Global solidarity with Palestine

International outrage and determined actions continue to demand an end to the blockade of Gaza, as autopsy reports confirm the utter brutality of Israel’s May 31 attack on a flotilla of humanitarian aid.

The autopsy revealed that all nine activists killed by Israeli commandoes on the Mavi Marmara, the lead ship in the Freedom Flotilla, were killed by gunshot wounds. The nine Turkish men — who ranged in age from 19 to 61 and, except for the youngest, were all fathers — were shot a total of 30 times. Five were killed by gunshots either to the back of the head or in the back. (British Guardian, June 5)

Flotilla participant Ismail Patel told the Guardian how he witnessed one man shot directly between the eyes. He noted that 48 other participants suffered gunshot wounds, and that six remained missing.

Meanwhile, a ship of courageous activists from Ireland and Malaysia made another attempt to deliver much-needed aid. The ship, named the Rachel Corrie in honor of the slain U.S. activist, was a member of the Freedom Flotilla. It had been delayed due to technical problems. Corrie was killed by Israel Defense Forces in 2003, when they bulldozed the Palestinian home she was kneeling in front of.

Israeli commandoes boarded the Rachel Corrie on June 5, arrested everyone aboard and brought it to the Israeli port of Ashdod.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attempted to use the “peaceful” arrest of the activists aboard the ship to further slander the Turkish Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH), organizers of the flotilla along with the Free Gaza Movement, and the activists slain aboard the Mavi Marmara. “We saw today the difference between a ship of peace activists ... [and] a ship of hate organized by violent Turkish terror extremists,” Netanyahu claimed.

In response, the Free Gaza Movement replied: “The only hate evidenced on board all six boats on Monday morning came from the Israeli attackers. ... Therefore, we are putting Mr. Netanyahu on notice that we are returning in the next couple of months with another flotilla, that his actions and the actions of his soldiers have energized thousands of people who have stepped forward with offers to help and participate on the next voyage.”

Indeed, other aid caravans are being organized to support Gaza, including ships from Lebanon and a caravan of Jewish people from Germany. Turkey Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is considering participating in a flotilla.

International protest has continued, with a persistent demand to end the blockade of Gaza. The government of Nicaragua suspended diplomatic relations with Israel on June 1, and on June 3 South Africa recalled its ambassador to Israel.

Many in the U.S. Black community have shown their solidarity with Palestine. The front page of the June 3 Amsterdam News — the main paper of the Black community in Harlem, New York — declared “FREE PALESTINE!” New York City Council-person Charles Barron is quoted at a rally, “If [the Israelis] were Somalis protecting their maritime waters from pollution, they would be considered pirates.”

In an Electronic Intifada article, poet and novelist Alice Walker wrote: “Rosa Parks sat down in the front of the bus. Martin Luther King followed her act of courage with many of his own. ... It is time for us, en masse, to show up in front of our conscience.” Both Barron and Walker had participated in previous caravans to Gaza.

Labor unions have joined in the condemnation. The Swedish Port Workers Union announced their own blockade, of Israeli ships and cargo to and from Israel, from June 15 through June 24. The union urged other unions to take similar initiatives “until the Palestinian people’s rights have been satisfied in general and in particular the blockade of Gaza lifted.” (transportworkers.org) U.S. Labor Against the War also issued a statement.

While Israel is a client state of the U.S., receiving billions in U.S. aid, the two governments don’t always see eye to eye in terms of priorities or tactics. Washington has expressed unhappiness when Israel’s brutal, murderous tactics cause problems for U.S. imperialist interests.

A June 4 New York Times article entitled “Washington asks: what to do about Israel?” describes some of the problems the U.S. faces in the Middle East — where U.S. imperialism is already hated for the wars on Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan, as well as for support of Israel — as a result of the massacre. The Obama administration admits that it had been in discussion with Israel about the flotilla before the attack, claiming that it had warned Israel to use “caution and restraint.” (Washington Post, June 3)

According to the Washington Post, Israel is now considering, “in response to U.S. demands,” allowing more goods into Gaza and allowing ships to sail there after inspecting their contents. (June 6) As a cruel form of collective punishment, Israel prevents Gaza residents from importing everything from concrete — which has kept them from rebuilding the homes and infrastructure destroyed by Israeli bombings — to quality-of-life goods such as toys, fabrics, chocolate, notebooks, French fries and dried fruit.

Yet when the U.N. Human Rights Council adopted a resolution on June 2 that condemned the attack, called upon Israel to “lift the siege on occupied Gaza and other occupied Territories,” and authorized an independent, international fact-finding mission, the U.S. was one of three countries to vote against it. The Israeli ambassador to the U.S., Michael Oren, has said that dialogue between the two countries would not involve an end to the blockade. (CNN, June 3)

However, this newest Israeli violence — and the thunderous denunciations around the world — may have raised the stakes to what many see as a tipping point.

The flotilla massacre has heightened awareness of and resistance to Israel’s brutality against the Palestinian people throughout the region, who remain second-class citizens under an apartheid system. Palestinian homes are bulldozed while thousands of Palestinian political prisoners — both adults and children — are tortured in Israeli prisons. In retaliation for the 2007 electoral victory of Palestinian political party Hamas, Israel has turned Gaza into a concentration camp.

Many hope and believe that the attack on the Mavi Marmara and the courage of those ready for new flotillas will inspire a coalescing of the movement to free Palestine, reminiscent of the movement that helped defeat apartheid in South Africa.