NYC event raises funds for Gaza flotilla

Ann Wright addresses fundraiser for ship to Gaza.

Hundreds gathered in New York City on May 25 for a special New York harbor boat ride to raise funds to send the ship “The Audacity of Hope” to Gaza as part of Freedom Flotilla II, set to sail in June. Twelve European countries are also sending ships to the flotilla, which plans to break the Israeli naval blockade of Gaza and deliver much-needed humanitarian aid. Ann Wright, a former U.S. Army colonel who resigned to protest the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, addressed supporters. A passenger on last year’s Freedom Flotilla, Wright will sail again. Others who will go on the ship also attended.

In May 2010 nine solidarity activists on the Freedom Flotilla I were killed in cold blood by Israeli commandos. Special guest at the fundraising boat ride was Professor Ahmet Dogan, father of Furkan Dogan, the 19-year-old U.S. citizen killed in that Israeli commando raid. The autopsy report, Dogan said, suggests that his son was first wounded and then executed, as a later shot was fired point-blank to his forehead. Professor Dogan was given a standing ovation in tribute to his son’s courage and his family’s inspiring continued support for the flotillas and freedom for Gaza.

— Report and photo by Joyce Chediac