of like if Israeli’s decided to protest HAMAS, do you think they would care? It is kind of ironic the right to protest against HAMAS would probably not be tolerated within Gaza, would it?
You said “I only debate with people that have substance. You clearly dont.” – A debate should be about opposing opinions on a subject, not your opinion of me. Attacking me is not what I call debating. Maybe you can find someone else to engage in name calling.
R:
Nah, i ever called you any names.
I was trying to make you see that because of the fact israel is there, sooo many problems are occuring. Like this blockade, for instance.
Yeah, youre right about the title and all but my intention is to show that israel should not be there. Bottom line.
REGARDLESS of the title of this blog.
This land belongs to the Palestinians.
Take care
I think that the strip march is a good idea to get media attention and the governments attention too. When more and more people join the march that will put more pressure on the Israeli government. Its a good thing when people know more and more about these issues because Irael has been attacking Palestine.